One important ranking tools available for your website is the Google PageRank system.  On a scale of 0 to 10 – the higher the number, the better your PageRank:
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• www.google.com – PageRank 10
• www.microsoft.com – PageRank 9
• www.twitter.com – PageRank 9
• www.facebook.com – PageRank 10
• www.ibm.com – PageRank 8
• www.brandscaping.ca – PageRank 0

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So what does this actually mean?  It’s a measure of how relevant your website is to the rest of the internet.

Just like the real world – if you have a bunch of influential friends that are connected to you, you are probably perceived as being more influential yourself.  PageRank works in a similar way.  The more high ranking sites that link back to you, the higher your PageRank.  A website with a few PR5 sites linking back to it is going to have a higher PR than a site with 100 PR1 sites linking back.

Does a Higher PageRank Mean Better Search Results?

Short answer – no.  This doesn’t mean that your PageRank isn’t important, it just means that quality content is more valuable in the eyes of the search engines.  Provide your audience with interesting information that they are looking for, and you will find your SERP (search engine results placement) increasing.  People don’t look for websites based on their PageRank – they search for the terms they are interested in.

So go and build your website with quality content that will engage your audience.  But if an opportunity comes up to link back to your influential friends – make sure you capitalize on it!