Internet Hunger | Internet marketing - SEO - web design - blog

Jumping ship.

2009-07-10T07:50:00.002-06:00

The internet is changing, and with it so am I.

The past two years have been a roller coaster, my position between marketing and online business has been shifting, but I think I've finally found a place to slow down.

What does that mean for this blog, Internet Hunger?

At the moment, as I'm sure you can see for yourself, Internet Hunger is a graveyard of afterthoughts and marketing/SEO related projects of mine. It's not entirely dead, but it's definitely getting there. This blog, hosted on Blogger, will soon be retired...but the good news is that I'm going to replace it with a bigger, better version of itself.

Someday.

SEO on your iPhone.

2009-06-11T11:10:00.002-06:00

Pokeseo, the first SEO reporting app for the iPhone, was released just a few days ago.

Pokeseo lets you check the Google PageRank and reported backlinks for four of the top search engines (including Microsoft's new Bing.com search engine!), as well as emailing your findings to any email address using the built in mail feature.

Rumors has it that future versions will include keyword tool and a lot of other fun stuff. So check it out at Pokeseo.com and spread the word!

Official Google Reader Blog: Square is the new round.

2008-12-04T14:23:00.000-07:00

Official Google Reader Blog: Square is the new round.

That's right! Google's been busy lately updating not only Gmail (which received new themes just a few weeks ago) but now Google Reader as well!

Want to see what the internet was like ten years ago?

2008-10-17T13:07:00.001-06:00

Go to China, where a lot of the internet is censored from the public.

"Are you changing your AdWords campaigns weekly?"

2008-09-19T10:43:00.001-06:00

Even if you've found a keyword, or phrase, or landing page, that is working for you... there may be even better options available. How would you know unless you try to find them?

You're not progressing if you aren't trying out new things and taking risks in your business.

Take a risk, jump into the waters of the unknown. You may find treasure out there.

Are you changing your AdWords campaigns weekly?

"You're being marketed to and you didn't even know it."

2008-09-18T13:34:00.003-06:00

It's true. From the moment you were born, 'til the moment that you die, you have been and will continue to be marketed to.

When people here the word "marketing" or "marketed" they instantly imagine someone sitting behind a desk with a telephone dialing random numbers in order to sell a product that nobody really wants to be. And if you imagine that scenario when thinking of the word "marketing" then you're right. That situation is marketing; that is somebody trying to get you to buy something.

But what if you're being marketed to and you didn't even know it?

Would you still consider it marketing, or would you consider it to be a dirty trick? The truth is that you ARE being marketed to. 24/7. Every day of your life. There isn't a sandy beach or busy office where you could avoid being marketed to. Because everybody is trying to sell something. Hell, your brain is even trying to sell you something.

Whether it's an idea, a product, or even a feeling, you are always being marketed to.

Those people who dress up with titles of "internet marketer" are just making it easier for you to recognize that they're trying to sell you something. But it should come as no surprise. Right now I'm trying to sell you something. I'm trying to sell you the idea that this post is worth reading, that this blog is worth subscribing to. Right now your brain is trying to sell you something; it's probably trying to sell you the idea that clicking away would be your best option.

And maybe it's right.

"People want to feel like idiots when visiting your website."

2008-09-12T06:51:00.002-06:00

You're an idiot if you didn't know this already.

And - sorry to say - you probably didn't know this if you are reading it, right? So you're an idiot. But there is good news for all of you idiots out there: we're all idiots; at least, in some way or another.

That's why we scourer the internet, isn't it? Because we don't know something and we want to learn about it (or find an answer to a problem, or just discover something new). And when I say "We're all idiots" that includes people currently visiting (and people that may potentially visit) your website. They're looking for an answer to a problem or to learn something new.

That's why you're reading this, is it not? You want to learn something new.

Instead of repeating the same garbage that other SEO and internet marketing blogs post day after day, I'm going to post something that (hopefully) is new for you.

