Google PageRank Primer - Google and Incoming Link Value

Google only lists your incoming links that have a PR4 or higher. Because of that display restriction, many people believe Google doesn’t count all of your links in your PageRank calculation. While they are not shown, Google counts them all. The lower PR pages may not bring a lot of incoming PR with them, but they all add up, although in much smaller increments. Don’t ignore lower PR pages for link exchanges, as today’s PR2 may be a PR7 in the very near future.

You need to keep adding more incoming links to maintain your site’s PR. As you link out from your site, it’s thought that PR "leaks" to other sites. While not everyone agrees on whether PR leakage actually occurs, it’s a good idea to keep your PR increasing. Keep in mind that Google considers internal links, within your site, as backlinks. They add to your overall PageRank. They can’t, however, do the job by themselves. Outside sources of PR are still required to fuel their PR.

While Google isn’t saying, it’s doubtful that you can double or triple PR flow from one page to another, by adding more than one link to a page. It seems as if Google only counts a link to a page once.

In much the same way, and again Google is tight lipped on the matter, a page probably won’t have a link counted by linking to itself. That is not the same as other pages within the same site linking to the page. They count. Remember, its page PR, not site PR.

Some Tips on Link Exchanges

When requesting exchanges, always request the page upon which your link will appear. Don’t let your link trading partner place you on a PR0 "links page" with hundreds of other outgoing links. Make certain they don’t use a java link that prevents the passing along of PR. Another thing to avoid is the discovery that your links have been hidden or cloaked. Make certain all link exchanges are fair and equitable ones, that pass along the appropriate Pagerank.

Don’t fall into the habit of only considering link exchanges, or soliciting incoming links from high PR sites, just for the sake of PR. While they are good to have, be sure to consider the value of your linking program from your visitor’s point of view. It’s more important for links to be helpful to your visitor traffic. Your goal is sales. The PageRank is only part of the means of getting there.

As your PageRank rises, it can help you move higher in the search results, for your targeted keywords. While PR is only one of about 100 or so factors considered, in the Google algorithm (the mathematical formula used to determine your site’s location in the search results), it is still an important consideration.

As you add more and more incoming links to your many web pages, you should see a rise in your PageRank.

After all, it’s simply a mathematical formula at work.