Update: Backlink Analyzer is free link analysis software which has probably the best feature set of any of the link analysis software products on the market.

Recently another PageRank analysis tool came out by the name of PageRank Prowler. PageRank Prowler ($97) is somewhat of a hybrid between OptiLink ($224) and the recent free PageRank tool by SEO Guy.

PageRank Prowler
PageRank Prowler allows you to set a PageRank level which it will look through Google search results to find sites at or above that PageRank. These results can be saved as an HTML sheet or in a CSV list. The benefits PageRank Prowler has over other PageRank software are

• It allows you to search for multiple terms at once. For example, you can search for sites linking to any of your main competitors all at the same time.

• PageRank Prowler also allows you to search for specific search terms and not just backlinks. (OptiLink just searches the backlinks of a given site).
• PageRank Prowler will also allow you to search starting from URLs within a given site / sites and return results from there.
• At $97 PageRank Prowler is significantly cheaper than OptiLink.

SEO Guy PageRank Tool
The SEO Guy PageRank tool is the quickest of the three, but it has the least features and the search depth is limited to 100 documents. This means that if your competitors backlinks are listed at #102 then you will never know they exist. If you can not afford to spend money then this free web based tool is a real time saver.

OptiLink
The biggest downside to OptiLink is that it costs $224, but it is well worth that if you can afford it. It allows you to query different databases and comes with free lifetime updates. Leslie Rhodes is a smart marketer and programmer who will probably even include Yahoo! Webrank in future releases of his software.

All three are real time savers, it's up to you to decide which one is right for you though...

This entry was inspired by a recent article from Danny Sullivan.

Lots O good Google PageRank info below. Still not much out on Yahoo Webrank though... What is Google PageRank?
Google PageRank is a mathematical approximation that a random web surfer would cross any given page prior to starting to surf over again. It is a measure of link popularity on a 1 - 10 logarithmic scale. One powerful link from a strong site is worth way more than many links from small sites.

How do I check PageRank?

• You can download the Google Toolbar (with advanced features).

• PageRank also shows in the Google Directory (it is on a slightly different scale though).
• Top25Web has a free PageRank checking tool.
• Rusty Brick also created a tool for figuring out future PageRank which is somewhat questionable in it's exactness, but fun to look at. It has been telling me that this site will rank as a 10 or 11, so that will require you providing manu links into me :)

How do I check my Competitors PageRank?

• The same way you would check your own. OR

• There are automated tools which process portions of the web to help you find link partners quicker. Here are two interesting tools:
  • SEO Guy has a tool which allows you to set PageRank levels and perform a search for any given term. It will return a list of top ranking websites which have a PageRank equal to or greater than the # you requested.

  • For deeper link analysis, OptiLink link analysis software - orders the backlinks of your competitors in order of PageRank so you can Quickly view his most important backlinks (in the eyes of Google).

More on PageRank
PageRank is only one aspect of website promotion. It does play a huge role in the current Google ranking system, but there are many other factors. Generally some sites could really do well by making sure their site is well integrated into their local community and then buying a link or two to suppliment their rankings.

The web does self organize into micro communities and PageRank does not take that into account as well as search engines such as Teoma do (see also: Teoma review).

Buying PageRank
It is probably worth it for many sites to buy 1 or 2 PR7 or so links. I have been able to locate them for under $100 a month and sometimes cheaper than $50...a few times even free. I have seen run of the site PR7 links around $200 per month.

There are many many reseller networks of people selling PageRank. You want to make sure you are as close to the source as possible when buying links. IE: you may want to buy off a website, a link broker, or link brokers friend, but you start to run into heavy inflation when you buy links off a link broker from a different link broker from a link broker...

The prices of the links are spread extremely wide. There are many important factors such as

• How well the webmaster knows what their links are worth.

• The PageRank of the page.
• The number of links on the page.
• How well that page fits the theme of your site.
• The direct traffic that link will bring.
• The length of the contract.
• Sometimes you can get discounts for quantity buys.

