Technorati is Annoying!
Sat, 22 September, 2007 – 1:47 pm
Recently there's been a bit of buzz on blog ranking lists. Mark got the ball rolling with his top 100 list, using an algorithm which uses Google PageRank, Alexa and Technorati rank to determine placings. Gary then gave his spin on it by creating 5 Starred, which uses Google PageRank, Technorati, Alexa is now included (not sure if this is used in the algorithm), and most importantly, human voting. You can see Gary's list at the 5 starred site.nnIt's pretty well known that none of these metrics are accurate and for a new domain this rings even more true. This site, for example, has no page rank as I switched the domain in May and from what I can tell (and presume), the PR update hasn't happened yet. Alexa is doing pretty well, but we all know that's flawed as it only picks up on Alexa toolbar users. RSS subscribers, according to feedburner, aren't that high, but then again I do split my blogs and don't concentrate 100% effort on just one site. However all of these metrics can be dealt with on a new domain. The old domain is simply set up to redirect to the new domain which means that PR should be transferred over as will visitors.nnHowever for Technorati Authority it doesn't happen like that. Technorati Authority is measured by the number of blogs who have linked to you in the past 6 months. Technorati rank is your placing in the authority list of every blog known to Technorati, so the higher the authority the higher the placing in the list and the lower the rank. Authority is taken from blog posts and blogrolls (ie. comments don't count), and each domain only counts once towards the Authority. Sounds straightforward enough until you realise that if a blogger links to your old domain Technorati doesn't pick up on the redirect (301) that you've set up to your new domain, therefore your old domain gets a little extra authority but your new domain remains the same.nnSo now I have authority across two domains for the same site and it's annoying. Okay so I realise that all of these lists are a little flawed in their metrics, and it's just a bit of fun, but the higher up the list you are, the better exposure you can get and potentially a few new visitors. Everyone likes to be counted, and everyone wants to be high up the list.nnBefore anyone mentions it, I know it's my own fault for switching domains, however I'm sure you'll all agree that my new domain is much better 
It's happened to plenty of others too, yes I know this too, but it's still annoying!nnOkay, childish rant over 
The thing that annoys me about Technorati ranking is how easily it is inflated. All you have to do to get a high ranking is release some WordPress themes (with link included) and get other bloggers to use them.
By DerekBeau on Sat, 22 September, 2007
But that aside, I'm complaining about the opposite issue, not combining links in just because they use a different domain
nnEvery metric is flawed, Google PR, Alexa, Technorati etc. But when those metrics are used as a measure then you still need to strive for the best ranking you can get. I can't release a theme, I don't design, so the few links I do get in I'd like to be counted 
By Sarah on Sat, 22 September, 2007
I'd be happy to link to you if you drop me a note…It baffles me why Page Rank wouldn't update more frequently; Google could really own the category, and runs the risk of something else becoming the defacto standard.
By Josh on Sun, 30 September, 2007
Cheers for the comment Josh, and an email will be on its way to you
nnPageRank is pretty frustrating. People say don't focus on it, and for standard sites I don't usually. But when others use it as a measurement of your site, be it for a list placing or how much an advertiser will pay you, then you have to focus on it.nnJust need to crack the 100k on Alexa now 
nnPS. Nice Blog 
By Sarah on Tue, 2 October, 2007
You just need to post a comment on a blog and ping its url on technorati to make it believe that you were linked from the post.
By Jalaj P. Jha on Fri, 5 October, 2007
According to what I've read on Technorati, the comment links are not counted. Plus I'm more ranting about the fact that half my links point to an old, 301'd domain, you'd think they be able to accumulate the two
By Sarah on Fri, 5 October, 2007