Copyright 2006 Titus Hoskins

For the uninitiated, Google ranks all pages on the web with a scale of PR0 to PR10 - higher is better. High PR sites or pages receive most of the traffic for competitive keywords or phrases. Keywords are what surfers type into search engines to find what they're looking for on the web.

Ranking high in Google for popular keywords can prove very lucrative. It can make the difference whether your website is in the black and producing hourly profits, or a total worthless waste of pixel space. Having a high Google PR is equivalent to having money in the bank, it is that important.

For Google is still the undisputed king of traffic, regardless of what's on the horizon, Google is the major deliver of the web's traffic. That's why losing your high Google PR ranking, sometimes overnight, can be so devastating for the struggling webmaster or marketer.

Read this article to discover how you as a webmaster can protect yourself from lost profits and traffic, even if Google pulls the plug on your site or PR, while putting another one of their endless algorithms into place.

10 Ways to Outsmart Google's PageRank System

Here's a list of things you can do to lessen the impact of a sudden drop of the almighty Google PageRank:

* Diversify your traffic - make sure you cultivate other sources of traffic other than the search engines. Form partnerships and strategic links with other webmasters. Interact in forums and online communities.

* Provide quality information and free products or services that get 'good word of mouth' recommendations from your visitors. Content will always be king - make sure it reigns supreme on your site.

* Pick the right domain name. If you can, choose a short catchy keyword for your domain, one people will remember and would naturally type into a search engine or browser to find what they're looking for on the web. For example: www.hotels.com.

* If you're having success with your site,(or/and especially if you're not) venture into off-line advertising and promotion. Use traditional promotional products, t-shirts, caps, bumper stickers, etc. to promote your URL. You can also try PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising to provide you with targeted traffic and sidestep the search engines. Well sort of!

* Try viral products like ebooks, reports and free software programs to get your links out into the marketplace. You can also try product or site testimonials which are another great source of targeted traffic.

* Be extremely careful of any out-going links from your site. Don't link to bad neighborhoods (link farms, banned sites, etc.) Google will penalize you for bad links so always check the PageRank of the sites you're linking to from your site. If you don't have the Google Bar - you can check any site's PageRank here: www.iwebtool.com.

* Onsite SEO factors does have an influence on rankings - make sure your site is dressed to kill. Pay attention to keyword density, title descriptions, meta tags, alt tags and interior linking structure. If you can, optimize your site for all three major search engines: MSN, Yahoo and Google. But don't stop there, also submit your site to the countless other smaller search engines on the web. It's the old adage, don't put all your eggs into the ever-changing Google basket or you're probably turn your site and yourself into one desperate basket case. Other search engines listed here: www.isedn.org.

* Along those same lines, have a large spread of keyword phrases that you're targeting with the content on your site. Don't go after extremely competitive keywords which have countless major players with deep pockets buying links, left right and center. Instead, pick a whole range of keyword phrases that have less or little competition. All these keyword phrases will add up to a flood of traffic for your site. Phrases that for the most part won't be affected by a sudden drop in PageRank. One good site for finding these keywords is www.nichebot.com - it will give both the number of hits and the amount of competition for each keyword.

* There is one more strategy you must explore if you want to lessen the power and importance of your own site's PR. One strategy that will bring in tons of Google traffic even if your PR is ZERO. You must utilize the PageRank of other sites on the web. Use off-page optimization for your major keywords. Build countless anchor text links through keyword rich articles, content related blogs and products that benefit from the high PR of other sites on the web.

* Keyword rich articles are some of the best examples of this method, placing them on high PR sites will filter Google traffic through these articles onto your site. It will also warm up these visitors before they reach your site and they will be more receptive to any of your site's offering - never underestimate the power of the Pre-sell. Build enough of these links and a sudden drop in your own Google PR ranking won't drastically affect your bottom line or the amount of quality traffic you are receiving.

What's even more satisfying, if you build these links, partnerships, and off-site optimization - your Google PageRank will probably go up. If it doesn't, who cares, for you will have Google-Proofed your site against any sudden drop in your site's PR rankings and broadened the reach of your site by using the high PR of other sites on the Web. In the process, you will have protected your site and yourself from the big bad Google PR wolf.

You don't have to conquer Google, you just have to outsmart it!