Google PageRank Updates & New Year Maintenance

It is officially the last day of 2008. And we couldn’t be more excited to close the book on the year and step into 2009. But before we move on, here is some last minute news that squeezed its way into 2008.

Google PageRank Updates

As most of you have already noticed, a Google pagerank update occurred yesterday, as confirmed by Matt Cutts.

We were pleased to find that a lot of our interior pages were well rewarded. However, one interesting thing that we noticed is that our articles which mentioned or linked to ‘Google’, generally had a higher pagerank than other articles. And while this could be due to Google’s own narcissism — as suggested by Dollar $hower, see tip #8 — it might also be that articles about Google just happen to be more popular and more linked-to.

So how has your website fared in this latest update?

New Year Website Maintenance

Here are a few last-minute things that will help you make your website ready for the new year.

1. Migrate Your FeedBurner RSS Feeds to Google.

You might have also noticed that FeedBurner is finally being integrated with Google. Some publishers for example, have already migrated their FeedBurner feeds to the new Google FeedBurner. And if you haven’t already done so, you will need to do it within the first two months of the new year, as support for FeedBurner.com feeds will be withdrawn. (We will be migrating our feeds this week.)

2. Be sure to update your copyright.

For most of us, 2009 is only a few short hours away. By updating your copyright, your visitors never think that your website is neglected or out-of-date.

Never want to update your copyright again? A few days ago, we posted two code samples — one in PHP and one in JavaScript — to help you add an automatically updating copyright date to your website.

3. Review any updated terms for your affiliate programs.

Now is the time that companies are adjusting their affiliate programs. Be sure to look over new terms. Many, for example, have lowered compensation, and if your income depends on commissions, you might need to find a company that can allow you to achieve the same level of success that you are used to.

Bonus Tip: Set goals for the year.

Ardit over at Blogict reminds us how important it is to set goals for the new year. They’ll keep you on track and motivated. So whether you are a seasoned web professional or working on your first blog, be sure to create a list of what you’d like to accomplish.

And with that, Happy New Year!

By basibanget 

We wish you the best in 2009.