3 Simple Ways to Increase Page Rank

‘Twitter’ may be the most used word of 2009, but search-engine optimization or SEO can’t be far behind.  Savvy professionals are taking note of the importance of their page rank.  People go to the Internet to find information.  Naturally, pages that rank high in search engines are the ones that are most likely to be clicked on.  SEO techniques to increase page rank can be complex.  The unseen factors of a web site from CSS codes to hosting accounts can impact page rank.  However, the content on the page can also make an impact.  Here are three simple ways to increase page rank:

1. Relevant keywords: Think of how you use the Internet to search for information.  You go to your search engine of choice (e.g., Google, Yahoo, Bing) and type in words related to the information you want to find.  As a professional who wants to increase page rank, you have to make it easy for people to find you. This means using terminology associated with the products, services, or information that your site offers.  One great tool is the Google Keyword Tool.  Type in a term or even your web site and the tool will give you a report of what terms people search and how often they search that specific term.

2. Cross-link related pages: Within your web site content you might reference people, places, things, and ideas that offer opportunities for a cross-link. A cross-link is when you add a link to another web site’s page.  For instance, in the ‘relevant keywords’ point above, I linked to the Google Keyword Tool page. This serves a couple of purposes: First, it helps readers quickly refer to points of interest and second, this page is now tied to the Google Keyword Tool.  Why cross-link? A cross-link can give your page credibility in search engines.  When someone searches for information located on the page that you linked to—whether it be a term or the actual product or business name—your page has a chance of coming up sooner in the search engines. SEO Marketing World has a great article with more information on how to use cross-links properly.

3. Change permalink settings: ‘Permalink’ is short for permanent link.  It is the unique URL or web site address for any given page.  It is most often used with blogs or posts to help archive each post as its own page.  For instance, my entire web site is set-up through WordPress. On the settings page, there is an option to change the permalink setting.  The default setting assigns a number to each blog.  However, I wanted each page’s address to include the title of each blog post. (Diazepam)   This helps because the name of a page will increase the chances that someone will find the page when they search for a term associated with that page.  For example, this post is titled ‘3 simple ways to increase page rank.’  If someone searches for ‘increase page rank,’ they have a higher chance of finding my page because not only do I include that keyword term a few times in this post, but also because it is in the page URL.

For optimum SEO it’s probably wise to consult a few professionals including a web site designer, a copywriter, and an Internet marketer.  The combination of an ideally coded and hosted web site, SEO-friendly text, and strategic Internet marketing tactics  (think: pay-per-click campaigns), can dramatically increase your page rank and increase your potential customers.

Miss Ink specializes in writing SEO-friendly content. We also have a network of Internet marketing teams and web site designers to help your SEO dreams come true.  Email us for more information at info@miss-ink.com