If you’re unfamiliar with the the concept of PageRank . . . then go here for a detailed explanation. To woefully oversimplify, PageRank is the method with which Google determines which sites are returned in what order when search for something. Currently PageRank is a complex combination of your site content (optimized & fresh) + inbound links + metadata. All of this information allows your site to bubble to the top of search results; if you’ve hired the right SEO biped and are vigilant about improving your PageRank. What has been happening for some time now, is the fact that businesses have been participating in other venues outside of their site and I’ve covered the impact of what I call the corporate social graph will have on search results. I’d like to talk about what should be included in PageRank including the equation I listed above and the list I’ve created already for the corporate social graph post.
- Facebook Like – This is the same concept of inbound site links, only more specific. When people aren’t on Facebook, people Like posts and articles; not sites.(Google does count links shared on Facebook and Twitter.)
- Twitter traffic – Tweets and their users need to be weighed. Tweets for the content and the users which can be found on sites like WeFollow or Klout (I’m an Explorer according to Klout!) based on their influence and popularity. Also, tweets that have a location associated with them need to be weighed as well. (Whether these tweets came from Foursquare or other services needs to be determined.)
- Check-ins on Foursquare, Facebook places, Gowalla, Whrrl, etc – All of this information is publicly available and indicative of what I would call “venue demand’. If someone searches on Sushi Denver, PageRank should take into account how many have checked in at sushi restaurants and weighted any sentiment left behind.
- Reviews – Include & weigh the content embedded in Yelp, Citysearch, Urbanspoon, etc.
It’s important to remember that I’m not an SEO expert but understand enough to be dangerous. From my list you can see that businesses that have a brick and mortar presence have an advantage. Google is always tweaking it’s algorithm and I’m curious to see what Facebook comes up with when the release their new and improved search. We will see . . .
