Google PageRank Update & Other Distractions

In case you missed it, Google exported PageRank to its toolbar within the past week. I don’t have an exact date to share, but it should show up on your toolbar. Perhaps you were busy playing with Google + or maybe you simply don’t care — in any case, as much as Google tries to take the wind out of its PageRank sails, the Internet routinely lights up with discussions about this dysfunctional website ranking system.

I’m one of those who pretends he doesn’t care about PageRank, but in reality I do. Back in 2005, when I launched by “The Article Writer” website, it quickly zoomed to PR6. I never could figure out why it jumped so high, but eventually it fell back, dropping to PR2 or PR3 before returning to PR4 more than a year ago, the number where it remains today.

Up, Down or Unchanged

I manage several websites and immediately visited those sites including ones owned by clients. Beginning with this website, I noticed a drop from PR4 to PR3, but I believe that ranking to be largely deserved — I neglected the site from mid-February to late June, going with guest posts only when I posted at all. Personally, I would have spanked the site harder and knocked it down another notch.

My main automotive website at autotrends.org is now ranked PR4, which is up one notch while wordjourney.com is also up a spot and is now ranked at PR3, where it was more than a year ago. Most other sites stayed the same, although I must inform a customer that one of his sites, which was ranked PR4 last year and then fell to PR2, is now ranked at PR0. I’m not certain why, but I think there is an ad issue that could be causing a problem. Hmmm….

Search Engine Optimization

Regardless of whether PageRank were to officially be killed off or not, there are some things you can do to optimize your website. For my two sites which increased in rank, I will tell you that I worked hard to write articles that people have linked to, including detailed book reviews, product reviews and news items. I didn’t take those steps to help improve PageRank, rather to increase each site’s visibility and strength online. I write with my readers in mind, which is the best way to get acknowledged for what you do. SEO is grand, but readers won’t bother with your site if what you write is poorly written, boring or both.

Another method I took advantage of is to send updates to Facebook and Twitter for my busiest websites. I just started doing that for this website, so I fully expect that I’ll be at PR9 real soon. Just kidding.

Funny, I should have known that something was up when I started to get a rash of link exchange requests for my “Auto Trends Magazine” website earlier this week. As before, I’m not into link exchanges, preferring to call out worthy content naturally as part of links within an article or at the end of each article in a “Resources” or “References” section.

Developing a Corporate Video – From Script to Screen!

By Claire Jarrett

For corporate promotional video projects, scripting is crucial to success. Once you have decided what the “take away” message should be, developing a good script will be the message’s proving ground. This is where you can play with ideas, map out sequences, examine concepts, and play out “what if” scenarios.

Your script should have two parallel tracks: a sound side and an images side. The sound side is everything that is said, sound effects, and music. The images side is what the viewer is going to see on screen, at least in theory, when the video has been completed.

Once you have an initial draft of a script, show it to a few other people, people who are equipped to evaluate it from a content and presentation standpoint. Get their feedback, think it all through, and incorporate the best stuff they give you into future drafts of the script. The key word above is the word “drafts.” You will need to do multiple drafts, at least three, to know enough to move forward. Once you have something ready to show to your management, you are likely to get more suggestions and requests for changes.

Even after they’ve completely weighed in, you’ll have to run it by some lawyers. Some of these folks are likely to struggle with visualizing the finished video by reading a script. You may need to also do storyboards, or at least get some sketches made to help everyone “see” the video before you start spending any money.

Sooner or later you will get the script to a point where it can be a jumping off point for production planning. Multiple drafts are going to be needed, but you have to draw a line somewhere and get the project moving. As you move into production, you shoot parts of the production, using the script as your guide to help you keep track of your progress. However, during production, you are more than likely to discover that some of your ideas won’t work for whatever reason.

This is where you deviate from the script to whatever degree is necessary. Document all your changes on a revised script as you go, saving each new version under different file names. You may need to re-develop this project at some future date.  Do not fail to save the “approved” version of the script, if only for your own protection.

Author Information

Claire Jarrett runs Marketing By Web and recommends Clear Blue for Corporate Video.