If there's one question I get more than any other it's ... "Why did my PageRank just go down?".
PageRank is the original 'formula' that Google used to rank and index websites. It IS very much still alive and well, but it's important to realize that it's now just one part of a complex ranking algorithm.
There are many factors that go into ranking for a specific keyword (or keyword phrase).
Reality ...
You can effectively rank, even in competitive fields, with a PageRank of ZERO.
I see way too many posts every day with people obsessed over PageRank. There are even people that sell links from highly ranked websites and blogs. (DON'T buy one. Sooner or later that pretty lame Black-Hat SEO tactic is likely to come back to bite you!).
If you've got a brand-new website or blog, the best thing you can do is allow access to your content from the SEO 'maven' working with you. There are a multitude on simple on-site changes than can make all the difference.
Write for your target audience first. Produce quality and relevant content. Follow a few of the tips outlined (by Google and others) in our earlier post here.
Even in a 'crowded space', you can rank. Continue to deliver quality content and your organic rank will improve. It actually can happen pretty quickly.
Some say SEO is a sham. The only time it really is, is if you're using 'tricks' or so-called black-hat techniques.
Think of SEO as free advertising. A top-5 (or better yet, top-3) position in the Google Main Index under a viable keyword (or keyword phrase) can bring hundreds, if not thousands of new visitors to your blog or website.
Finally, the Page Rank of this blog recently went down to 4 (I rarely look but someone actually e-mailed me). It makes perfect sense. Other obligations have prevented me from posting here daily so there's less to read and less quality and/or relevant content.
Hopefully, I can get a little better at my own time management, and fix that soon :)
In the meantime, as always, I'm hoping this helps a few of you ....
Charlie
edited 3:25 AM