Nofollow & iFrames

[manvbf]

So, as I understand page rank cannot be sculpted any more with nofollow tags, however, it can be sculpted with iframes. Here's my question: is it worth sculpting page rank?

As I understand Matt Cutts has commented that it should be at best a secondary or tertiary concern. That we should just allow page rank to flow freely. I've read plenty on different takes on page rank sculpting, but I was interested to hear what the professionals on these forums had to say.

About 10/50 links on our home page were nofollow links (contact us, affiliate, view cart... that sort). I'm afraid we're "leaking link juice."

Help!

[C.Rebecca]

PageRank sculpting refers to the practice of selectively controlling the flow of PageRank through a website by using techniques such as nofollow tags or iframes. However, it is important to note that the impact of these techniques on PageRank has changed over time.

In the past, nofollow tags were often used to prevent the leakage of PageRank from certain pages, but Google has since adjusted its algorithms and stated that nofollow tags are now treated as "hints" rather than directives for crawling and indexing. This means that using nofollow tags to sculpt PageRank is no longer effective.

Regarding iframes, while they can be used to control where PageRank flows, it is generally not recommended to rely on them for PageRank sculpting. Instead, it is better to focus on creating a logical and intuitive site structure that allows PageRank to naturally flow to important pages.

In terms of the importance of PageRank sculpting, Matt Cutts, the former head of the webspam team at Google, has suggested that it should be a secondary or tertiary concern. It is generally recommended to prioritize creating high-quality content, improving user experience, and building strong links rather than obsessing over PageRank sculpting.

If some of the links on your homepage are nofollow, such as contact us, affiliate, or view cart links, it is unlikely that they are significantly impacting the flow of PageRank. You can consider removing the nofollow tags if you want those pages to receive more PageRank, but it is unlikely to have a significant impact on your overall SEO strategy. Instead, focus on creating valuable content and optimizing your website for the best user experience possible.


PageRank is an algorithm developed by Google that measures the importance of webpages based on the quantity and quality of links pointing to them. It is one of many factors that Google takes into consideration when ranking search results.

In the early days of SEO, PageRank sculpting was a popular technique used to manipulate the flow of PageRank within a website. The idea was to strategically add nofollow tags to certain internal links in order to concentrate PageRank on more important pages and prevent it from flowing to less important ones. However, as mentioned earlier, Google has made changes to how it treats nofollow tags, shifting away from using them as strict directives for PageRank flow.

Instead, Google now prefers to let PageRank flow naturally through a website without deliberate sculpting. The focus is on providing users with the best possible experience and delivering relevant, high-quality content. This means that rather than trying to manipulate PageRank, it's generally more effective to invest your time and effort into creating valuable content, optimizing your website's structure and navigation, and building authoritative links from reputable sources.

It's worth noting that PageRank is just one of many ranking factors, and its influence has decreased over time. Google now incorporates hundreds of factors into their algorithms to determine search rankings. Therefore, while optimizing your site for PageRank flow is not a primary concern, it's still important to have a well-structured website with clear navigation and authoritative links, as these factors can contribute to improved visibility in search results.


Its good to let PR flow in between your website.
Webmaster believe in blocking outward flow of PR.

I personally believe that there is no harm in making external links dofollow. If some PR is scultpting outside your websites, you are getting backlinking credit in return.

And I am less concerned with PR, so its sculpting hardly affects me.