How long does it take to get PageRank?

DaleKing

One of the questions I`m asked almost daily by my readers is how long does it take for Google to assign PageRank. If you`ve ever wondered the same thing, here`s the answer to that question:
 
It usually takes at least three full months for all of your inbound links to be calculated and counted as backlinks. Google`s PageRank is calculated based on the relevancy, quantity and quality of your inbound links, as well as the number of outbound links there are on your website. Generally speaking, the fewer outbound links a website has the better.
 
Conversely, the higher the PR of your inbound links, the more PR is assigned to your website. For example, a website with a very respectable Google PR of 5 or 6, but with many outbound links, might be assigned much less PR than a PR3 site with only a couple of outbound links.
 
Google establishes PR on a case by case basis, and there are simply too many variables to estimate what your particular PR will be. So you just have to be patient and wait and see what Google decides to do.
 
Can you increase your PageRank? Absolutely, but it takes time. The key is continually adding as many relevant, quality inbound links from respected websites as you possibly can.
 
Dale King
DaleKing6/11/2008 8:41 AM

Videography

Thanks, Dale.My current page - currently under total redesign due to a recasting of my business plan - has always had a PR of 1.  About as low as you can get.  I suspect that it`s because I used MS Word to gen the site and it`s full of WC3 errors and warnings.GoDaddy is trying to get me to renew my domains for five years, claiming that Google looks at your renewal date as part of their PR formulae.  Do you have any comment on this?

Webline

I`ve read many times that length of domain name, in terms of years, is a factor; the longer it has been around is a positive. I`m not sure that having it registered for that long in the future beforehand is part of it, but could be. 

DaleKing

Thanks, Dale.
My current page - currently under total redesign due to a recasting of my business plan - has always had a PR of 1.  About as low as you can get.  I suspect that it`s because I used MS Word to gen the site and it`s full of WC3 errors and warnings.
GoDaddy is trying to get me to renew my domains for five years, claiming that Google looks at your renewal date as part of their PR formulae.  Do you have any comment on this?
 
 
 
You`re quite welcome, Steve. Thank you! To my knowledge, the renewal date of your domain has absolutely nothing to do with your PR. However, the age of your domain is an important factor. Google definitely places more weight on websites that have longevity. Assuming you have all your SEO ducks in a row, websites that have been around for two years or more seem to have a distinct advantage over newer websites.
 
Dale King
DaleKing6/10/2008 8:00 PM

DaleKing

Considering page rank has nothing to do with the actually ranking of a site in Google I am boggled that people spend so much time worrying about this. Don`t you agree DaleKing?
P.S.  i read a lot of your posts here & on SmallBusinessBrief and do enjoy them.

 
 
 
Jeff, I appreciate your kind words and I`m glad you enjoy my posts. But no, I don`t agree with you. Over the last few months as I`ve talked to various, reputable SEO experts and become more and more educated about PR, I`ve discovered PR does indeed play a role in how Google ranks your site in the search engines. PR is a metric used in Google`s ranking algorithms. The only thing that isn`t known is how much of a role PR plays. Unfortunately, no one knows the answer to that except Google.
 
Dale King

DaleKing

We have had a page rank of 4 forever.  It doesn`t seem to have any relevance on where we appear on Google search.  We were a 4 when it was much more difficult to find our site.  For some reason, I would like to have a higher PR, but it doesnt seem to really matter.

 
 
 
While you may not think PR matters, when you combine it with a variety of other factors, including  the age of your domain it matters.
 
Dale King

DaleKing

I didn`t say it doesnt matter, in general.  But a 4 out of 10 seems the best it gets in the market I am in.  Maybe that means others search for much more, than beef jerky, saving those rankings for 10`s  So, the 4 is okay by me, and I can focus on other things.No argument Dale.  Have a great day...    No argument here.  I haven`t researched your industry, Janie. Therefore I can`t intelligently speak to what`s a good PR for your industry. That being said, if you`re happy with your PR, traffic and sales, then that`s all that really matters.  However, I do notice a significant increase in traffic and sales each time my PR increases. So I definitely see the correlation. My current PR is a very respectable.5, which puts me ahead of 75% of the websites in my particular market. I`m working like crazy to get a  PR 6 by the end of the year, which will put me ahead of 90% of the websites in my market. You have a great day too, Janie! Dale King  DaleKing6/20/2008 9:28 AM

