Google did a PR update today and here at the SWBN we were amazed to receive a PR5 for the blog.

What exactly does that mean?

While I can never begin to understand the intricate workings of Google, in general the page rank of a web page is determined by how important that page is. Google decides this from the number of links coming in to that page. I think the best explanation I have seen is that each link to the page is like a vote for it.

But not all links/votes are equal. Some sites, such as those Google has pinpointed as link farms, will not carry any or the same amount of weight. It reminds me of being back at senior school where the votes of the teachers held more weight than those of students in our school council and meant that we were always overruled when the topic of wearing earrings to school was presented (but we did finally get our soft toilet paper)! Google also takes into account links out of the web page. Links to sites that Google has penalized can be harmful to PR.

As @bigebiz pointed out on Twitter, PR is not hugely important in the world of search engine optimization but to me it reinforces something that has become more apparent since joining forces with Barb and Allison. Collaboration can have astonishing results.

I was sceptical of online collaboration prior to joining forces for the SWBN. My previous attempts at business collaborations had been unsatisfactory for various reasons. But now I know that with the right people in the right situation with the same goals, collaborations can be successful and highly effective.

The reason for our high PR is not a result of an intense and carefully planned link building campaign (note: we don’t actually have one of those) but the power of 3 people working towards the same goal. Three people can create so much more momentum than one person alone. When I hit a brick wall with blog post ideas, Allison takes over, or Barb will continue building relationships with people through Twitter or email or blog comments. Masterminding together will also produce ideas that may never have emerged from just one of us.

That means a higher quality of posts that others want to link to, and a better relationship with our blog readers, which also has the same effect. In fact, the second thing this PR boost has reinforced is the power of creating genuine personal and business relationships rather than relying on clever SEO tricks and linking strategies (or any other marketing devices). These things can help in business but are no substitute for good relationships and quality information.

We haven’t followed other marketers on our blog this year by publishing our predictions for 2009. We did consider it, and may yet release the tongue-in-cheek predictions we produced in our Friendfeed room. But if I could make one prediction for 2009 it will be that business collaborations will become more important and widespread online than ever before. Not the traditional JVs that have become part of the norm in Internet Marketing, but genuine partnerships.

Collaboration is going to be key to the Secret Women’s Business Network’s philosophy, just as it has been to the SWBN’s creation and development. I get so excited thinking about all the amazing things those collaborations are going to achieve in 2009 and beyond.

Happy New Year!