Ready? Here it goes: People want to feel like idiots when visiting your website.

It's true. Have you ever visited a website where all of the content was things you already knew about? Did you stay on that website for very long? I'm guessing you clicked away fairly quickly... about 3 seconds in and you were ready to go to another website.

But what about those websites where the content makes you say: "Duh! How come I didn't think of that?" or "Holy cow! I didn't know that!"? My guess is that you stayed on those websites (the ones that made you feel crazy stupid) a lot longer than the websites whose content you already knew everything about.

Making people feel like they have something to learn from your website (other than the fact that they are idiots, like you) will make them stay longer.

If you manage a blog: making people feel like their idiots is a great way to get subscribers; readers will feel like they always have something to learn from you.

So, what is your website teaching people? Are you putting content out that everybody already knows about? Or are you putting content out there that says "Hey, you're an idiot"?

"Chrome can not only benefit Google, but also SEOs and internet marketers."

2008-09-05T07:16:00.000-06:00

So, Google Chrome is everywhere now.

From Digg, Sphinn, and Gizmodo, to CNN, The New York Times, and Internet Hunger. When Google releases something new it is certain to make a big splash online. Yesterday I wrote about the impact Chrome will have on SEOs and internet marketers, but today I'd like to touch base on how Chrome can not only benefit Google, but also SEOs and internet marketers. That's right, I said benefit us.

So, how can Chrome help everyone out? Google can use the data (the browsing, clicking, and search habits of users) to make their search engine EVEN BETTER. For SEOs and marketers this information would be easy to look at and use to better target energetic audiences, and for Google... well, such data collection would allow Google to get their search 100% perfect. Can you imagine searching for something and having the very first result ALWAYS be exactly what you were looking for?

Granted, gathering and using such data would have to be a part of their Terms of Service agreement, and that could scare away a lot of potential users. So why not make it a feature, rather than a necessary evil?

If Google had a notification when you booted up Chrome that said something along the lines of: "Hey! We have this great new feature we would like you to try it! It will send us information about what you click on when you search and a few of your browsing habits. The information is securely sent and we will have no way to link the data back to any individual! What do you say, want to try it out and improve your internet experience?"

Would you click on the "ok, do it!" button, or would you click the "hell no!" button?

"How does Google Chrome impact search engine optimizers and marketers?"

2008-09-03T07:51:00.000-06:00

Google launched it's own web browser today. Now Matt Cutts just needs to write The Book of Cutts and Google can officially become a religion.

How does Google Chrome impact search engine optimizers and marketers?

It doesn't.

At least, Google Chrome doesn't have any real impact on SEOs and marketers currently. But I suspect - and I'm sure many others in the search and internet marketing industry have as well - that Google will quickly implement some great tools and features for marketers. Good things are ahead.

That's not all to think about. Another important thing to consider with Chrome is that it may (just maybe) be the end of visual Google PR. With the current release of Chrome, Google has decided to NOT include a Google Toolbar. No highlighting feature. No nifty bookmark features. No visible PR.

So what exactly does all of this speculation mean?!

Nothing. It's just speculation.

"Will gaining links to a domain that has no content on it hurt your search ranking?"

2008-09-01T21:11:00.005-06:00

You have a brilliant idea and need a website. Despite not having any content ready for the website, you buy the domain anyway. And now you're set. You're ready to go. Getting a design mocked up and coded, marketing the domain and getting links, doing all of your SEO and a bit of SEM and your website will be a huge success.

But you're impatient (like 99% of all of us). You want to start building your website's reputation by getting links immediately. So you market a bit, advertise a bit, trade links a bit, whatever you consider SEO, before you get the website up.

Will gaining links to a domain that has no content on it hurt your search ranking? How does a search engine treat a new domain that has zero content on at one time and then just a few days later have great, quality content on it?

Well, it turns out that linking to a parked or "non-furnished" domain DOES hurt your search engine ranking.

