Hello Bobap:
Please note that Google Answers Researchers are independent
contractors, and we are not privy to the inner workings of Google,
especially their closely-guarded search engine algorithms.
Any answers we give here are based on Google's recommendations as well
as advice and tips from experts recognized for their expertise in
search engine optimization (SEO).
You didn't indicate how long your site had been listed with Google,
but a search for the term "dfwhomesonline" did show that your site
*is* listed in Google's database, although you are right in that there
are no pagerankings for your site.
Page Ranking
============
Google offers the following information about its close-guarded page
ranking algorithms:
" PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by
using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's
value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a
vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer
volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page
that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves
"important" weigh more heavily and help to make other pages
"important."
"Important, high-quality sites receive a higher PageRank, which Google
remembers each time it conducts a search. Of course, important pages
mean nothing to you if they don't match your query. So, Google
combines PageRank with sophisticated text-matching techniques to find
pages that are both important and relevant to your search. Google goes
far beyond the number of times a term appears on a page and examines
all aspects of the page's content (and the content of the pages
linking to it) to determine if it's a good match for your query."
(See: "Page Rank Explained")
- ://www.google.com/technology/index.html
Google also recommends in its advice for submitting your site, "The
best way to ensure Google finds your site is for your page to be
linked from lots of pages on other sites. Google's robots jump from
page to page on the Web via hyperlinks, so the more sites that link to
you, the more likely it is that we'll find you quickly" (from "No. 2
Submitting Your Site")
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/1.html#A2
Finally, Google explains differences in page rankings:
"1. Changes from one index to the next.
Each time we update our database of web page (about once a month), our
index shifts: we find new sites, we lose some sites, and site rankings
change...."
"You may want to check and see if the number of other sites linking to
your URL has decreased. This is the ** single biggest factor ** in
determining what sites are indexed by Google, as we find most pages
when our robots crawl the web and jump from page to page via
hyperlinks. (Empasis added)."
It's also possible your rank decreased because other sites were found
and assigned a higher rank..."
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/2.html#B1
How to increase page ranking
============================
A search using the term "dfwhomesonline.+com" revealed only one other
site linked to yours.
The best way to increase your page rank is to follow Google's
suggestions and get other sites to link to yours.
You link to other sites, such three mortgage companies. You might ask
them to reciprocate with a link to your site.
Your site is an independently owned RE/MAX office, you might ask them
to link to your site; likewise other sites that you link to.
Others you might ask for linkings are members of civic or professional
organizations you work with, other RE/MAX real estate people you know
in other cities, others with whom you exchange referrals, and the
like. Extend any in person networking to your various websites. Those
kind of reciprocal links can only help you both, and not hurt.
Warning: Google specifically addresses link schemes, "Don't
participate in link schemes designed to increase your site's ranking
or PageRank. In particular, avoid links to web spammers or "bad
neighborhoods" on the web as your own ranking may be affected
adversely by those links." (See "Quality Guidelines - Basic
Principles")
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html#quality
And speaking of Guidelines:
===========================
You are in a highly competitive field in a depressed market. A random
pick of some of the DFW real estate sites show they're all pretty much
'informational' sites and pretty generic.
Give some thought about what search terms you think your prospective
customers would use and then add content using those terms.
In its guidelines, Google suggests, "Create a useful, information-rich
site and write pages that clearly and accurately describe your
content." If your search term is "Dallas homes", then talk about
Dallas homes and enough to make that term very important on your page.
You can't cram all the information you want into one screenful - but
neither can your competition. You can, however, describe it well
enough to make it significant and link to other information on other
pages which is not relevant to the search terms you think your visitor
might use. In cases like this, any advantage helps.
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html#quality
Google's Webmaster Information can be found here:
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/index.html
Google's Webmaster Guidelines can be found here:
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html
Both contain some very useful information which I think will be of
help if you choose to 'intensify' your content.
Finally, there are times when you find information or an idea that
just "rings a bell" and things "click" (please excuse the cliches). I
would recommend taking a bit of time to browse through Danny
Sullivan's Search Engine Watch site. The information on search engines
and page ranking is excellent, and you'll get a good idea of what
works, and what will get you penalized, and some can be easily adapted
to your site. Search Engine Watch is here:
- http://www.searchenginewatch.com
Lastly, there is always lively discussion with great ideas on
WebMaster World
- http://webmasterworld.com ... I would bet there is something there
that will lend itself to your site easily.
As you can see, PageRank is both an art and a science, and there are
many variables which can affect your listing and page ranking. Your
site has some good information, I suspect you can add more to make it
'better' information. Remember to allow for time for the Googlebot to
revisit your site and I imagine you can see an increase in PageRank.
I hope this helps, and good luck to you,
Serenata
Search terms used -
(listed in content) |
