It's getting to me! PR, relevant IBL's, content and ranking.

[rumblepup]

That's it. I give up. One day I think I know something, the next day, what I knew is worth the crummy stuff on the bottom of my shoe.

Ok, I pay alot of attention to what I've learned here at WPW. Especially about Content, PageRank, In Bound Links, Relative Inbound Links, everything. Because of WPW, I found Matt Cutts, and I paid attention to him too. ctabuk, brian.mark, greeneagle with poetic license,cyanide, flood6, cbp, jawn_tech, jmiller, dutter. I PAY attention. I try to learn. I don't use black hat. I optimize for relevance. I make as an appealing website as I can. I think USER, USER, USER first, then SE.

I think I had a pretty good map in my head of how to create a good website thats serves users and that's optimized for Google, and MSN, and Yahoo, but the Goog is everybody's top priority. But damn if I just don't understand anymore.

Ok, I, like everyone else checks on competition for keywords in Google. I enter the keyword I'm looking for "outdoor furniture cushions" and I list the top 5 websites that come up. Then I do a link:command on each one, to see what IBL's they have. Of course, I also do a site: command to see how deep they are crawled, as well as a cache to check on how they handle content.

The thing that gets me by the itsy bits are the IBL's. What I've learned here at WPW is that IBL's should be:
1. Relevant - as in relative to the topic
2. Good PR - Google has to see the importance of the page linking to you. 0 PR means that Google couldn't care less, PR3, so-so, PR4 good, PR5, better, PR6, it's important, and so on.

But when I did my research on the number one response to the keyword I'm looking for, what I find when I did the link command was this.

1. IBL's 26 - Half of which are inner website links.
2. Page Rank of IBL's - NONE of the IBL's had any PR. That's right. ZERO PR. And I checked a couple with Live PR tools, because I know that the PR on the toolbar is not the same as the Live PR. Guess what I found. 0 or 1 PR.
3. Relevant - Only one IBL was relevant, by a stretch. It's one of "those directories" with the big blue header that has weird CNN content that basically is a Google Adsense, Yahoo Content, and ABC adverts website, and had only 1 reference to Home Decor. I was told that these things are no-no's.

Now, here I am, looking for relevant websites that will post a link to mine, with PR4 and above. Sometimes I link with ones that don't have any PR becuase I check in Google, and for some reason, the Goog regurlarly crawls them. How that happens, I don't know. I figured Google gave PR based on the content, and recrawls based on how important or how often a page is updated. I didn't think Goog would want to pay attention to a site with 0 PR, but I aslo figured that a link is a link.

Ok, so the top result for my keyword right now has basically bupkis as far as IBL's are concerned.

Can somebody explain to me why I'm wrong? Can somebody please tell me why everything that is supposed to be WRONG works VERY WELL in Google? Can somebody tell me why they state in the guidelines that query strings like "&id=" are not supported, but show up by THE THOUSANDS in Search Results?

I'm going nuts. Damn this internet thing!

[cbp]

Ignore the link: command in Google and do not base any conclusions on it.

Irrelevalent and off-topic backlinks help - its just speculated the the relevant and on-topic backlinks might help more.

CBP

[p5gal5]

I wouldn't worry about sites supposedly having no pr right now. With the Big Daddy update still underway (or something is underway), all the pages no my site have been fluctuating between 0, 3 and 4 for at least a month. It doesn't seem to be on one particular datacenter, either.

[rumblepup]

Wow, there's a BUNCH of that speculation going around. But how come it is not evident? where are the tools to prove that relevant IBL's work better than just a BIG AMOUNT of IBL's?

How come the guides say one thing, and what actually work are another.

How come query strings that are NOT supposed to be supported, ARE? Do any kind of specific product search, and guess what, most of your first page results are query string urls? product?=ID4 or topic=shirt&id=74. Google Loves these urls!

How come I looked up a relatively common search term, something for home improvement, let's say, cabinet hardware, you get affiliate scheme sites on PG 1, admittedly, not first position, but page 1 or two, and these websites are using the tactics that google says it will not ALLOW?

Just, somebody give me the rules. Any rules. Rules that I can believe in. SE rules that make a little sense. The ones I got don't seem to work.

[JKomp]

SE rules? There aren't any. A whole lot of SE work is trial and improvement, you have to just feel your way through it and the more experience you get more familiar you will become with the search engine surroundings.

I voted for content, although they are all important, because well written, optimized content is good for search engines, good for links and good for visitors.

[Duncan Pollock]

I don't really have much in the way of religious bones left in my body but if, as some of us (myself included) are given to seeing Google as something of a pathway to heaven, perhaps we should recall the adage that "God moves in mysterious ways".
It surely applies to the findings we often get when we attempt to analyze -- let alone explain away -- the reasons why (some of) the Top Ten SERPs have been awarded their place. And it's unquestionably tempting to think that all the right rules are being ignored.
However, I'm not afraid to suggest that the best advice is to ABIDE BY THE RULES, especially when you're starting out or trying to move up the ranks. These rules cannot possibly do you harm. In contrast, copying the sites that seem to have ignored/broken them stands every chance of the opposite. Moreover, the more sophisticated the "Google gods" become with the tweaks to their algo, the more likely it is that the "bad guys" will get pushed downwards or even, in some cases, dropped altogether.
In fact, there's another adage that I think should be remembered: "Don't do as I (i.e. the bad guys) do. Do as I (i.e. the gurus with all their well reasoned rules) say."
Yes? Yes!

Duncan

[freehits]

Well duncan now that your rolling on old sayings
"it appears god does play dice, and sometimes he throws them where they cant be seen"
Stephen Hawking

They get more buzz as they remain with the appearence of being complex. They would lose their msytic if they stop long enough to make sense.

[rumblepup]

Señor Duncan, Thank you for your post. I forgot to mention to everyone, that I pay attention to Mr. Duncan as well. He takes the time, tries to calm you down, and never gives you bs.

Well, I'll stick to the set of rules I described above. What can I do?

Good content
No bad guy stuff
High PR IBL's ( but I will add to that this addage)
Find at least 10 new dir, link opportunities, new websites, or new search engines everyday, and get a link off of them. It might be an investment in the future, or....


Google LOVES LINKS!!

[JKomp]

Also remember optimization; your anchor text, your content and if possible, your url all need to be optimized.

[Duncan Pollock]

rumblepup: Well, I'm flattered but I'm also willing to suggest one reservation to you and that's in regrd to the value of reciprocal links.
The jury is still out on this (Hey, freehits, another old saying!), but I think there's a growing consensus that Google is starting to attach little importance to them.
I don't think they'll do you any great harm as long as they're relevant, but I'm some way from being convinced that they'll do you a whole of good. All told, I think your efforts will be better spent in looking for directories (both paid and unpaid) where you can add your site alongside others of your kind. Admittedly, some of the directories will ask/require you to reciprocate, but if your page can show a list of where you're featured, all in the same kind of category, this can only add to your credibility in your particular industry. Moreover, regardless of what Google's attitude happens to be, you're increasing the impression your visitors will get that you're no rank amateur in your chosen field.

Duncan