Google Toolbar’s Unexpected PageRank Update

Google finally roll out a much unexpected tool bar Page Rank update, many websites have seen a change in their page rank.  Many of us assumed that it was pretty much going away because it has been so long since it has been updated, after years of regularity.

PageRank is the most clearly visible metric available to determine the value of the website based on how many quality links are pointing to it. This December 2013 update is of particular important because no one saw it coming. The last update to Toolbar PageRank was back in February and support for it has been dropped on many browsers. This led many in the SEO industry to speculate that Google was phasing it out.

It came out as a surprise to every blogger and internet marketer because head of Google’s webspam team “Matt Cutts” himself replied, “I would be surprised if that happened”, to a tweet from one of the blogger.

Reactions to the update are mixed, some are happy to see the new data, while others wish it would just go away once and for all. Today’s update indicates that Toolbar PageRank is still very much alive, at least for now. However, Google continuing to update it shows it still has value in measuring the amount and overall quality of links pointing to your site.

On Twitter, Cutts acknowledged the update which perhaps did come as a surprise to him, as it came by the hands of a different team at Google. He also mentioned that it wasn’t an accident, but was just easier for them to push the new PR data rather than keep the old data.

How to make use of Google trends for SEO purpose

Most of them are familiar with Google Trends and the SEO benefits of using the services as a keyword research tool. For those of you who are new to the concept, Google Trends shows you terms on your website and you might be able to generate a lot of traffic quickly by ranking for the trendy term.

If you use any popular keyword research tool you will get excellent information about which keywords were most heavily utilized along with nicely formatted rankings.

What if the search volume for your keywords is falling? Or rising?

What if search volume for your keywords has shifted in the past three years?

So, what tool will? Google Trends.

Google Trends is a keyword research tool that can help you see at glance how many people are searching on Google for the keywords you’re considering. Since Google is far and away the search engine of choice, focusing on Google keywords information provided can prove to be quite helpful.

Google Trends in Action

Let’s do one exercise together. Go to Google trends (google.com/trends) in your browser. Enter the following search terms, separated by comma:

·         Internet Marketing Company Bangalore

·         Online Marketing

·         Website Designing Company Bangalore

·         Social Media Marketing

·         Website Development

Google Trends For SEO

Several things become apparent from this initial search. Now let’s drill down the data, click the drop down that says “All Years” and select “Last 12 months”, select country and relevant category, you can see the moving trends in more details.

 If you used Google Trends to see that one keyword was gaining searches over time while the other was losing its’ steam, you’d want to emphasize the keyword with the rising trend in your copy. If you have to make a choice between keywords, Google Trends becomes even more important in making that decision.

Google Keyword tool Vs. Google Trends

Both tools rely on and present historical data I reaction to the criteria you set. But there is marked difference.

Take the term ‘Olympics’ as an example. Google’s Keyword Tool estimates that there are a massive 30,400,000 monthly searches per month for that term, based on the activity over the last 12 months. Of course we know that last year’s event will skew the results and that until the next event interest will fade. But imagine that we didn’t have that knowledge. We might pursue this keyword traffic based on an estimate that is inaccurate and potentially a waste of resource.

Google Trends is a fantastic stand-alone tool that can help to understand market demand and search trends; and its use is not limited to SEO alone. The information it provides is highly valuable and a business can use it to make decisions about market strategy.