“What can we do to get our PageRank higher”?  These words are said to me at least once a week from clients, partners, and friends alike.  Google, by applying a measurable ranking to a webpage and by making it visual to anyone with a Google toolbar, has created an environment in which search optimization projects are frequently judged by this performance indicator.

But the question lies…How really important is PageRank to a website?

Lets not forget, pagerank is only one singular factor in the Google algorithm.  Primarily a measure of inbound links from on topic websites, pagerank does a good job of showing the level of percieved “authority” that is provided to a website.  But in doing research lately, Im realizing that it seems to be devalued within the latest tweaks by Google.

Look at Red Envelope.  When searching for “gifts” they show up on the first page.  Looking at their page rank - they have a page rank of 1.  Maybe this is an update or data center bug etc. - but this shows that pagerank is not the primary element to improving natural search.

The Trinity Insight website is another great example.  We have a pagerank of 4, which for a two year old site is not terrible but also not amazing.  However, we rank in the front page and even top three for our target keywords of ecommerce consulting, ecommerce strategy, etc…

The secret you ask?  Content.  Continuously updated, on target, and of good quality.  Dont get me wrong, pagerank and links are vital to natural search - just dont get consumed by thinking of increasing pagerank by adding inbound links when you should be considering your user experience and what content you can provide to better serve your core demographic.