It is true, the last confirmed update happened on April 2, don’t believe me, here is the site that we all parade to to get the answer. http://googlepagerankupdate.com/

So what does this mean? And, have YOU seen any PageRank changes lately?

I know I have have PR5s, 6s and 7s pointing to this site and it hasn’t budged in PageRank! It continues to lament at a boring PR2.  lol I know that I don’t do much linking to SeoNitro.com and it has gone from a PR1 to PR0 in the last 30 days. And, I know the only other reports coming into me have been about PR decreases.

So.. does this mean since there has been no major PageRank update, all my heavy PageRank sites linking to this site or other sites in question have no PageRank at all (or little)? Maybe, but we don’t know it because it hasn’t been updated. =:0

(and yes, I know the tool bar is incredibly out of date and inaccurate so you don’t have to tell me. lol, And, if you know of a reliable source of PageRank data, I would love to know it!

Or does it mean that Google is slowly dismantling PageRank?

I know I still keep on buying sites at auction that have PageRank because it is PageRank my customers like to see as it still retains that “perceived value.”

But really, what is the value of these sites today since the PageRank was assigned almost 8 months ago?

I don’t have the answer but am thinking unless Google gives us a bone, our industry must turn to other measuring sources.

What do you think?

Yeah, it looks like a couple of bozo’s bidding on domains over at Godaddy have gone a bit crazy. I mean, then are pissing on each other to the tune of $1k plus for PR5 domains.

CRAZY!!

But more important..

Godaddy just make another change to the pricing structure in the Firesale bin.

It use to be that all of those domains could be bought up for $5 each. (on top of registration fee)

Then about six months ago, someone over at Godaddy got smart and they introduced a pricing schedule that started at $9 and dropped one dollar each day until on the last day, you can purchase at the original $5.

Well, a week ago, they changed it again. It now starts at $11 and goes to $10, $9 and $8. Then the last day it drops to $5.

I don’t know what happened to $7 and $6 lol, I can only guess they are still sticking to the 5 day auction so they just bumped up the first three days.

In any case. Like everything else, prices for expired domains are going up, up, UP!

Comments?

What are you noticing out there?

I just hired this really good programmer and so am thinking of all kinds of projects for him. One project that I have wanted to do for a long time is to create a SEO tool bar. You know, kind-of like the Google tool bar we all install but one centered around what an SEOer would want on it.

So, that is where you come in.

If you could customize a tool bar for SEO, what kind of things would you want on it?

Even if it is crazy, tell me below!

I just opened SeoNitro.

After you watch the video and read the sales letter, let me know if you have any questions. I will answer them here.

Also, get in on the other discussions.
http://www.dorifriend.com/is-activity-for-real/
http://www.dorifriend.com/the-truth-about-page-rank-2/

Ok, yesterday’s comments were filled with questions on Ryan Deiss’s new report called “The Perpetual Traffic Report” where he discusses Google’s recent Caffeine Update and the increase of “Activity” as a ranking factor.

— time out—
(My original post was on another report on The truth about Page Rank and you can go see comments and report here: http://www.dorifriend.com/the-truth-about-page-rank-2/ )
—

As I agree with Ryan on almost everything he said, especially about the fact that we give Google TOO MUCH CREDIT and that SEO is actually very simple and more cost effective then a PPC campaign. (I even did a short video report on THAT over two years ago called SEO vs. PPC! that looks a bit like his recent research lol   )

But, I am on pause over this “Activity” thing.

I do agree that it would be an ideal trigger for Google to account for. BUT, unless a site is on page 1 of a major search engine or is getting “direct” traffic from members or others who know to type in the URL, or ah hem, clicking on a LINK somewhere lol, then activity may be hard to measure and achieve for a very well written piece of informative content that users may just LOVE if they new about it. And that is why I think Google has to CONTINUE to place more emphasis on the link vote!

But still, I think this idea of the “Caffeine” update has merit, but I for one, mostly change my seo methods from the results of my “experience” or regarded “test” results, not what Google tell’s me they are doing or how it is going to work. I would be chasing my tail if I did THAT!! lol =:0

What do you think of the report, the “Caffeine” update and this “Activity” thing?

Oh, and what do you suppose Ryan is going to sell us at the end of it?

Ok, Part 2 of the SEO Linking Interview continues. Here are the rest of the questions with my answers.. If you missed Part 1 and or would like to get in the conversation over there, here is that link http://www.dorifriend.com/seo-linking-interview/.

(4) If you could choose a link on a lower authority page that would provide a moderate amount of targeted traffic or a link on a higher authority page that would provide absolutely no traffic – all other attributes being equal – for ranking benefits on the site you’re developing links for, which would you choose and why?

Dori answer: If the goal is to rank, I would absolutely choose a link on a higher authority page. It is authority that RANKS the site it links too, not traffic.

(5) Do you feel that you can conserve pagerank or that it’s still worth the effort to sculpt your links, by limiting the number of links on a page, creating them with JavaScript, passing them through a blocked page or using nofollow?

Dori answer: I don’t believe it is as affective as in years past, but I still do it, I still link to inner pages to let PR stream through. Just makes for a better rounded natual site.

(6) Please discuss what link deprecation is and what impact it may have on a link building campaign.

Dori answer: In my world, it is a couple of things.

a. link rolls off the front page of the blog, or
b. link comes from site that loses authority or get’s deindexed, or
c. link is removed from site

It is my experience that the first two do not have much affect on my rankings (believe it or not, I know, strange) so the impact it has comes from my clients who count links instead of rankings.

But, I do believe in defending rankings which in mid-range keywords it takes a continuous flow of new links coming in. But for long tail, old tired links still get the  job done.

(7) Do you think search engines are trying to find a way to depend less on link popularity and more on other algorithmic/social media factors?

Dori’s answer: I did here that Face Book is creating a search engine based on users clicking the “like” link, but I think, if we were going to see an algorithmic change based on social media factors, I think we would already of seen it. And I could be totally wrong.

(8) How much do you stress internal linking on your own or clients’ sites? Do you have a quick rule of thumb or strategy to maximize the effectiveness of internal links?

Dori answer: If this page is about on-page/on-site factors, then I don’t touch it. But I do stress geting external links TO interal pages and let it rip on through the site. No official rule of thumb, but the more the better.

(9) What’s a successful link development strategy many overlook or dismiss?

Getting links from low pr sites or sites NOT in Google’s index and also using the URL as a keyword.

(10) What have you been most WRONG about over the course of your link building/SEO career?

For a long time I thought links had to come from authority sites with good PR to rank for mid-range keywords,  and have found out over the last year or two that that is not the case. =:0

And that links had to come from themed sites with original content. What baloney that is!