Is it possible to improve your Google PageRank by ignoring it completely? Are you killing your own PR by spending all that time trying to improve it? These may sound like stupid questions to ask, but if you find yourself obsessing over PageRank and are still dissapointed by each round of toolbar updates, it’s worth asking why.
I pose these questions to address a basic problem I see Webmasters falling victim to all the time. PageRank Tunnel Vision. A lot of us think we’re free from the shackles of PRTV, but it’s easy to get caught up in PageRank fever. Google PageRank has become a virtual status symbol within certain online groups. It may not accurately represent the value or quality of a Web site, but it can’t be argued that a site reaching PR 8 naturally isn’t impressive either. We could argue that PageRank has no value since it is a superficial ranking system, but when I see people spending real dollars on PR I call that value – perceived or otherwise.
How much time do you spend on PageRank in SEO optimization strategies? Do you gripe about PageRank, or do you care about PageRank? Do you ignore it completely, or build it into your strategy?
Have you ever wondered what might happen if you added up all of the hours you spend thinking about PageRank, and spent that many hours on link development instead?