When search engines see a link pointing to a domain, they follow that link. The content that resides at that link is indexed immediately (with a few exceptions), cached, and marked as a new website.

Now, say, a few days later you get your content up and now you're really ready to rock and roll. Only problem is: the search engines are not going to see your new content for a while. In-fact: the search engines figure you're not worth checking and indexing and caching again so soon because you're new to the game. So they keep the old content (if any was there) and leave it at that.

While you wait for your new content to get indexed you are losing valuable search customers. People searching for your content are not going to find it, because you got a little excited and took a false start.

It's like a race in the Olympics, if you jump or step or leap or dive away from that starting line before everybody is ready for you... you're disqualified.

Is SEO just a trend of the times?

2008-08-29T13:20:00.000-06:00

No.

You don't need a blog, just knowledge.

2008-08-28T16:23:00.003-06:00

I just finished reading an article over at Traffic and Conversion about why a blog can increase traffic to your website.

Upon finishing the article, I laughed.

In the said article, Mark Widawer claims that a blog is “critical to your traffic work.” Critical to gaining traffic? No. Not true. A blog is not critical to gaining traffic to your website.

The reason blogs are so favorable among SEOs is because blogs make it easy to optimize websites. In-fact, blogs come pre-optimized for search engines; and search engines favor blogs because they are always new and often influential.

But you don't NEED a blog. Especially if you have knowledge of XHTML and CSS.

All a blog does is plugs in META tags, and makes it easy to constantly update content on your website. But if you can do that on your own, there's no reason to have a blog at all.

That's right, I said it: YOU DON'T NEED A BLOG!

I would even go so far to say that it would be better NOT to have a blog for your website. Would it be harder to update? Definitely. Do you need to already have knowledge of web programming and SEO if you're not going to use a blog? Absolutely. But do you NEED blog? No.

The reason SEOs promote blogs is because blogs make SEO easy.

That's it.

SEO for dummies. Why networking is greater than content.

2008-07-30T13:13:00.002-06:00

Have you ever heard the term: "Content is king"? When it comes to optimizing your website for search engines, making sure you have quality, original content is vital to ranking well.

But there is something that is more important - and more powerful - than content... it's networking.

The ability to make friends with other bloggers, and even average readers, can mean high rankings for your blog or website. Even if the content on your blog or website is pathetic (or just re-written garbage), you can still rank extremely well in the search engines if you are networked well.

Because, what you will find, is the people you connect with - whether they be powerful bloggers, or just no-name site visitors - are the people who control the search engines. They are the people who are writing in their blogs about you. They are the people who talk to their friends about you. They are the people who will link to you. They are the people who search and click on your website. Make friends with them and the search engines are at your mercy.

Sure, content is important to focus on when optimizing your website or blog, but if you aren't connecting with your readers, other bloggers, and people in general... your website has already failed.

Internet Hunger, one year later.

2008-07-08T16:08:00.002-06:00

It was July 9th, 2007. After spending weeks designing the logo and signing up for the domain at Blogger.com, I made my first post here on Internet Hunger.

Now, one year later, the blog has become a place of reflection for me, rather than a big internet-focused center.

With countless new blogs, a full-time position at Logoworks by HP, and an increase in freelance projects, Internet Hunger has become more of a snack than a feast of internet goodness. And that's alright.

I honestly can't say what the future holds for Internet Hunger, but the past posts will always be here for you to read. Here are some of the most popular posts from the past year:

"Break out of the blogging mold and make your blog one of the best on the web."

"My new best friend: Google webmaster tools"

"What makes up a good man, is what will make your website great."

"The biggest, best, and most important social networking moments of 2007."

If you have a favorite post from Internet Hunger, post it here in the comments! And if you have been reading the blog since the beginning I would love to hear your feedback in the comments as well.

It's been a long year.

When link trading is like telemarketing.

