Google PageRank - it’s what all web designers, web masters, and bloggers covet. Despite this desire for a higher number, an aura of mystery surrounds both Google and it’s PageRank - and for good reason. Google’s inner-workings is a closely guarded secret. However, back when Google first started they published the equation that calculates PageRank. They most likely use a variation of that equation, but the original will be good enough for our exploration purposes.

The Formula:
PR(A) = (1-d) + d(PR(t1)/C(t1) + … + PR(tn)/C(tn))*
where t1 and tn is the pages linking to Page A, C is the number of outbound links on Page A, and d is the ‘damping factor’ - which is normally 0.85.

If you’re mathematically challenged (like me) - here’s a simpler way of looking at it:
Page A’s PageRank = 0.15 + 0.85 x (a share of the PageRank of every page that links to it)

Basically, get links - get PageRank.

But there’s more to it than just links - so let’s dive into that.

When Page B links to Page A, Page B is ‘voting’ for Page A. Page A’s new PR is Page B’s PR x 0.85 + 0.15.
If Page B and Page C links to Page A, then Page A’s new PR is Page B’s x Page C’s x 0.85 + 0.15.

Simple, right?
Well, it seems so - but there is more to consider.
To keep this post manageable, I’ll speed through them.

If you look closely at the equation, you’ll notice that the worth of the link is divided by the quantity of links on that page. Thus, the more links on one page, the less they’re worth.

Google’s PR system isn’t the smartest. For example, http://plainbeta.com, http://www.plainbeta.com, and http://plainbeta.com/index.html are different pages to a crawler.
(So standardize your pages!)

The maximum PR increases as the number of pages on the site increases. So the more pages you have, the greater your PR can be. This is why you should submit your sitemap to Google through Google’s Webmaster Tools. If you’re a blogger using Wordpress, use the Google Sitemap Generator to index your site and submit it to the Google God.

Paid links are another thing to consider. In fact, there has been quite a hype in the past with bloggers losing their PR because of paid links and then getting it back by removing them.
So, don’t put paid links on your site if you’re concerned about PR - if you do, you’ll be penalized.
Update: However, if those links have “nofollow” (What’s NoFollow?) enabled, then it’s alright to have them. However, Google can be finiky, so things could get a little hairy - but you should be alright. (thanks to David Airey for the reminder)

And link farms… Some people believe they’re great - others don’t. If you get a link on a link-farm - it won’t be worth much. Remember what we learned earlier, the more links on a page - the less they’re worth. And often, Google will ignore link-farms in their calculations. Furthermore, if you link to a link-farm, you could be penalized.

And finally, Cookie-cutter pages (multiple pages that are exactly or nearly alike) can penalize your site. If you were to buy half a dozen domains, and put the exact same thing up with links to your web site(s), that would be a cookie-cutter site. That could spell trouble.

Want to get some tips on how to increase your page rank?
Check out the next post in The Quest for PageRank series: How to Increase PageRank.

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Don’t know your site’s PageRank? Find you’re site’s page rank.

Continued from: Why Blog? - Part I - What is Blogging?

Why Do People Blog?

To find out why people actually blog, it would be best to ask the bloggers themselves. Deron Sizemore of RandomJabber.com says, “I blog because I enjoy it. I feel like I’ve got a lot of ideas to share that I hope a lot of others can benefit from.” Another blogger, Simon Ward of Pingable.org, shares similar sentiments. “I enjoy writing about the topics I blog about. I enjoy learning, you never stop learning, and I learn a lot when I blog.”

Adnan of Blogtrepreneur.com blogs for a different reason. “I blog in order to build relationships with fascinating people who share similar interests and characteristics to me… A blog can be a great way to build these relations as it’s primarily a form of conversation between me and my readers.” Adnan also blogs “to build Blogtrepreneur into a base where I can launch successful websites and products from in the future.” In fact, Adnan has used his blog to launch a blog evaluation service called blogLOUDER. Adnan used his blog to launch blogLOUDER and since then, blogLOUDER has done remarkably well.

