April PageRank Update

It looks like there was a PageRank update that happened over the past couple of days. Some of the sites that were penalized for selling links appear to have received their (toolbar) PageRank back.

Many people are assuming - and have been for awhile - that this was just a warning shot to people that were going to sell links. However, I'm thinking that Google is figuring out who is selling links, and that they will be retro-actively penalizing such sites - sellers and buyers, alike.

It might sound cliche, and I'm usually all about the quick and easy buck, but buying links is not in my current online marketing strategy. It's just too risky for the future - especially when clients trust me with the decisions made about their website, online presence and their SEO.

A basic guideline for getting links: Make your site linkable. Simply having a site is not enough anymore. You need to provide your user with something unique. Whether that's humor, useful content, cool videos, or a unique service, differentiate yourself from the competition. This will not only help in getting links and getting more traffic, but will also help in the large scheme of things: growing your business.