2008-06-17T08:28:00.002-06:00

The phone rings and, whether you are expecting a call or not, you quickly answer it. A voice on the other end of the line begins to chat about how you can lower your credit card payments, or make a $20,000 in a month, or buy nuclear weapons at your local supermarket.

If you are like most people, you hang up almost instantly.

Solicited phone calls like this are not only annoying, the success rate of such calls is minuscule. Does that stop companies from investing in making solicited calls? Obviously not.

Now imagine that you are checking your email.

You open your inbox to find that you have several new emails, most of which are from your friends, family, or coworkers; however, one email is from someone you don't know and titled "Your website looks great!"

You open the email and begin to read - what appears to be - a third grade book report on how linking to a website can benefit your website's rankings in search engines. Without thinking twice, you close the email and file it away as spam.

When it comes down to it, regular link trading (requesting a link exchange between two or more websites) is a lot like telemarketing. The person receiving the contact will - in most cases - completely ignore it.

That is, of course, unless you change your link trading strategy.

Don't be the telemarketer of the internet, get to know people, really appreciate those that you request link exchanges with, and above all: don't be annoying.

"The top five ways to grab attention and make a good first impression with your homepage."

2008-05-09T11:15:00.000-06:00

This is a repost from 7/23/07.

The average online user spends anywhere from five seconds to 15 seconds to get an impression about a homepage that is new to them. Most of the time a user will determine that a website is useless to them by the content on the single page, and leave - never to return.

I don't want that to happen to your website, I want your website to be successful. Besides, losing any visitors is losing something valuable. So here is a quick list of the top five ways to grab attention and make a good first impression with your homepage.

Following these simple guidelines will not only ensure visitors to your homepage stay longer than 15 seconds, these methods will also create a lasting, good impression with your visitors.

Keep the focus on a single goal. Whatever the goal of your website is, that is what the focus of your homepage should be on. No matter what type of content you want on your homepage, if it isn't related - somehow - to your goal, it's pointless. Your viewers are going to be - most likely - skimming through the content of your homepage, having different messages and content can be confusing and easily convince a viewer that the website is "not beneficial" to them.

Don't lie. Don't write what you think people will want to read. Write what you have to say and leave it at that. There are only a few, select readers who will see past the baloney on your hompage - everyone else will click away with a feeling of being scammed, or worse.

Simplify. If you were forced to browse the web in 15 second intervals, you wouldn't want to come across a page that is flooded with images and a lot of text. Stating simple messages with limited images will attract your visitors, and if the small amount of content you have is good, your visitors will be attracted to the page and want to read more.

Make your visitors feel important. The easiest, and most beneficial, way to attract visitors attention is to make them feel important. Let it be known that you want to provide them with something valuable, and how it can benefit them. Be blatant about this, but - as stated previously - don't lie.

Get over yourself. Even if your website offers something completely incredible, new, and exciting, nobody will be interested if you come across as the "jackass" of all website. Your homepage should avoid stating how great you are - unless, of course, that is what the website is all about. Keeping everything about how great your website is on the About page will not deter from the goal of your website, and will help in simplifying your homepage.

You want your homepage to make attract your visitors and make great impression within the first 15 seconds. By focusing on one, single goal, not lying, maintaining a simple presence, making your visitors feel important, and not focusing on how great your website is, you can sleep comfortably, knowing that your visitors will go from your website with a great idea of what you can offer them.

Google updates PR (April 30, 2008)

2008-04-30T09:25:00.001-06:00

Today Google updated their PageRankings through-out the internet. So check your pagerank and see how Google thinks you're doing.

"Until Internet Hunger comes back full force..."

2008-04-03T16:08:00.003-06:00

No, Internet Hunger is not dead. No, I am not dead. No, the blog isn't going away. I have been extremely busy with my other blog: Creative Something. If you want more internet goodness, I suggest reading the following blogs until Internet Hunger comes back full force:

Try this.