As previously stated, arguably the second most common reason to blog is for financial income. Darren Rowse of ProBlogger.net and Digital-Photography-School.com started blogging primarily because he enjoyed it. Now Darren is making a six-figure sum from blogging - and loving it. Many others are hoping to achieve financial freedom as, just Darren has done. Tomaz Mencinger of FreedomIdeas.com and TennisMindGame.com current job contract will end on December 31st, 2008; he hopes to be “financially and personally free” through blogging and other entrepreneurial ventures. He is currently making upwards of one hundred dollars a day from Adsense alone and is well on his way to ‘financial freedom.’

There are Bloggers on the other end of the spectrum. ‘Small Potato’ of WPdesigner.com doesn’t really know why he blogs. When asked the question, “Why do you blog?” he replied, “I have no idea. It just happened. About a year ago, I started a blog simply to publish free WordPress themes for people to use. As time passed by, I started publishing other types of content, like tutorials. I kept going from there. Right now, Wpdesigner.com is doing well and [is] publishing content other than free WordPress themes…”

As can be gleaned from the words of Bloggers - there are many reasons to blog. As stated, the most common reasoning is personal enjoyment, others seek ‘financial freedom,’ and others blog for reasons not explainable. Evidently the Blogging Empire is not likely to fall anytime soon; over 175,000 new blogs are created every day and over 1.6 million posts per day - that’s over 18 updates a second.*

Blogging allows anyone and everyone to get their voice out. Bloggers don’t have to hope to get their articles published in a newspaper to be read by a specific community. Bloggers can say what they want and make it available to everyone with the simple click of a mouse.

So why blog?
To be heard.

What is Blogging?

In the Twenty-First Century, the Internet is taking over communication, entertainment, information sharing, and more. The reason is simple - endless amounts of information and entertainment. Through the World Wide Web, anyone and everyone can find out anything for themselves and then tell the world what they think. Once they’re done with that, web browsers can find endless entertainment by watching videos on YouTube, playing games, chatting with friends through the vast amounts of social networking web sites (like Facebook or MySpace), or what ever else imaginable. Just about anything can be achieved through the Internet - the only limit is human intuition.

One of the key components of modern communication is blogging. Blogging is “the design and editing of a blog (or weblog)”* whereas a blog is “a personal or corporate website in the form of an online journal, with new entries appearing in sequence as they are written.”* In plain English however, blogging is an online journal about what ever the author (or authors) choose to write about. However, unlike a paper-based journal, anyone in the world with an Internet connection can read what you write. Blogs can delve into subjects such as sports, current events, or even how to blog.

Traditional journals are simple. They have a front, a back, usually a title page saying “This journal belongs to: ____,” and then (typically) about one hundred pages filling the space in-between the front and back. Blogs on the other hand are a lot more complicated. Blogs require a host, a blogging engine, a layout, and content - aside from the many other additional components that are required to make a ‘good’ blog. Starting with the basics, a blog requires a host and a blogging engine. A host is a service that places your information on the web for visitors to view and a blogging engine is a program that posts your information on your host. Both of those are easily obtained for free by completing a simple form on web sites like Wordpress.com, Blogger.com, and Xanga.com. However, many Bloggers go a step further and purchase a hosting service and install a blogging engine (like Wordpress). The results are full control over every aspect of the blog. Upon installation (or sign-up), the new blog is automatically outfitted with a default layout (the basic content arrangement and visual appeal*) - which is usually changed. When content is posted, a blog is online, accessible to anyone with the Internet.

Why do people blog? There are many reasons to blog, most of which vary depending on the blog’s main topic. The most common reason to blog is personal enjoyment. The second most common reason for blogging is to make money, either as a cash flow supplement or as a sole form of income. Thirty-five percent of blogs receive fewer than one hundred unique visitors per day* - which typically, isn’t enough to earn a living. Forty-six percent of Bloggers receive between one hundred one unique visitors and two thousand five hundred unique visitors* - which still isn’t enough to earn a living, but could be enough to supplement a blogger’s ‘real’ job’s income.

To hear what the bloggers themselves have to say about blogging,
stay tuned for Part II…