Recently there has been a pagerank (PR) update in the Google index. so, I thought now would be a good time to blog about PR and its importance.
OK firstly what does this PR update actually mean, and will it have an effect on the Search Engine Results Pages (SERP’s)? Well what it means is simply that Google has updated the public facing PR values., will this affect rankings? Not in the least! (sorry to break hearts) 😉 WHY is this OWG ‘I hear you ask’ . well I shall explain…
There are actually two types of PR, Google server side, and client facing toolbar PR. Toolbar Pr is simply a snapshot of PR at a given time. I would say from experience that it is at least 2 weeks behind the date that it starts to propagate the various data centres. Because of this, it is well out of date, so servers ABSOLUTELY no use in the Google SERP’s algorithm.
Google server side PR however is much different. This is updated constantly through Google everflux. As new links and pages are found, and the web is remapped, so alters the individual pagerank. This is LIVE and can be seen from within Google. The general public however do NOT have access to this PR.
This brings us to the question of whether or not PageRank has any relevance! My answer is YES, but not in the way many think. I have no doubt in my mind that how many pages your site has spidered, how often the spiders come, and how deep the spiders crawl, are ALL related to links, both quality and quantity. Various Google papers comments and blog posts by Matt Cutts, have indicated that the value of the page can dictate how hard the spiders will crawl. In other words, if your code is poor, but your PR high, then whereas on a lesser page the spider would back off, because your page is ‘important’ they plough on. This makes sense to me I have to say.
The MAIN reason why people get excited though is sot hey can have the power to trade links based on the PR of their own pages. Be they looking to trade links with other sites, or (most likely) SELL links based on PR. It is for this, and THIS reason alone that I think Google should scrap client facing PR altogether. It is harming the industry, and making a joke of proper linking. I consider links to be there for the visitor. Google have brought this whole link wh0ring thing down upon themselves, by giving the link wh0res the ammunition they need to prost!tute their pges for gain, at the cost of the SERP relevance.
So, to answer the original Importance, is Page Rank Important? The answer IS yes and no. 😀
Well ya i too agree that PR has always been a two sided coin, which now people seem to be manipulating and bragging about.
Nice read and ya some new stuff i learnt.
Google seem to be happy to allow it all though 🙁
You have stated this very well…Larry
This is the problem. I think whatever Google do, it will be seen as their fault. To an extent that’s because they are the biggest, but I also think it’s due to them switching from being all about search to being about search and advertising.
Everyone wants a PR6+ but I agree its more about the opportunities for greater link exchange/sales than increased crawlability or indexation.
Very well said. It’s losing the essence of proper e-commerce and one of the major reasons why Web is put up.
To find out weather PR is still important in rankings, try searching google for a high competition keyword and see results. But, since PR is a factor if backlinks and rankings are also a result that is dependent on backlinks, there is a direct relation between PR and rankings.
So, I would say PR is not bringing good rankings, PR is a sign that the page has potential for good rankings.
HI Gigel,
many people make the same mistake of cause and effect.The acid test is this.
get 1000 backlinks with no anchor text (image) then get 1000 backlinks to another page (identical links from the smame pages)but with anchor text.
Then check the page rank. It WILL be the same for both pages, yet one will rank for the anchor text, while the second will not.
The point I make is that PR is a by product of a link, it is the same for all links regardless of anchor text, PR is a straight numeric calculation. But it is the anchor text of the links that drive rankings, NOT the PR in itself. I have PR3 or 4 pages that outrank PR7 or 8 pages for the same phrase!
I think you summed it up best in your last comment. If PR were such a factor then all the serps would be listed by PR. Chasing PR and algorithms is like a dog chasing his tail. You’ll never get there and you’ll be dog tired trying.