FocalPower…the blog

Photographers that are seriously engaged in doing business online should know what their website’s Google page rank is, especially if you are doing any sort of advertising on Google.

A few days ago, Google tweaked their page rank algorithm. If you haven’t checked your page rank recently you should, there is a good chance that your rank has changed. This latest tweak appears to have primarily closed a loop hole in the algorithm that some sites (specifically blogs) were using to inflate their ranking. Some sites would accept payment to have multiple links to your site placed on theirs or create a network of similar blogs and cross link to them all, also know as a link farm.

Before, Google would count these links toward your page rank. This latest tweak doesn’t count them. So sites that were artificially high because they payed others to link to them, will see their Page Rank corrected to a more realistic level. But, other sites might also see their Page Rank increase as a side effect of these changes. (The above detail of the tweak is most likely just one of many aspects that were adjusted in the algorithm).

How Do I Check My Page Rank?

The easiest way to check your page rank is to install the Google Toolbar (you probably already have it installed) and then visit your website. When the toolbar is visable you will see an icon labeled “PageRank” that will show you the ranking of the page you are visiting–hover over this icon to get the specific rank number (x out of 10).

I also recommend that you create an account for your website on the Google Webmaster Tools. This is a set of tools that will help you understand how Google sees your website. You can use this information to fine tune your site for an increased page rank.

What Does This Have to Do With Photography?

For those who are making their living with photography, their web presence is a required aspect of their business. If you are doing advertising to draw in new customers to your website, then you need to understand Page Rank. The faster and easier you can capture new customers, the more time you can spend doing what you enjoy…photography!