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For those of you not yet aware, Google is currently updating the PageRank they are displaying in their toolbar. Each update causes a stir among the SEO community and webmasters trying to get their websites to the top of the Google Rankings.

What Is PageRank?

Without getting into too much detail, PageRank is essentially a score out of ten as to the “value” of your site in comparison to other websites on the Internet. It is based on two primary factors; the number of links you have pointing to your website and the value of the links pointing to your website. The value is calculated based on the PageRank of the page linking to you and debatably the relevancy of the page linking to you (there is no hard evidence to back up the relevancy factor in regards to PageRank that I have seen however it definitely is a factor in your overall ranking).

If you are interested in more information on PageRank you would do well to visit the many forums and articles on the topic and also visit Google’s own description on their website at http://www.google.com/technology/ where theygive a brief description of the technology.

What’s New?

The most current PageRank update will undoubtedly cause a larger stir than usual in that many sites have shown drops in their visible PageRank while at the same time showing significant increases in their backlinks. This fact reveals that one of three things has occurred in this latest update:

Google has raised the bar on PageRank, making it more difficult to attain a high level, or The way they are displaying their backlinks has changed, or The way they calculate the value of an incoming link has changed.

Any of these are possible and has been noted in the past as something they are willing to do. Additionally, it is possible for all to occur at the same time.

As we don’t like to use client’s as examples I will use the Beanstalk site, backlink counts, and PageRank changes as the meter by which the following conclusions are drawn, however this information was attained through looking at a number of client website, and their competitors.

Google Raising The Bar To Lower Yours

In the past few PageRank updates it has become quite apparent that Google is continuously raising the bar on PageRank. In their defense, with all of the reciprocal link building, link renting, etc. going on this was a natural reaction to the growing number high PageRank sites that attained those ranks simply by building or buying hundreds and thousands of links.

There is no doubt that this is a factor in the changes in this current update. If your site has maintained it’s PageRank, and the PageRanks of your second-level pages then you have done well in holding steady and if your competitors have not been as diligent their positions will slip.

New Backlink Calculations I mention this one only to bring to light that it is a possibility for your future consideration during other updates. The Beanstalk website went from 750 shown backlinks on Google to 864. it should be noted that Google does not show all backlinks (if you want a more accurate backlink count go to Yahoo! and enter “link:http://www.yourdomain.com” (don’t forget the http://)).

When the Beanstalk site showed 750 backlinks on Google we were showing around 12,000 on Yahoo! (about 6.5% showing on Google). The Beanstalk site is now showing 864 on Google and 15,500 on Yahoo! (about 5.6%). If anything then, Google is showing less links than before which negates the possibility that a website’s PageRank is dropping due to a decrease in links but being hidden by an increased number being displayed.

In short, while which backlinks Google chooses to display has certainly changed over time it does not appear to be a major factor in this update. If you see an increase in your sites backlink counts during this update you undoubtedly have an increased number of links.

The Value Of Links

Separate from the number of links you have is their value. This appears to be an area of significant change in this update. Areas that appear to have reduced value in regards to affecting PageRank are:

Multiple links from the same site or run-of-site links Intelligent and relevant reciprocal links do not seem to have been penalized, probably due to the increased relevancy factor. If you reduce the value of irrelevant links and raise the value of relevant ones then there is no need to penalize reciprocal links as, done incorrectly, they will penalize themselves. Links with text around them that indicate they are purchased such as “Partners”, “Advertising”, etc. Google has and is actively trying to reduce the value of paid links. This appears to have been moderately successful where there is clear indication that the link is paid for. Links from sites that hold little relevancy (this factor is based on educated speculation) The relevancy factor appears to have become more important. Links from sites with content related to yours is showing positive results while sites with larger numbers of less relevant links are showing drops in PageRank.

What Does This Mean?

For those of you who have been proactive in your link building, and focused on relevant sites using the Google Directory, searches or a tool like PR Prowler it means, “stay the course”. Those of you who have been building or buying links based only on PageRank with little concern for it’s location, or how it is presented - you will need to adjust your link building efforts accordingly.

What Do I Do - My PageRank Dropped ?!!?

The first thing not to do is panic. Take a deep breath, PageRank is one factor of dozens that Google uses to determine the ranking of your page, it is not the only thing. Now, visit your main competitors sites - there’s a good chance you’ll see that they too dropped in PageRank. The plus side to these kinds of updates is that they’re universal. It’s not as if Google has it in for you specifically and so when they do an update, the positive and negative impact is felt by all.

Now, if you’ve noticed that everyone around you has stayed the same or increased in PageRank try to remember this, there’s nothing you can do about where you’re currently positioned in regards to PageRank and it will probably be another 3 months before Google updates the public PageRank again so … start building some good quality (high relevancy, solid PageRank) links, work towards and increase in the next update.

Panicking now won’t help, intelligent reaction will.

What Happens Now?

Traditionally the search engine results will begin to fluctuate based on the new visible PageRank 3 to 7 days after they are visible. This does not have to be the case as Google’s had these numbers all along but it’s worked this way in the majority of cases in recent history. So monitor your search engine positions over the next week or two and watch for changes. Try to hold back on making major changes to your site during this time as often the final positions will differ from those that can be viewed during the shuffling. In a couple weeks time evaluate where you stand and tweak your site as necessary but don’t spend too much time on that … you have a solid link building effort to undertake.