On my other site I have listed more PageRank resources and more in depth Google PageRank coverage.

Yahoo! Webrank
As you can see there is a ton of info out there on PageRank. Since Yahoo! Webrank is new and expiremental there is no solid data out there on it.

They are currently testing Yahoo! Webrank in a beta test which is closed. In Danny Sullivan's article he pointed me to a backdoor link he found in Webmaster World which will allow you to download the toolbar that will show the Yahoo! Webrank. In addition Digital Point has a Yahoo! Webrank tool which sometimes provides sporadic or random results. Its inaccuracies may actually be due to the fact that Yahoo! Webrank is still in a beta test.

How Competitive Are Your Keywords?

You can not gauge competitiveness of a term based upon the total number of search results for that term. The best way to tell is to evaluate search results. Pages which have had professional optimization done (page copy & linking campaign) are easy to spot after you know your industry well enough.

Three quick ways to tell how fierce the competition is for any word are by checking the associated ads (price, quantity, and search quantity), using advanced operators, and by viewing the linkage data for the top ranking websites.

Checking Ads

Using Advanced Search Operators
A simple mention on a page is not enough data for a page to be competing.

Page Title
A mention of a phrase in the title is a good indication that the page may be competion.
Google Search: allintitle:"seo book"

Inbound Link Text
The words being in the anchor text in the inbound links is an even better indication of competion.
Google Search: allinanchor:"seo book"

Inbound Link Check
Recently I noticed a simple tool at IBL Check.com, which oddly enough checks the number of inbound links to the top few websites. Once you click the link to check who is linking to each site it pops open a little window showing the URL of each of the links.

McDar Keyword + Link Tool
Another link tool which can tell competition by keyword exists at http://www.mcdar.net/KeywordTool/keywordtool.asp. The McDar keyword + link tool checks the the top 10 Google search results for the number of pages in each site, the number of site backlinks, and the position of that site on the allinanchor Google search for the same keyword.

Link Tools to Build a Linking Campaign
A quicker way to build a link campaign is to evaluate link data on a more mathematical or higher level. A couple inexpensive link tools I think are neato are Linktree (free) & Optilink ($149.)

Q: How do I get Overture Search Ad Impressions for my Country?
A: Modify the url of the Overture Search Term Suggestion Tool for searches performed in your country.
Q: Do You Have an Example of How to Modify the Overture Search Term URL?
A: Yes.
Q: How do You Modify the Overture Search Term URL?

This Would be the US Overture Search Results
http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/?term=car&mkt=us&lang=en_US

This Would be the UK Overture Search Results
http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/?term=car&mkt=uk&lang=en_GB

(found on Cre8asite Forums)

see also: Spanish Overture Search Term Suggestion Tool
& many other country specific Overture Search Term Suggestion Tools

There are a couple tools on the web which allow you to track your competitors click through rates.

Google AdWords Click Through Rate Tracking
The first one is a free offering from Google. Underneath the ads there is an Interest Bar which looks similar to how PageRank appears in the toolbar. This value is based upon clickthrough rates.

Some programs such as AdWords Analyzer will look at the number of advertisers for a keyword, but it does not show the click through rate. Looking at the green bars at the bottom of the AdWords ad will give you a good indication of how competitive a term is. If we search for something like "Google AdWords" you will see that most of the Google AdWords ads have a decent click through rate <--- exceptionally competitive marketplace.

Some other ads are not as well targeted and/or are poorly written. This causes a lower click through rate. You should notice different interest levels on some of the people advertising for words such as "drink wine."

Since Google AdWords factors click through rate into click price it is exceptionally important to maximize your click through rate.

Overture Competitor Detail Monitor
A company by the name of Epic Sky offers a product called "Competitor Watch." It can track the spend and bid strategy of your top competitors. It does not; however, tell you what words your competitors are running ads for if those words are not already in your inventory.

(found in Catherine Seda's new book. Search Engine Advertising : Buying Your Way to the Top to Increase Sales)