Why Is The Alexa Rank Important?
The Alexa Rank is important to only a small number of web users. Advertisers and Webmasters use the Alexa rank to help them determine (right or wrong) the worth of your site and links from your site.
There are some pay-per-post companies such as ReviewMe and SponsoredReviews that determine what they pay you based on your blogs Alexa ranking. Text-Link-Ads also determines both what you will pay for a link and what they will sell your links for based partly on the Alexa Rank.
When it means dollars and cents to your bank account, the Alexa Ranking becomes very important!
Problems With the Alexa Rank
Some Webmaster are quick to point out that the Alexa Rank can be gamed. This is true. It can. Just as most other websites of this nature can be gamed.
For those who have websites and blogs that are not Webmaster related or targeted to Internet savvy users, they can find it difficult to monetize their site too it’s true value. Since Alexa only works if a visitor has the Alexa Toolbar installed, it goes without saying that many Webmasters and Internet savvy users have this tool installed on their browsers.
Most other visitors who could care less about rankings probably do not.
Since the rankings are based on visits by someone with the toolbar installed on their browser, there are scripts and other programs some people use to artificially inflate their Alexa rank. However, once a site gets an Alexa Rank of 100,000 or lower, those programs become less effective.
How To Increase Your Alexa Rank
Here are just a few ways you can increase your Alexa Rank.
- Since Alexa is geared toward Webmasters and Internet savy users, it stands to reason that visiting places such as Webmaster Forums and blogs plus Tech Forums and blogs will bring you visitors with the Alexa Toolbar installed on their browser if you leave comments with your URL. Thus increasing your Alexa rank.
- Write articles for Webmasters and other Internet Tech types.
- Download the toolbar from Alexa and visit your site at least once per day.
- Have your friends and Family download the tool bar and visit your site at least once per day.
- If you work in an office and can swing it, have the Alexa toolbar installed on the Office computers and set the default homepage as your site. That way, each day when the computers are started, you page gets a visit from a computer with the Alexa toolbar installed.
- Put the Alexa Rank widget on your website. I’ve heard several people mention that a browser clicking on the Widget will count as a “popularity vote”, although I’m not sure about this. Doesn’t hurt to try.
- Use Alexa redirects on your website url. I’ve never seen an “Official” word for Alexa whether or not this actually works, but I know plenty of Webmasters who swear by it. Your mileage may vary.
- Get StumbledUpon or Dugg. Social Network members are more likely to have an Alexa toolbar on their browsers and a flood of traffic from these sites can skyrocket your Alexa rank!
That’s about all there is too it. There are other methods, some shady, some not so, but these are the most popular IMHO.
If you’re an average Internet user who has a non-Tech and non-Webmaster related site and do not care about what pay or link advertising, then the Alexa rank probably doesn’t mean a hill-of-beans to you. Don’t sweat it!
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