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Alexa and Google PR (Page Rank) Simplified

Alexa and Google PR are important rankings on the Internet.

On this page is more information than you really need to know about these Internet rankings if you're a coach or consultant just wanting to publish a small site or a few articles on some one else's web site. However, if you understand the essence, you'll get the idea of how important Alexa and Google PR rankings are for web sites.

I've built my own multiple web sites with Alexa and Google PR rankings that are considered high for a solo entrepreneur. Membership and group sites can more easily get good rankings simply because they draw lots of visitors (usually their members) on a regular basis. Even so, smaller web sites that use good strategies will establish good standings faster and maintain them with a basic understanding of the approaches.

Take a deep breath. Relax. It really is simple from the perspective of a knowledge provider. The complexity is in the algorithms and the wide range of interpretations from those who make their living as experts. I'm not an expert, but I do understand what you most need to know and so I present it simply.

Google PR (Page Rank)

The range for Google PR goes from 0 to 10. As far as I know, no site has achieved 10. New sites have a PR of 0 and are typically in the "sandbox" for 3-6 months. When they get out of the sandbox (in other words, they no longer have a PR of 0), they can start at PR 1, 2, or 3. Perhaps it's possible to start with a higher PR out of the sandbox, but I doubt it.

As the name implies, the ranking is applied to each page (not the site as a whole), and the calculations are conducted by Google. When web owners say they have a "PR4 site" they are usually referring to the home page. Interior pages usually have lower PR, but they all contribute to the overall ranking that's reflected on the home page.

The higher the PR, the closer to the top the site will show in Google search results for the keywords that appear on the site. The idea of having good SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategies is to get on the first page for relevant search terms. Most searchers don't look beyond the first page; if they haven't found what they want on page 1, the most typical next action is to refine the search terms and search again.

Google has its secret algorithms, which SEO experts pride themselves on knowing, but only 3 or 4 people inside Google really know, and the algorithms change. PR is some combination of such things as (in no particular order) quality of unique content, frequency of pages added or updated, high quality inbound links, traffic, proper keyword density and use of HTML, outbound links, congruity, and just plain longevity.

Professional consultants and coaches are trained to ask "who is the client?" So, keep in mind that Google sees its client as the Internet searcher. (Not their advertisers; not the web masters.) When you understand that, many questions answer themselves. Also, Google has strong ethics and exceptionally smart software.

Alexa Rating

Alexa Ranking appears to be based mainly on traffic. However, there are obviously other variables, although what they are specifically are not so obvious. Alexa officials also like to keep secret. The lower the number, the higher the value.

The highest value is #1. When a site first goes live, it has no ranking at all. I'm not sure what the highest possible number is, but the highest I've seen is over 30,000,000. For a new site, even such a high number is a good sign because it means it's on Alexa's radar.

I recently took my Portal web site live at http://www.JeanieMarshall.com with a single page. In under a week, I had an Alexa ranking of about 5 million. I found that astounding, making me wish I knew exactly how many days it took to get on Alexa's radar screen.

Adding pages, getting traffic, and practicing some of the ideas suggested above will contribute to a steady (though not necessarily regular) stronger Alexa ranking. The Alexa ranking will bounce around for several months and then stabilize.

For years, Yahoo has held the Alexa 1 spot. I recently noticed for the first time that Google is now 1. I attribute that to the many new services Google has been adding to their site to get people to log onto and use regularly.

Putting it all Together

Here are a few comparisons for some highly ranked sites (I've intentionally chosen sites that draw lots of people); these are not coaching and consulting sites!

Google is Alexa 1, PR 8
Yahoo is Alexa 2, PR 9
youtube is Alexa 3, PR 9
Facebook is Alexa 5, PR 9
Twitter* is Alexa 50, PR 9
LinkedIn is Alexa 146, PR 8
whitehouse.gov is Alexa 1968, PR 9

*I have been watching Twitter stats over the last few months, when it has grown very strongly and quickly. Of all the above rankings, Twitter is the one most likely to have changed by the time you read this.

As I said, this is more than you really need to know, just keep in mind that these indicators are important. And there are ethical strategies — simple and complex — to maximize the numbers.

You can download an Alexa and PR plug-in for your browser. In fact, I strongly recommend that you do. Those indicators will work nicely with your own internal radar as you visit sites and decide on purchases, joint ventures, and potential places to publish your writing.

If you have the rankings available right on your browser, you can see the values of all the sites you visit, which will teach you far more than I've said, because you'll embody the information in the natural course of being on the Internet.

The Alexa and Google PR rankings are not flawless systems, but the are Internet standards that can help you to create a better web site and connect with the more valuable online resources.

Incidentally, I achieved a PR3 and Alexa 203,222 on my SiteSell Web site after three months online. I attribute this accomplishment to solid well-written content and following the SiteSell Action Plan to apply the most valuable strategies. I have not maintained that, which I attribute to a combination of making fewer regular additions to the site and the influx of membership sites that are achieving rapid high alexa rankings.