Videography

Does anyone know how they can connect me to someone who can connect my website (www.flywraps.com) to other horse websites for sales?  Its fly season and I`m losing $$$/day ~ and I need help asap.This is going to sound silly, but the easiest way to get cross-links to other sites is simply to ask them.  It helps both of you.Being a former horse owner, I think you have a fantastic product.  It sure beats wrapping the legs with gauze every day.I can think of a lot of sites that wouldn`t be "sleeping with the enemy", I.E. a competitor.  How about veterinary supply companies, tack  shops, brokers and trainers?Design a cool banner so that you can offer the other sites the HTML code to put into their website and be prepared to reciprocate.  Also, consider wholesaling the product to other website operators, and in your contract with them, specify that the buyer needs to know who made the product.This isn`t the forum and you didn`t ask for a website critique, but please allow me to go OT and make a few suggestions.  First, it is a very well done website, but don`t use underlined text - it looks like it should be a link.  Next, your `more products` image is huge.  You need to reduce the image filesize to get it below 100Kb.  Last, you need to update the "Coming in 2007" header.Hope this helps

DCCSCS

How much harm do outbound links do?  Dale, you said the fewer the better.  Just thinking about it, we have about 3 or so on our site.  They seem all relevant to who we are.  Does PR take relevancy into account in the process?  thanks

vwebworld

First, consider if you need or are committed to the out-bound links you have. Do you need a link to NSCA-lift.org or will just noting their organization suffice for your needs (why people should use you)?
 
Second, consider using no-follow coding for those out-bound links.  Unless you are committed (promised) an out-bound (follow) link to the site.
 
~Roland

DaleKing

How much harm do outbound links do?  Dale, you said the fewer the better.  Just thinking about it, we have about 3 or so on our site.  They seem all relevant to who we are.  Does PR take relevancy into account in the process?  thanks

 
 
Brandon, let me restate and clarify my position a bit on outbound links, so I don`t give anyone the wrong impression. Outbound links aren`t necessarily a bad thing, as long as you have link balance. For example, if you have ten outbound links as well as ten inbound links, then you have good link balance. In fact, you can even get away with having 100 outbound links, and as few as ten inbound links, as long as they are quality inbound links.
By the way, the numbers I`m using are not a scientifically conclusive by any means. The information I`m sharing with you is based on my own personal experience. Your mileage may vary.
Dale King
DaleKing6/21/2008 7:28 PM

sddreamweavers

GoDaddy is trying to get me to renew my domains for five years, claiming that Google looks at your renewal date as part of their PR formulae.  Do you have any comment on this?

This is indeed a factor.  They do look at not only how old the domain is but how long you purchased the domain for in advance.
Also, one thing to keep in mind with brand new domains is that Google tends to not allow brand spanking new domains to get good page rank for the first 9 or so months.  I`ve read this is to weed out the domains that come and go and nine months is a good weeding out point to see if the given domain is indeed a solid resource or not.

kjohri

I didn`t say it doesnt matter, in general.  But a 4 out of 10 seems the best it gets in the market I am in.  Maybe that means others search for much more, than beef jerky, saving those rankings for 10`s  So, the 4 is okay by me, and I can focus on other things.No argument Dale.  Have a great day...    No argument here.  I haven`t researched your industry, Jeannie. Therefore I can`t intelligently speak to what`s a good PR for your industry. That being said, if you`re happy with your PR, traffic and sales, then that`s all that really matters.  However, I do notice a significant increase in traffic and sales each time my PR increases. So I definitely see the correlation. My current PR is a very respectable.5, which puts me ahead of 75% of the websites in my particular market. I`m working like crazy to get a  PR 6 by the end of the year, which will put me ahead of 90% of the websites in my market. You have a great day too, Jeannie! Dale King  

Dale,
how do you track your rankings and score etc relative to competition?

DaleKing

Dale, how do you track your rankings and score etc relative to competition?
 
 
 
Okay, I`m about to reveal my secret weapon, so use it wisely. I use:
 

http://www.compete.com/

 
Dale King

kjohri

Wow - this is really cool...thanks for sharing!

DaleKing

Wow - this is really cool...thanks for sharing!
 
 
 
No problem. Like I said, use it wisely. It`s pretty potent information.
 
Dale King
DaleKing6/21/2008 7:29 PM