Web analysts and SEO experts have long been slaves to the concepts of page ranking, a mathematical formula designed to indicate a web page’s popularity and relevance to search terms. It turns out, however, all that focus may have been misplaced. PageRank, the patented algorithm used by Google, is a complex system that compares billions of terms and variables in order to ascertain a page’s importance. The importance factor is used to determine where the page appears in a list of Google search results. While it is true that those pages appearing higher in the list have a better chance of receiving traffic, as web users become more tech-savvy and sophisticated they are learning to thoroughly review the full meta description before clicking.
Google removed the PageRank tool from their Webmaster Tools section, stating that it was not the most important consideration for a website. Since then, webmasters have been searching for new and more creative ways to determine the effectiveness of keywords, title tags, and other SEO-related content in the coding of web pages. The trend over the last few years has been more of a step backward, into old-school marketing strategies. Advertising, along with fresh, engaging and relevant content, is once again the most reliable method of promoting a website and encouraging repeat visitors. Those repeat visitors will refer other users to the site, but only if they find it interesting enough. This cyclical method helps to generate both repeat visitors and generate new traffic, both of which are essential for the health of a monetized website.
While the idea that “content is king” can still be argued, it is undoubtedly an essential factor in nearly every website. Sites that are unable to offer a compelling reason to visit are doomed to fail, and no amount of link-baiting, search engine optimization or page ranking tools will save them.