2008-03-25T10:37:00.002-06:00

Instead of asking yourself: "How can I get links to my website?", ask: "How can I get people to want to link to my website?"

"My new best friend: Google webmaster tools"

2008-03-20T14:41:00.003-06:00

The problem with having a day job that is separate from your freelance job is that I miss out on a lot of things. One thing I have been virtually running away from over the past year has now become a valuable resource for me, and it's a resource I strongly recommend any webmaster use.

Of course I'm talking about my new best friend: Google webmaster tools.

For those webmasters/bloggers who aren't aware: Google provides some interesting tools - directly from their website - that allow webmasters access to information such as: what the Google bot sees when it crawls your website for Google, how many links are coming into your website (and where they direct to), and a few other little treats.

I'll admit it: I've been an idiot or the past year, all because I felt like I didn't need to use the webmaster tools Google provides. I was so very wrong.

The reason it's valuable to you as a webmaster or blogger to use the tools Google provides for you is because Google reports EXACTLY what Google knows about your website. If there is a problem with a page on your site or blog and Google can't put that page in the search results, you're missing out on traffic and potential revenue/sales/subscribers; but with the webmaster tools, you can actually see if any page on your website is broken.

With the webmaster tools you can get a report card (sort of) from Google about your website on a daily basis. It's incredible! And did I mention that Google provides the tools to all webmasters for free? It takes one minute to sign up and verify your website (either by uploading a file to your server, or typing in a META tag).

Don't be an idiot like I have been over the past year, sign up to use Google's webmaster tools. Trust me: you will realize how important it is to do this within five minutes of signing up.

"How should a webmaster interpret Google Page Rank, and why?"

2008-03-04T05:54:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago I wrote about how webmasters who focus on Google's Page Rank are idiots, but what, exactly, is Page Rank? Better yet: how should a webmaster interpret Google Page Rank, and why?

The birth of Google's Page Rank.

In order to fully understand Page Rank, you need to first understand where it came from. Even if you already know, it's always a good idea to remind yourself. So...

Long ago, when search engines first became a big part of the online world, the search engine companies (like Google) realized that they needed a powerful, mathematical, and reliable way to determine how important websites are, and - as a result - which websites should appear in the search engine result pages when someone searches for a keyword.

The search engines quickly came up with networking link analysis, or: the more links a website has, the more important it must be.

And it made sense (at the time).

If a lot of websites are pointing to a specific website, that specific website must be pretty important, right? And if all of the websites linking to the specific website are linking with the keyword "bananas", then it's safe to assume that the specific website is a great "banana"-related website. Therefore, if someone goes to a search engine and types in "bananas" they would expect to see the great banana-related website that is getting a lot of attention from other websites.

Google (being the brilliant company they are/were) took link analysis a step further and spitted out a variation of Page Rank. Google realized that linking web pages (not just websites) was extremely important, but the actual links weren't the only important aspects for search engines to consider... there were other attributes that search engines should consider (such as the anchor text, how many links are pointing to the website that is linking out, how many links does the page have, etc.).

Google quietly assembled it's own unique algorithm to determine the importance and authority of a website on the internet. And because Google has been the leading search engine for several years, webmasters know that what Google says is important. Even if it doesn't make sense - and even if it's just plain stupid.

What does it all mean?

Now that you know where Google's Page Rank came from and what it is, we can accurately determine how to interpret it, right?

Wrong.

The truth of the matter is this: the way Google (and all of the other major search engines available online today) determines the value of a website is top secret information. If they gave away their big secret ranking algorithm they wouldn't be the number one search engine anymore. It's business. Google and Yahoo and MSN and Ask all have families to feed, so they won't be giving up their information anytime soon.

That doesn't mean, however, that you and I can't look at real life situations and make educated guesses as to what search engines are thinking of our websites. That's right: Google Page Rank DOES tell us something that we CAN interpret.

