My PageRank is 0!  I should redirect my site to another with a higher PR to boost my own.

It’s a myth! A PageRank of 0 may seem depressing or scary. You may feel as though your site is the last to be chosen for team dodge-ball. However, it’s possible that there was an error when Google tried to calculate your site’s PR (PageRank) or perhaps your site is brand new and Google just hasn’t gotten around to calculating your site’s PR. PR is a bit like credit…when you’re young, having no credit can feel the same as having poor credit. Hang in there and keep increasing the importance of your website by adding original and relevant content as well as valuable links. In their webmaster tools program, Google emphasizes the weight that content has on your PR in the long run.

Furthermore, Google knows your site’s true PR, no matter where you redirect your URLs to. In addition, searching for your URL using their PageRank calculator will reveal that you’ve redirected your URL. It’s not a good idea to try to beat Google to the punch (they’ll find out anyhow!), even if the PR Bogey Man does climb out from under the bed.

The more links I have, the higher my PR will soar!

Not necessarily true! Don’t fall into the rut of believing quantity beats quality. When you’re searching for affiliates with whom to link, make sure that their website contains original and pertinent content (and that yours does too!) so that yours and your affiliate’s sites can stand alone if need be. Also, beware of linking to spammer or cookie-cutter sites. Getting carried away with having a multitude of links or linking simply because another site has a PR9 might ultimately lower your site’s PR or worse…get your site on Google’s bad side. The motto here is: Look before you Link.

I have a few blogs.  To boost my PR, I will just link my website in every other post or so.

Bad idea! While Google may not mind you linking your website every other day from your blog, the webmasters of your blog site might. They may even have the right to delete your post or take out the link, but usually what they’ll do is re-code your URL, informing crawlers and bots to not bother following the link. While this won’t necessarily hurt your PR for your website, it might hurt your blog…and probably won’t have any gain, because blog managers are usually pretty thorough folk.

Someone wants to sell me link space on their PR8 page!  I’m going to go get my wallet…

Hold the phone and put your wallet away! Do you know the people selling you link space? Do you know their site? Does their site have original content that relates in any way to what you’re using your website for? While Google tends to recommend avoiding this practice, many companies sell affiliate space on the sidebars of their websites. If the site you want to buy link space from is a logical connection to your own site, then by all means, consider proceeding. Don’t be ready to fork over the cash though just because someone waves their pretty PR level in front of you and promises it will banish the Online Bogey Man. Look before you Link!

If I have a low PR, my site won’t ever show up on Google’s searches.

How does a Bogey Man persist? He causes fear in others, and feeds off of it. Don’t let PR become an Online Bogey Man. Having a higher PageRank will improve your site’s standing in search results because it means that Google has found your site to be relevant to a certain topic. However, even Google has confirmed that PR is not the only tool they implement in order to determine a site’s value. Remember that PR, while important, isn’t everything; shine your flashlight under the bed and you’ll see that the coast is clear.