Setting up a new hotel is a big project in every way. And the financing and purchase of the furniture to completely supply every possible need of the guests who will stay in your hotel is a huge part of the planning process.

So it might help to know some tricks of the trade about how to buy great hotel chairs so you not only get chairs you will be happy with but chairs that will serve your customers well. After all, of all the different furniture types, chairs will probably be the largest single furniture expense you will have in setting up your hotel. You need chairs for the lobby, for the bar, for the continental breakfast room, for the multi-purpose rooms, for the guest rooms and even for the offices for management and staff. So to get hotel chairs you are confident in and get a good deal as well, here are a few guidelines.

Tip #1 - Don’t Cut Quality for Economy.

Because of the large number of hotel chairs you are going to have to buy to get every aspect of your hotel up and running, you or your accountant may suggest that you consider cutting costs by purchasing chairs of a lesser quality than you are inclined to get. But this is a cost cutting decision that is worth reconsidering.

The chairs you provide your customers to use in your hotel are the silent work horses of your business. A hotel chair is the type of thing that the guests rarely notice or comment about except when there is a problem. But in every room in the hotel, chairs are there to provide comfort for your guests. This is especially true in the hotel rooms where the lounge chairs may serve for a granddad to tell a story to his granddaughter or where a businessman may pass hours in working on a proposal for his big presentation the next day.

These chairs are the most highly used items in the hotel room next to the bed. They need to be sturdy, look great and stay in continuous service week after week without interruption. You depend on those chairs so its best to buy quality up front so you can feel confident every day that the chairs in your hotel are top notch. You might be able to save a little on the pictures on the wall or on other lesser used items in you hotel. But chairs should be taken out of that category.

Tip #2 - You Better Shop Around.

With the quality issue taken off the table as an area of cost savings, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have ways of economizing while keeping your high standards for high quality hotel chairs. Once you have done your homework and know what hotel chairs are the ones that will provide you with the highest performance and which manufacturers to look to for buying your high quality chairs, there are options for cutting that total cost down and giving your budget a break without compromising quality.

One option is just good old fashioned negotiating. By identifying perhaps two or three hotel furniture suppliers that could provide good solid quality chairs, you can open discussions with their representatives and let them know that price could make a big difference in who you buy from. If your initial order for hotel chairs is a substantial one, they should be able to offer you a discount if one supplier can fill the whole order. But by letting them know that you are entertaining bids, you can let the law of competition drive the price down.

The after market or alterative suppliers of that same high quality chair may be another option. Many times hotels go out of business and the owners are looking to sell a lot of just the chair you want. Be careful that you inspect the chairs to make sure they are in good shape. But by finding hotel auctions, you can many times get great deals. The internet and alternative suppliers also are out there who can find you the very chair made by the manufacturer you like but find those chairs at a vasty reduced cost to you. So be a savvy customer and shop around.

Tip #3 - You Call the Shots

The negotiation process that we spoke of is tricky business. Salesmen are very good at helping you define what you want. The problem is if you let the chair supplier set your standards, they are going to influence you to buy what they want you to buy. That may be a fine choice but it’s best if it is you who sets the standards and it is you that calls the shots on what kind of hotel chairs you buy.

Before you contact any suppliers at all, take the time to think through exactly what you want. That means laying out the floor plan of your new hotel and getting an exact count of each kind of chair that will make up your order. You have several chair types to buy including room chairs, dining room chairs, bar stools and chairs and more elegant chairs for formal rooms and the lobby. Get a firm count on what you need.

Then do your shopping to understand the characteristics of a good hotel chair and where to look for quality. The internet is a great way to look closely at the various hotel furniture suppliers to get an orientation for who you want to talk to about your order. By doing all of this preliminary thinking and research, by the time you sit down with a hotel chair supplier, you know what you are taking about and you know what you want. That keeps you in charge so you call the shots during the entire negotiating process.

Tip #4 - Think Multi Use

You may be able to reduce your order of chairs if you identify some chairs that can serve more than one use. Chairs for setting up a lecture or meeting are often stackable armless chairs that require storage when not in use. Those chairs are not being utilized well while they are stacked in storage so you may be able to use those chairs for your continental breakfast room or for other purposes where you need a lot of chairs for short duration.

You may also be able to rent out those chairs to church or civic groups who need to hold an event but don’t need a large quantity of chairs every day like you do. By networking and finding ways to get more mileage out of the chair inventory you keep, you save money and maybe even generate a little revenue from chairs that serve your customers well every day.

Tip #5 - Try Before you Buy

Whatever method you use to find the perfect hotel chairs for your hotel, its really best that you do not make this big purchase sight unseen. It would be easy to do that when buying over the internet or from a suppler who you found through a source like ebay or Craig’s List because they may be able to offer you a great deal on a lot of chairs. But go back to tip #1. Never sacrifice quality for economy.

Even if you are buying chairs from the manufacturer you like and in the models and colors you want, you don’t have absolute assurance of quality until you inspect the lot. So be fussy, be stubborn but be flexible and smart as you shop for great hotel chairs. In that way you let the marketplace work for you to get a great deal. But you do so without giving up the one thing that is not negotiable and that is the comfort and great service you will give to the customers of your hotel.

My bathroom has a sloped ceiling over the tub. It had been tiled and the tiled collapsed. I would rather go with a surround that deal with re-tiling the area, but I am afraid that I will not be able to find a surround that fits because of the ceiling. Any ideas?