This Blog entry is written with those in mind who think that Google PageRank  is the be all and end all of website ranking.  So just how important is Google PageRank? ,

Having a high Google PageRank is not the only factor in achieving a successful website.

What is Google PageRank?

It is, for the most part, calculated from the number and quality of back links that a web page has.  Each link can be seen as a vote for that web page.  Google sees it as a measure of the relative importance of that web page, based on its view of the whole Internet.  Google Page Rank ranges from 0 to 10, with a website having a PageRank(PR) of 10 being the most important site.  The PR is for the web page, not for the whole site.  It is not unusual for an internal page with good, relevant content to have a higher Page Rank that the Home page of a site.

PageRank is only one part of the story

PageRank is not as important for website ranking as it used to be.  There are other factors  such as keyword density and placement, Meta tags that come together to help with how well a website ranks on search engines. 

How do I now what my Site's Google PageRank is?

You can download a Google PageRank bar from http://toolbar.google.com/T4/index.html.  It is free, but remember tat the information it shows may be a few months old, and it may go up and down as Google changes its algorithm.  If you type in a keyword to Google (or any search engine) you will see that having a high PageRank will not necessarily get you ranked highly on the search engines.  It is not unusual for sites with low PRs to rank well in search results, while some sites with higher PR sites do not rank at all.

This can be explained by better and more relevant content in response the the search term, it might be that the site has a better balance of keywords.  There are so many factors that affect search engine ranking that are not as important in the Google PageRank. 

Google PageRank and Search Engine Optimization

The first point is that keywords and other non-PageRank factors can be very important. Links are important, but only when you have got the on-page content right.  .So Google PageRank is important, but high PR on its own will not get you ranked on search engines, nor will it attract more site visitors.  The first element is to build a well balanced web site that is geared to help your potential customers find you.   THE MESSAGE IS YOU CAN ATTRACT SITE VISITORS WITHOUT A HUGE PAGERANK so don't get too hung up on it, good PageRank will come - usually after the visitors.