While I know that this is not a very widely accepted opinion of the current PageRank over position debate, I wanted to give my 2 cents!

Page Rank, or the little green bar on the Google toolbar which gives your site a ranking from N/A – 10 has been around for a good long time now.

Originally it was clear and apparent that Google PageRank was a direct correlation to how Google viewed your site, your positioning, and overall just how well your site was performing.

Then, after (roughly) a year long period of algo changes, google decided it was time to lay the final blow on spam sites, porn, pharmacy, and link farming.

Here is what I believe was the outcome of those changes, and where I expect to see PageRank end up in the future.

    Google has stopped allowing us as SEO’s to use page rank as a determining factor on sites position, and while having a 7PR is still a notable accomplishment, it is not the end-all be-all for SEO any longer.

It is clear that there is a wedge driven between your sites PageRank and the position that you achieve in the SERPs for instance, Post Florida update, after all the pharmacy and junk got purged from google, you can see that even sites with a overall low (2,3,4)PageRank were crawling to the top. Essentially, the linking structures which were causing the bloating of PageRank began to fall away, leaving sites that were more about the content richness and quality of information… exactly what google wanted. Now , Years later , there are still debates as to how important PageRank is to your website. I am going completely against the grain , and stating that PageRank has become a way of determining link popularity… but not in any way directly correlating to your SERP placements. I know I KNOW all the Search Marketing pros out there are most likely going to behead me for this… but you can get great rankings by just coding cleanly, and creating regular, unique and compelling content before you ever place a single reciprocal link. That being said, there is nothing wrong with same “niche” reciprocal linking … SEOs can link anywhere within the “house” of web development and gain PR, however it wont always determine your Authority or relevance in your industry. For those of you who want to argue this point out… and show me how many large PR sites they have WITH position … ask yourself, if you just stuck to subject, knew your Sh** and never got a single reciprocal or 3way link to your site … would it really change your positions?

GmC – Seo Guy

Hello again everyone, I wanted to take the time out to post a little something about my personal passions, and how I am beginning to represent them on the web:

PoweredGreen.Org - Powered Green is a Fringe Technology Green Energy Forum, The idea being that if everyone pitches in , comes up with easily implementable ideas for Green power, and helps to fund it for their Country, State, City or even “Zone” we can all make a serious impact on the environment. While this site is under construction, feel free to drop by and register for an account. I am looking for Cooperative individuals to help me develop this idea!

Mysaltwaterreef.com – This site is going to be devoted to my love for saltwater reef keeping, and how I feel it is the duty of all reef keepers to give back to the ocean. Frags will one day be the only way we will be able to replenish our oceans after all! Just purchased the domain , so give me some time to get her rolling!

Also Don’t forget my Sales Sites!

Codesource SEO and Endurance Hosting!

Both of these sites have been live almost as long as my career!

Over the past week, we have been preparing our first set of email marketing campaigns. Charlie, our lifecycle expert and I have been hashing out the do’s and don’ts of email campaigning, and I feel that everyone should be involved in the conversation.

1. The Difference Between a newsletter , an e-Zine and a Specifically geared email marketing campaign:
   1. Newsletters – Newsletter campaigning is a crucial part of your communications with your customers, but what is the best way to give them the vital information you need to display, without making them feel like they are getting bombarded with advertising. I personally feel strongly that education of your customer and marketing of your products and services should be kept relatively separate, and here is why. When someone signs up for your newsletter, they are not asking to be spammed, or marketed, they are asking for news and information. They expect to see some advertising, however for the most part they are only casually interested in what you have to say. If you bomb their email with spam letters, after they have filled out a newsletter signup, they will leave. Now this does not mean that you can’t add a banner to your newsletter, just that it should never look like your trying too hard to make money off your newsletter!
   2. E-Zine – E-Zine or online magazines are web pages on some sub domain of your website, they are simply not email marketing. However you can add the high points of your e-Zine to your newsletter and even point the bulk of your email traffic to that location.
   3. Email Marketing – Simply put, this is the bulk of emails you receive from everyone, Simple, to the point emails with a single, or perhaps even dual call to action layout. DO THIS then DO THAT to GET THIS = Direct funneling of your email traffic to the proper location on your site to complete a particular action that makes you money or gives your company something. In the past week our company has gotten the tracking and implementation sections of our new marketing campaign nailed down we have decided to partner with Blue Hornet as our email provider. They have great software, and are well geared for tracking and referral purposes. It is a very verbose admin that you should definitely try out before choosing where to shoot your campaigns from. Adam Ireton is our rep there, so ask for him if you ever want a demo, and tell ‘em iCan Sent you!

Our current members will be receiving the first email, a newsletter and coming soon teaser for the 2009 upgrades to HCCUA.ORG Then we are sending out a Referral Campaign and Trying to get more people to see that the Health Care Credit Union Association “Creates Extraordinary Lives” every Day.

So , Today is the day I officially paid and reserved my spot in the Internet Marketing course at Full Sail. I have been in the SEO/SEM ring for a long time now, and punching thru to become one of the locally “known” search marketing consultants in my area has been a great milestone in my career. Starting January 09 I will be attending classes to learn some of the most bleeding edge SEM skills in my industry, taking what I already know and applying Full Sail University’s rich history of giving their students only the best tools and knowledge. As I grow into this class , I will of course be bringing a few of the juicy SEO hints , SEM Tricks and of course more of my personal nonsense J

Stay Tuned — 09 is bound to be the best year yet!

Greg Chernoff