PR Lag: What the Heck is That?! - Why You Shouldn't Ignore PR 0 Sites
(Page 3 of 4 )
O.K. now that we’ve clarified some of these terms, let's get on with the meat of this article. Too many SEO/webmasters are unaware of the nature of visual PR and its relation to SERPs. This can lead to a lot of confusion in the current SEO climate. How? Well for starters, many webmasters refuse to give a backlink to a site that has a PR of 0. Because of the fact that PR updates seem to be coming around only once every three months, and because these PR updates can have a lag of as much as two months, it is entirely possible for a new site to not acquire any visual PR for up to five months! While this might be an extreme scenario, the point is still valid. It is not wise to measure the worthiness of a site based on only its visual PR value. Just because a site has a PR of 0 doesn’t mean that it’s banned, penalized, or lacking in terms of SERPs potency.
So what else should a site be measured by? For starters, it’s always a good idea to check a site’s backlink info. Not just in Google, but also in Yahoo or MSN or Marketleap. It is a fairly well known fact that Google’s backlink sample is purposely incomplete, so make sure to check the more accurate samples offered by the alternative sources mentioned.
Once you’ve begun to take a look at the backlink sample for the site in question, it’s a good idea to check the quality and relevance of the backlinks. Does DMOZ show up? Are there a lot of quality backlinks from reputable sites? Are there a lot of backlinks from sites with relevant content? Are all of the backlinks from the same domain, or do a variety of domains show up in the backlink sample?
What else should be taken into account? In a word…content! It is fairly easy to judge the potential or legitimacy of a new site by looking at the way in which the visual content is presented. Is the site a link farm with no original content? Are there a bunch of spammy affiliate links or irrelevant ads? Does the site have fresh content updated daily? Is the site design clean and the navigation smooth? All of these factors will help determine whether or not exchanging links, acquiring a backlink, or giving a backlink is worth your while. Remember that PR 0 weakling today could end up being a PR 7 monster in a short while. Think about that the next time you are about to overlook a potential link partner with a well built "newbie" site that doesn't have any green in its PR bar yet.
Next: More Points About PR Lag >>
More Google Optimization Articles
More By Hugo Guzman