Google Page Rank can tell you exactly how important your website is... in it's niche.

If you don't know your Page Rank score, head over to PRChecker.info and find out.

A website's Page Rank is not compared to every website in existence. In-fact: Google Page Rank doesn't rank you against other websites at all. All Google Page Rank does is show the quantity and quality of links pointing to your website. Which means: if you have a PR of 0 (zero), then you either only have a few links pointing to your website, or none at all. If you have a PR of 1-3, you have a quite a few links (and maybe even some "big" and "popular" websites pointing to you. A PR of 4-5 means you have a lot of links, and most likely a few authority websites linking to you. And a PR of 6 or higher means your website is pretty popular and has thousands of links (or a lot of quality links).

Make sense? Good. Here's where you realize that it's all for not...

It's really not that important.

It's not a contest. Having a Page Rank that is higher than another website simply means that you have more links, it doesn't mean your website is better; and Google knows this.

Working to get a high Page Rank is great because it means you are trying to advertise/market your website and get people to link to you, but simply focusing all of your efforts on Page Rank is a complete waste of time. Your website will not see more traffic, you will not make more money, and children in Africa will still go hungry at night.

Google Page Rank (drum roll please)... is not really important at all.

So why, then, do webmasters often talk a lot about Page Rank? And why does Google still use it today?

Simply because it's still useful to the search engines. It's still a measuring tool for each specific (though individual) website.

Don't get carried away, Google Page Rank is great and all... but it's nothing more than a way to rank your own website's popularity.

This incredibly long and educational article was brought to you by Monster Energy Drinks. Keeping you energized, and keeping me up at crazy hours of the night.

Did you like this article? Do you think it was boring? Either way: subscribe to Internet Hunger and I'll keep sending crazy good dishes of internet yumminess straight to you!

Introducing Matt Cutt's alternate identity, Garry Conn.

2008-02-27T14:52:00.002-07:00

I could hardly believe it when I saw it, but it looks like Matt Cutts has an alternate identity. Say hello to Garry Conn, or - as some like to call him - Matt Cutts, that Google guy.

Don't believe me? Head over to "Garry"'s website and take a look for yourself: GarryConn.com. A striking resemblance.

Nice try Matt, but we're on to you.

The single best line of advice for webmasters and bloggers is...

2008-02-25T12:01:00.000-07:00

Quit thinking about traffic and how popular your site is, and start focusing on the content your website is missing.

The traffic your website or blog receives is only as good as the content you provide. So quit worrying about traffic and such, and start worrying about the quality of content you are putting online.

"Attributes that make up remarkable blog posts."

2008-02-15T09:27:00.001-07:00

Karen E. Klein of BusinessWeek was right on the money when she said: "There's no doubt about it, blogs are hot. With their interactivity and their ability to position even micro-business owners as niche experts, blogs are the "it" marketing trend (source: businessweek)."

But blogging is hard, especially trying to blog really great content. That is, of course, unless you know what makes up a perfect blog post.

Who am I kidding? Nobody knows what makes the perfect blog post, but - as an expert - I do have an idea of attributes that make up remarkable blog posts. And today I'm going to share some of those attributes with you.

These are only recommendations for your blog, but if you follow them in each post you make, you are guaranteed to become a bit more popular, and have your blog be viewed as a bit more professional. So what are you waiting for? Start blogging with these traits:

Don't refer to companies or organizations... write about specific people. It doesn't matter what it takes: find out who did what and talk about them. Instead of writing about Apple releasing the iPhone, write about Steve Jobs announcing it. People like to connect, but they can't connect with organizations.

Avoid negativity... and instead write positive remarks. Readers love to be informed, and if they can go away from your blog feeling like they learned something good and powerful, they will come back for more. But if your readers are reading your criticism of everything about anything, they will quickly be turned away by your negative aura. It's like my Mother use to say: "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."

