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Struggling with google page ranking

  1. santafepanama
    Member

    Hi fellow bloggers,

    Like most of you, I would like to have a higher google page rank for certain search engine terms. My website: santafepanama.info is about my hostel in Santa Fe, Panama, over a year old. Santa Fé is not a well known tourist destination, so most people looking for information will use the terms ´santa fe panama´. Since that is the name of my website, which I have included in the tagline, optimized with google webmaster, pinggoat, and as a regularly returning tag in pages and posts, I would expect to be at least included in the top 20 pages in google. However, I am not even in the top 50!

    What can I do about it?

    Thanks for any useful suggestions!

    The blog I need help with is santafepanama.info.

  2. timethief
    Member

    If you set up a blog that looks like a website and offers nothing other than a landing page that's an advertisement then your blog will continue to struggle.

    A blog is not a one way noticeboard. A blog is set up for discussion. Unless or until you actually begin to publish fresh content ie. relevant articles regularly your site will not attract interest from other bloggers and will not attract backlinks. And unless or until other bloggers choose to backlink to your posts your blog cannot achieve a pagerank.

    Create content - lots of relevant content that's specifically aimed at initiating discussion. Create and publish link bait posts.

  3. santafepanama
    Member

    I wonder if you actually checked my website. It is loaded with info and articles.

  4. timethief
    Member

    Yes I did visit your blog.

  5. whisperinggums
    Member

    I think what timethief is saying is that a blog is about "discussion" not about "providing information". Your home page does not read like a blog, but like a website (which is what you call it in your first line). If you don't have discussion going, people coming back to talk, people linking to you etc, your page rank won't improve. Seems to me that what you really want is a traditional website.

  6. raincoaster
    Member

    I have checked the website. It does not have enough posts.

    You can have all the static pages you want, but it won't matter. Search engines are interested in POSTS, not Pages. Additionally, to gain standing in search engines, you need links to your blog. If you don't link to other blogs and websites, you will never get incoming links.

    I know I sound like a broken record, but there are THOUSANDS of tips in the forum about these issues. Read them. Things haven't changed.

  7. santafepanama
    Member

    In other words, more posts and attach the tags ´santa fe´ and ´panama´ to every single post.

    However, some of these top 20 results in google for ´santa fe panama´ are websites/blogs that only have a single post about this subject. Strange.

  8. raincoaster
    Member

    You can either follow our advice and succeed or not.

  9. santafepanama
    Member

    There seems to be more to google than meets the eye. If you search on yahoo ´santa fe panama´ my page ranks second. Google: 66.

    I followed your advice on more posts, but somehow I don´t think it is going to work.

  10. timethief
    Member

    I'm struggling to determine what part of this don't you understand? Posts and Pages are completely different. Please read the characteristics they have here and the impact on SEO of setting up a page structured blog.
    http://onecoolsitebloggingtips.com/2010/05/12/better-blogging-at-wordpress-com-pages-and-posts/

    These are the positive factors that Google’s algorithm takes into consideration. These are the negative factors that Google’s algorithm takes into consideration. There are Google Optimization – Key Factors. Read what they are here > http://onecoolsitebloggingtips.com/2008/03/17/improving-your-google-page-rank/

    Also note that achieving pagerank takes time and backlinks from other bloggers to your posts are of key importance.

  11. santafepanama
    Member

    " I'm struggling to determine what part of this don't you understand?"

    The simple fact dat my ranking in Yahoo search is 2nd and in Google 66th

    Doesn´t that in the least surprise you?

  12. timethief
    Member

    No not at all. Yahoo is eons behind Google and rarely if ever clears their caches.Bing ranking are far more influential than Yahoo ranking are. I don't fixate on SEO positioning in the SERps as mine are free hosted blogs and I'm not attempting to secure an income from them. If I were I would not be here on free hosted blogging.

  13. raincoaster
    Member

    It doesn't surprise me at all. Google is far more responsive, dynamic, and in general accurate. Yahoo, I believe, doesn't even make their own search engine anymore: they bought the software from some other company (they even used Google for awhile!).

  14. timethief
    Member

    @santafepanama
    I visted your blog gain and nothing has changed so I am asking you to click this link and read the advice I gave you. My advice is SOLID. Unless or until you start creating fresh content on blog posts, not on pages, your blog will not achieve a pagearank. Also note that positioning in search results and pagerank are not the same thing. http://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/struggling-with-google-page-ranking?replies=13#post-573922

  15. timethief
    Member

    I hope this makes what I am saying more understandable. Blogs are designed so that dynamic content is found on the front page. If you choose to redesign the conventional structure of your blog so it becomes page based then you have to accept what comes with that territory. Pages and posts are different -- very different. You cannot assign Categories or Tags to pages -- period.

