Google & Algorithms
Off-page factors refer mainly to the backlinks a website has. Some points to be kept in mind about backlinks are links from a high PageRank are worth more than a link from a low PageRank, presence of keywords in the anchor text carries more value, many links on a page automatically reduces the value of each outbound link and a backlink from a website that has content closely related to your site will be worth more than from an unrelated content.
By now, you know what is taken into account by Google to calculate and come up with a PageRank (PR). What exactly is this PageRank that every search engine optimisation (SEO) company is vying for? Google PageRank is an algorithm patented and used by Google to evaluate relative importance of several websites. It is named after Larry Page who is one of its developers. It checks the number of links on other pages that point to your site. It was basically to make Google search results precise, by taking a look at the interconnections of webpages. So, if there are more links pointing to your website then it appears more popular to Google and you will get a high rank.
PageRank is measured in a scale of 0-10 on a logarithmic scale. Zero being the lowest and ten being the highest. A new page begins with a PR of zero. As the links and backlinks increase for that particular site the ranking increases gradually. You should keep in mind that a backlink from a site which has a PR of zero has no value.
You can view your website rank by installing the Google Toolbar for your web browser. It is freely available online and easy to install. You can point to the green scale with the help of mouse and check the PageRank of your page. Usually, a PageRank between 7 and 10 is considered good. Some SEO experts are of the opinion that with a PageRank of 4 or 5, the site can do well. For internal pages, PR of the home page is an indicator of its authority.
The higher ranking a website has, the more traffic and higher positions it gets in the search engines. Google toolbar is helpful in keeping up with your competitors, you can check the PR of their site, too. Getting to know the PageRank is a plus point for any webmaster, internet marketer or just search engine specialists. Your website apart from being informative, if it has a good rank, will attract link exchangers and bring about a certain amount of authority.