Does PageRank Matter?

Lately Google has been trying to tell Webmasters not to worry about PageRank.
The problem is, no one's listening. The logic of search optimization says that PageRank is still an important part of marketing your practice online; the higher quality your PageRank, the more prestige, authority and clients your page will attract.
But does PageRank matter to your cosmetic surgery practice? There's no one-size-fits-all answer. It depends on the competition in your area, what you do on your site, the size of your practice and your current PageRank.
Are you selling Ads?
As a cosmetic surgeon, you may not be particularly interested in generating revenue through advertisements. That's a large part of what PageRank means in terms of online revenue. But it's not everything.
For other purposes, such as your site's ranking in search results, Google says PageRank, along with around 200 other determining factors, contribute to your where your page is listed for any particular keyword. Having a higher ranking means more profit if you're selling that keyword.
Are you in a competitive area?
If you're in a highly competitive area, a low PageRank might be cause to worry. You want your site listed as close to first as possible. Every rung lower means lost clients and opportunities. However, you might rank higher on other keywords. If this is the case, you should make sure you are focusing on your keywords with laser-like precision in order to guarantee a boost in your listings, even if your general PageRank isn't as high.
Are you the only practice in your area?
If you are in a less competitive area, page rank may not be as competitive, either, particularly on local searches, which are the most relevant for your kind of business. For this kind of practice, there's no real benefit to be gained from watching your PageRank like a hawk. You might find that, over time, you are the top search result for particular keywords in your area without even trying, just by creating an active and useful Web site for your practice. Ironically, you can boost your search engine ranking while still losing your PageRank, so long as you build up a good quality network of links to your site.
The Big Picture
Google is where your practice will find the vast majority of its online traffic. It's a trusted brand and that carries over to your site: A top page ranking can feel like an endorsement of your practice. This goes a long way to establishing trust with a customer.
But any plastic surgeon needs to ask: Is the energy I'm putting into keyword rankings and PageRank coming back to me? The difference between a top-ranking and second-ranking site probably doesn't translate to that many sales, especially with something such as cosmetic surgery, where patients will do a lot of preliminary research before committing to a particular practice. Patients won't just stop on one page and make up their minds.
This is why PageRank might not be a crucial factor for cosmetic surgery practices. You want patients to find you, but most practices won't see a tangible benefit from a search ranking beyond the first page of search results. Instead, the money you could spend on optimization for PageRank might be better invested in making clear-cut, quality content that potential clients can learn from and understand.
In the end, it's up to you to determine what benefits PageRank can bring to your practice. Hopefully, this article shed some light on what it really means.

Executive Experience