Below are my correspondences with a Business Relations Consultant at the Better Business Bureau (BBB) regarding BBB accreditation, Google PageRank, the BBB Seal of Trust, and search engine rankings.
- – -
On Aug 25, 2010, at 4:09 PM, Janet wrote:
Hi Scott,
I’d like for you to do a google search for Swick Technologies LLC. They put the BBB hyperlink logo on the “Home” page of their website. This illustrates how a business is viewed, more times than not, in a “Google” search if they are BBB Accredited using the link. Also note that their BBB listing on bbb.org came up right after the website in the Google search. When you click on either the hyperlink on the webpage OR the bbb.org listing, it puts someone on that businesses individual report.
Janet
- – -
On Aug 25, 2010, at 3:30 PM, Janet wrote:
Hi Scott,
I just wanted to reconnect with you about the idea of BBB Accreditation … I think that this program would be a great fit for your business. The hyperlink (seal of trust) BBB logo will benefit your search in Google, as well as let people know that your business is trustworthy and stable.
Thanks so much for your consideration Scott. I’ll look forward to hearing from you.
Janet
- – -
From: Scott
Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2010 2:13 PM
To: Janet
Subject: Re: Better Business Bureau of Wisconsin
Janet,
I disagree with your statement that “the hyperlink (seal of trust) BBB logo” will benefit your search in Google”. While it is true that having the logo on a website helps instill a sense of trustworthiness, the logo presence of the logo itself does not improve Google rankings.
Yes, the fact that the bbb.org website links to the accredited company’s website does help that company’s Google rankings, in that it is a link from a reputable website, however the link itself is not coming from a page that has a high PageRank. PageRank measures the popularity and strength of individual “web pages” not entire “web sites”.
For example, the bbb.org homepage ( http://www.bbb.org/Default.aspx ) has a PageRank of 8, but the individual company review page that links to the company’s website is a PageRank of 1.
I believe you are misinforming your prospects by telling them that the “seal of trust” logo will benefit the company in the Google search results.
Yes, having a link from a reputable website such as the bbb can help a website’s rankings in Google, but I believe you are misinforming your prospects by telling them that using the “seal of trust” logo will benefit them in the Google search results.
Sincerely,
Scott
- – -
On Aug 26, 2010, at 2:21 PM, Janet wrote:
Hi Scott,
If a website has the bbb link, there is greater probability that the website will get higher recognition in that Google search. Maybe I’m explaining this incorrectly. I’d like to talk with you on the phone if that is ever possible. Thanks so much.
Janet
- – -
Janet,
In the article you sent me, Google states: “We use more than 200 signals, including our patented PageRank™ algorithm, to examine the entire link structure of the web and determine which pages are most important… By combining overall importance and query-specific relevance, we’re able to put the most relevant and reliable results first.”
PageRank is the strength of an individual web PAGE on a website, not an entire web SITE. PageRank is only a small part of Google organic ranking algorithm. There are over 200 other signals that factor into Google’s choice to rank a website higher than another website in the search results.
Google says: “PageRank reflects our view of the importance of web pages. Pages that we believe are important pages receive a higher PageRank and are more likely to appear at the top of the search results.”
What I feel you (the BBB) are telling me in essence is that chickens lay eggs, so that means chickens ARE eggs. If the homepage of a website has a high PageRank, it does not necessarily mean that all pages on that websites are weighed equally by Google. In your previous email to me, you stated, “the hyperlink (seal of trust) BBB logo will benefit your search in Google”.
Yes, the quantity and quality of links coming into a website, including 200 other factors, can effect how Google ranks a website, but this is not the same concept as placing a hyperlinked BBB logo on your website”. Simply placing the BBB logo on a website does not make that website rank better in Google.
You attempted to clarify your statement by saying, “If a website has the bbb link, there is greater probability that the website will get higher recognition in that Google search.” I’m not entirely sure I can agree with that statement. It should be noted that a link from BBB to the accredited company’s website doesn’t have much to do with the accredited company using the “seal of trust” logo itself (expect that a paid membership with the BBB does allows the accredited company to use the BBB logo in its marketing materials). Using the logo really has no impact on search results by itself.
In your email to me, you also included information about the “BBB Accredited Business Locator” plug-in that highlights accredited businesses in search results. Your website explains that, “When the BBB logo appears next to one of your search results, you’ll know it is a BBB Accredited Business you can trust. Click on the logo to review the company’s BBB Reliability Report.”
The BBB Accredited Business Locator plug-in is an optional extension that people can install on their browsers to help them see which websites and company’s are BBB accredited and which aren’t. I’m sure there are people who have downloaded and installed the plugin and find it useful, however from my own experience, this plugin doesn’t function reliably.
It should also be noted that using the BBB Accredited Business Locator plugin does not alter, improve, or influence the order that websites appear in the Google search results, it only serves to show people who have the plugin installed and activated which websites are owned by BBB accredited businesses and which are not. (Remember, a chicken is not an egg. The BBB Accredited Business Locator plug-in can help bring people’s attention to BBB accredited companies’ websites, which, in essence can “benefit your search in Google”, in that it can possibly improve a visitors search experience, but it does not mean that the website will rank better because it using the BBB logo.)
Scott
- – -
On Aug 27, 2010, at 9:06 AM, Janet wrote:
Hi Scott,
It’s unfortunate that you don’t see the other value to this program. I would advise for you to browse on wisconsin.bbb.org to check out your competitors. Call me when you’re ready Scott.
All the best to you and your business.
Janet
- – -
Janet,
I’m not saying I don’t see the other value it can bring. I agree with you that it brings credibility. What I’m saying is that you are explaining it incorrectly to your prospects.
Scott
- – -
More followup here: Debunking the BBB Seal of Trust Myths
Supporting screenshots:
Update:
I asked SEOmoz, a Search Engine Optimization Expert, what their thoughts were on this matter. Jane Copland replied with the following:
Hi Scott,
You display an entirely accurate knowledge of how PageRank works. A “PR8″ site is indeed a misnomer: SEOmoz is about a PR8, but not all links out from the site come from PR8 pages. That said, it’s worth arguing that a link from a PR2 SEOmoz.org page is worth more than a link from a home page PR2 on a small, untrusted site. This takes trust into account: sites are judged on more than just the gross number of links they have. Case in point, I took over consultancy for a site about a year ago that had a PR7 on its home page but was penalised. It ranked for nothing. The reason was that its massive number of links had been flagged as spam (unrelated: a reconsideration request took care of it, as they weren’t spam).
Thus, the BBB are right that a link from their site is likely a good idea, even if it’s from a deep page. However, they shouldn’t sell people on the idea of “PR8 links”, since the link doesn’t come from the home page and yes, the entire domain isn’t credited with the PageRank of its home page.
They’re also incorrect that the logo link from your site benefits your rankings. If it’s a followed links from your site, it actually benefits theirs instead. The link back from their site is what passes PageRank, but it’s also equally valuable to argue that the links create a reciprocal link situation, which Google also tries to cancel out.