    Static Pages sit outside the blog structure. Static pages cannot have Categories and Tags assigned to them. Pages do not appear in our RSS feeds. Most Pages do not have date stamps in their URLs. They have very little “google juice” Other bloggers rarely if ever backlink to static Pages in their published posts. Consequently, Page structured blogs have a very difficult time:
    1. securing traffic;
    2. securing comments;
    3. securing backlinks;
    4. achieving authority in their niche;
    5. achieving Google PageRank.
    Read more here > http://onecoolsitebloggingtips.com/2010/05/12/better-blogging-at-wordpress-com-pages-and-posts/

    Pages and sub-pages can be used very effectively for several purposes on a blog but choosing to create a static front page, rather than having posts displaying on your front page is a traffic quenching choice, that has a negative impact on discover-ability, as well as holding reader attention. Read more here > http://onecoolsitebloggingtips.com/2009/12/29/static-front-blog-page-yay-or-nay/

  16. teamoyeniyi
    Member

    If it is any consolation to anyone at all, I just found out what this dreaded Google PageRank actually IS. So I'd never had the Google Toolbar - I DO NOT like toolbars, OK? Yes, I clicked on every link offered and many talked about it, just did not actually define it!

    Now that I have given you all your Easter Sunday laugh at my expense, I'll shrink back into the corner and ponder whether it is worse to have a PageRank of 0/10 or "Google has not ranked this page" - hehehehe - I think the 0/10 is better - Google knows you exist, at least!

  17. timethief
    Member

    @teamoyeniyi
    Maybe the first 6 months or so (roughly) your blog is usually in the Google sandbox. Among one of the most important things a blogger with a new blog can do is to develop a blog strategy. Whether or not the Google sandbox is real has been debated over and over. Google has not clearly stated if the “sandbox” is a reality or just a myth but the SEOs I know do believe it exists.
    http://onecoolsitebloggingtips.com/2009/05/26/blog-strategy-google-sandbox-or-trustbox/

    There are many factors that go into Page Rank calculations. The most persuasive factor is backlinks to your posts, especially those from high authority blogs. These are some of the main the positive factors that Google’s algorithm takes into consideration when determining PageRank:
    1. Keyword use in title tag
    2. Global link popularity of the site (how many backlinks from other sites and how many are from high authority sites)
    3. Anchor text of incoming links
    4. Link popularity within the site

    How is PageRank Calculated?
    The full PageRank algorithm was created by Larry Page at Stanford and is as follows:
    PR = 0.15 + 0.85 ( PR(Backlink 1)/TotalLinks(Backlink 1) + PR(Backlink

    April 2011
    2)/TotalLinks(Backlink 2) + … + PR(Backlink X)/TotalLinks(Backlink X) ) SEO Consult Report Google Page Rank Update For April 3rd, 2010
    http://www.seoconsult.co.uk/SEOBlog/google-pr-update/seo-consult-report-google-page-rank-update-for-april-3rd-2010.html

  18. timethief
    Member

    @teamoyeniyi
    What every blog needs to achieve a Google page rank is backlinks. My last comment is not visible. It must be in the spam filter. :( Please go to my personal blog. There you will find that in my latest post I have backlinked to your latest post.

  19. teamoyeniyi
    Member

    Thank you for the expanded explanation TT.

    I feel I've accidently put you to all that work, I hope others find it useful. You see, I think I led you astray with the word "definition". I searched and read, even found the formula: my problem was I didn't know where to actually find this mythical PageRank. I've now discovered, of course, one must actually have the Google toolbar installed because that is where you see this mythical thing! There may be other places to see it, I don't know!

    Everyone was talking about this PageRank, I could find out what it was, how it was calculated - everything EXCEPT where to actually SEE it! I even hunted in the Google Webmaster tools to no avail (why isn't it there, actually?).

    Was this a secret society I was not a member of, I wondered?

    That is why I was laughing and thought you old hats would find it amusing that I had being trying to find this magical display!

  20. timethief
    Member

    @teamoyeniyi
    You do not have to have a Google toolbar. You can use one of the many page rank checkers available online. http://tinyurl.com/3n6462u

    Google has removed the page rank that used to be stated in our webmasters accounts and has downplayed the value of pagerank. This is because people have become obsessive about it and even hire others to attempt to game search engine results. Last year there were over 500 changes made to how Google operates.

    My advice is to forget about pagerank for 6 months and focus on creating content, creating relationships, and hopefully getting backlinks to your blog's front page and/or to individual posts in your blog from other bloggers in posts they publish on the same subject.

  21. teamoyeniyi
    Member

    @ TT - I don't EVER expect to have a PageRank - my topic is WAY too controversial, in Australia at least. I am considered a pariah in some circles because of whom I DARED to marry! Many others are very supportive, I have to say, but I don't expect to be popular! I gather I'm not supposed to demand my Civil Rights be upheld either, according to some people! Interesting, it is.

    I was just so curious about this "thing" everyone was mentioning that I couldn't see any more. I'm going to check your URL above out of curiosity!

    Thanks for your patience!

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