Speak your thoughts... nobody likes to read the same thing over and over again. That's why people love bloggers who have strong opinions and insights, which makes this point a "no brainer" for most. Don't be shy, your opinion matters to somebody; and if you share your opinion on enough interesting topics, your opinion will suddenly matter to a lot of people.

Don't blog when you are angry... even when you think you have something big to say. I know: this point contradicts with my previous point... but not really. You should post your opinions often, but anger is typically an irrational emotion and can lead to a lot of bad feelings on your blog. Instead: write down what you feel, then wait a day or two and see if you still feel that way; if you do: go ahead and blog about it. But, as I previously stated, try avoiding negativity at all costs.

Make your article easy to scan... because time is important for everybody. If your readers can come to your blog and quickly scan through your content to get a basic idea of what points you are trying to get across, they will be more likely to visit again and again and again. The easier your points are to get across: the more often people will read what you have to say.

Get to the point... and don't ramble on and on. Nobody cares THAT MUCH about what you have to say, but they do care a lot about news, research, and entertaining things.

Sure, nobody can make a "perfect" blog post, but we can all sure try; simply by trying to apply these attributes to each of your blog posts.

I'm heading out of town for the next few days, so there won't be any posts for a while, but when I get back I will be focusing on understanding a website's page rank (not just Google Page Rank, but REAL page rank).

"Page Rank will make you feel good, but higher conversions will make you rich."

2008-02-11T13:07:00.000-07:00

When I first started working with the search engine optimization industry I was drawn to Google's page rank system. Google is - and most likely will continue to be - the largest search engine of our time, so when they say "we have created a system to rank webpages" you better pay attention.

If the leading search engine tells you that they have a way to monitor and rank your website, you would pay attention to what they have to say. And most web masters do. But some webmasters take the guidance from search engines like Google a bit too far.

Page Rank and linking = nasty taste in your mouth.

The problem with webmaster and search engine relationships arises when webmasters think that getting a high Page Rank from Google is essential to their website's success.

Surprise surprise, having a high Google Page Rank does not mean more traffic, more site conversions, and more popularity online. All a high Page Rank means is that Google thinks your website is fairly important.

And yeah, if Google thinks your website is important, that's great. And if you are building quality link partnerships with websites that Google thinks are important, that's great too.

But focusing on Google Page Rank will not - in any way, shape, or form - bring you more traffic. Focusing on getting a high Google Page Rank will not make you more sales, or higher click-through rates, or more subscribers. It won't.

So when webmasters focus on linking only with websites with high Page Rank, they are missing the point of Page Rank. In-fact: when webmasters focus on Page Rank at all, they are missing the point of Page Rank... which is authority and reputation.

I'm not that big of a deal, really.

If it's any consolation to those who believe Page Rank is almighty: ask your favorite bloggers how many subscribers they have, then look at the correlation to their blog's Page Rank. I am willing to bet that Page Rank has almost nothing to do with the amount of subscribers a blog gets. The content the blogger provides, as well as the networking they do on their own time, however, will greatly impact the number of subscribers that blog gets.

And what about online businesses? The Page Rank of a commerce site will NOT increase the amount of sales they receive. But selling a great product, on a great looking website, and focusing on gaining traffic (rather than high-quality links) will deliver more sales to that business. Guaranteed.

This blog, Internet Hunger, has a current Google Page Rank of 4 (higher than that of similar websites in the genre, and blogs that have been around much longer than Internet Hunger). And yet my traffic is less than that of other sites I run that have a Page Rank of 2 or less.

The rank doesn't matter, the marketing does.

Sure, linking with high Page Ranking websites is good for your relationship with Google, as a SEO I will never deny that fact. But there is bigger and better rewards to be sought by linking for traffic, and not for Page Rank.

So the next time you get an email request for a link on your website, look into the traffic rates and not so much the Page Rank.

Page Rank will make you feel good, but higher conversions will make you rich (and popular, and an authority, and powerful).