Are LINKS and PR really THAT important ??

Discussion in 'Search Engine Optimization' started by spiritus, Jan 4, 2008.

  1. #1
    I've created my first ever website yippeeee ! <cue sarcastic applause>

    Design wise it's crap but I've worked hard on the content side and have approx 47 pages of original content.

    The website only went live middle of October but we're already hitting first pages of Google on multiple keywords and other phrases we weren't targetting.

    Our PR is 0 and the number of backlinks are probably less than 10 so was wondering if links and PR are really that important ??

    I understand the PR is simply a rank of your site based on work you've already done (with the rank being scored on backlinks if I'm right ? ). So a PR ranking doesn't necessarily bring you anymore traffic-is that correct ?

    Regarding backlinks, I'm aware that having backlinks is better than not having them but so many directories seem to be a waste of space.

    SEO experts talk about relevant links being important but in order to get the number of backlinks required to impact a page's PR then it would mean having to submit to a large number of directories that can't provide relevant links.

    I've tried reciprocal links but if yuou have too many then it seems to dilute it's purpose.
     
    spiritus, Jan 4, 2008 IP
  2. maroon_cool

    maroon_cool Active Member

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    #2
    Well..if your niche is not too competitive than you don't need too much backlinks.Actually PR reflect the total nr of the backlinks,,,and has noting to do with traffic,,,
     
    maroon_cool, Jan 4, 2008 IP
  3. budhanes

    budhanes Peon

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    #3
    You can rank well with low PR and links. I do it now with one of my sites. I have been told many times that some of my ideas are wrong, but I'd atribute ranking well to these items...

    1)Age of domain.
    2)On-Page SEO
    3)Having a Privacy Policy
    4)ICRA labeling.

    I am starting to beleive that search engine "trust" is what ranks you well, more so on Yahoo.
     
    budhanes, Jan 5, 2008 IP
  4. manofwar

    manofwar Active Member

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    #4
    1)Age of domain.
    *Correct
    2)On-Page SEO
    *Correct
    3)Having a Privacy Policy
    *False
    4)ICRA labeling.
    *False (to a degree)

    PR doesn't matter a lot for ranking anymore. I've had PR2 sites outrank PR5 sites on highly competitive keywords. I've even outranked .govs for strong phrases. However, links are important, just remember the quality and steady growth of links is one of the most important factors that play into your ranking.
     
    manofwar, Jan 5, 2008 IP
  5. NirMorgo

    NirMorgo Peon

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    #5
    PR (the toolbar one) is not that important anymore, I'm starting to think that
    Google use it just to toy around with webmasters and make them go crazy

    and about links, they are extremely important, and you should keep in mind
    that you link building should be done gradually. and don't think about links as
    a way to get higher PR, think about it as way to bring traffic to your site,
    and I'm talking about relevant traffic, that's why the relevancy is an important
    factor in link building.

    If your niche market is competitive, and you have many quality links to your site,
    those links will not only bring traffic to your site, but will also get you a higher
    SERP rank. search engines treat each quality back links, as a vote for your
    site. so if you have many votes from your niche, your trust rank will grow
    and trust rank is an important factor in determining your site position on
    the search results

    is that answers your question? :)
     
    NirMorgo, Jan 5, 2008 IP
  6. Red_Virus

    Red_Virus Well-Known Member

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    #6
    Really depends on the niche, If the niche is very competitive then u will be sandboxed, But u will have to continue gathering links.
     
    Red_Virus, Jan 5, 2008 IP
  7. Jim4767

    Jim4767 Prominent Member

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    #7
    Links are the heart of the internet. No links = no internet, but just millions of "orphaned" websites.
     
    Jim4767, Jan 5, 2008 IP
  8. w3bmaster

    w3bmaster Notable Member

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    #8
    PR isn't important as it's just a number doesn't mean traffic or higher rankings

    But links are very important so concentrate on building constant one way backlinks
     
    w3bmaster, Jan 5, 2008 IP
  9. Philopoemen

    Philopoemen Peon

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    #9
    Concentrate on building backlinks. PR will come with them, it's just a side-effect.
    Backlinks are EXTREMELY important, especially if you have competition for your site.
     
    Philopoemen, Jan 5, 2008 IP
  10. Vic_mackey

    Vic_mackey Banned

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    #10
    In my opinion, backlinks are a good 80% of seo. You should forget pr, if you have the toolbar installed, uninstall it and forget pr ever existed.
     
    Vic_mackey, Jan 5, 2008 IP
  11. biophase

    biophase Peon

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    #11
    You are hitting #1 on keywords you weren't targeting. That's pretty easy when you aren't targeting certain keywords. I can write an article and be on the first page for a bunch of combos of keywords in that article. The important thing is ranking on keywords that you want. For that you will need backlinks.
     
    biophase, Jan 5, 2008 IP