Google Page Rank Updates Toolbar
Filed under: Google Updates, Search Engine Optimization
Last month Google updated Page Rank on sites throughout the Internet. On Matt Cutt’s blog he stated that Google is updating the Toolbar Page Rank. The question is how does the update reflect search engine rankings and is the update valid with all types of Page Rank, or is it just as related to the Google Toolbar?
There are a few tools that webmasters can use to track their Page Rank other than the Google Toolbar. I personally prefer the FireFox extension: SEO For FireFox Extension by SEO Book. Not only does it have important info like PR and Google cache date, but also everything from compete.com rankings to Yahoo backlinks. There are also services out there that will tell you what your Page Rank is and even allow you to put an icon on your site showing off your page rank. The problem with them is that they also get their information from the same source which is the toolbar.
Even if you set up an API or a PHP script that pulls info from Google’s servers it is still calling the results from the toolbar so we have no way of knowing if the Page Rank was only updated for the toolbar or has Google updated the Page Rank where it really matters – in their index? Is this something that you really need to care about? To answer these questions we first need to look at Page Rank, what it is and how it works.
Page Rank Explained
Page Rank is a Google proprietary and patented algorythm that is based upon a pages inbound link count. It not only counts links, but gives those links credit based upon the Page Rank of the linking page, how many other links are on the page and the overall authority of the domain. Now I am sure I am going to get a bunch of negative comments from experts that will say, the domain doesn’t factor in Page Rank. Well anybody that thinks that is an idiot. The domain, length of time at the existing IP, amount of time the domain has been purchased and other factors absolutely factor into Page Rank on both sides of the equation. Both the destination page and the link originating page factor into the overall rank of the page. How this relates to a pages rankings in the index is another matter altogether.
Page Rank itself is used as a guideline by many webmasters as link value for link exchanges, popularity of a page in the search engines and importance of certain keywords to the overall domain. By using the backlinks feature of the Page Rank in the Google Toolbar you can see the links coming into a page of any site. This is a huge value when doing a competitive analysis.
Page Rank Updates On Internal Pages or Posts
The updates on internal pages as opposed to the overall domain are a lot more frequent these days. I did notice that several of my newer systems did get Page Rank, but none of my existing sites (older than 3 moths) had updates on the domain, just on internal pages. All WordPress systems have Page Rank on articles up to July which is pretty damn good. I think I prefer them updating internal pages often more than the domain since all my WordPress systems have a continuous flow of content.
As long as you keep the content flowing, you will get higher Page Rank eventually. I have noted that there are plenty of sites out there that have placement, but no Page Rank. I also noted that there were quite a few sites that lost Page Rank. In fact about half of all the sites bidding on Pay Per Post no longer have Page Rank. My research is limited to technology blogs, but they were pretty much across the board stripped of their Page Rank!
Page Rank Updates At The Domain Level
Did domains get updated as well as internal pages? They used to, but I am seeing more internal updates than domain level updates. There are some sites within my network that are less than 2 months old that have scored Page Rank. In fact if you look at SEO By You, you will be surprised to see that this site which is just an empty WordPress site has a 2 PR! Yep not one lick of content except for the Hello World crap that comes with the system. What does that tell us?
Page Rank Does Not Matter!
Google Serps Are Watered Down
How is it that an ad-only site with no original content can get in the top 20 of Google SERP’s for keywords that are $10.00 a click? There are ad-only sites that have scraped content and Google AdSense ads that exceed the limit in their terms and conditions. Sites in the paid ad section that are both Google Ads publishers and advertisers are getting juice from Google. These sites have little or no PR and are less than 2 years old, yet they are placing above real websites from real companies.
We have all heard about the Google Sandbox effect. New sites are often kept in a limbo of SERP’s until they have been around for a year or so. If this is the case, how are ad-only sites getting into the top 20? Before I continue, lets look at that term: ad-only site. An ad-only site is a website or web page that has no unique content, it is serving either the maximum amount of ads allowed by Google, or in some cases is spoofing the AdSense spider using scripts that allow for more ad boxes.
Unfortunately there is nothing that we can do except to provide quality content that other sites will want to link to. Hopefully Google will do something about these weak sites that offer nothing to their visitors.
Google Updates Page Rank and Webmaster Center 1-29-08
The new year has started out with both Yahoo and Google making some significant changes to their indexes. 2007 ended with the normal year-end Google Dance and the SERP’s shuffling that we have all come to look forward to every holiday season. 2008 is starting out with some positives at least.
Google Page Rank Update January 2008
Last Thursday (1-24-08) saw a minor change in Page Rank for many sites. While domain level Page Rank remained the same on the 70 or so sites that I monitor daily, many of the internal Page Rank on pages changed, or was added. I have noticed that pages and especially blog posts that were created up to November 17th now have Page Rank.
I have a feeling that this is a new plan for Google, that they are going to be quicker about assigning Page Rank to internal pages than they have been in the past. In the Google Webmaster Center under Statistics > Crawl Stats you can see what your average Page Rank is, as well as Page Rank that has yet to be assigned:
The Page Rank not yet assigned was pretty much blank for all the sites that I noticed had gotten Page Rank updates on their pages. This is a good sign that Google is getting quicker with the PR updates. Usually the interior pages are updated along with the domains every 4 months or so. If they are doing them separately now, that will be good for Webmasters who rely on Page Rank to set the price for advertising on their sites.
Google Webmaster Center Gives You Control Over Site Links
When you do a search for a company or website, Google will put up what it feels are the most relevant in-site links. They have no given us a smattering of control over these Sitelinks.
In the Webmaster Center you can now block URL’s that you might not want to appear in the SERP’s. Under the Links tab there is now an option for Sitelinks:
Google explains Sitelinks as:
Sitelinks are additional links Google sometimes generates from site contents in order to help users navigate your site. Google generates these sitelinks periodically from your site’s contents.
Because we generate sitelinks dynamically, this list can change from time to time.
This is good news for sites that have pages they don’t want to appear in the SERP’s for a company search. I don’t know how comfortable I feel about having Google “block” anything, but you never know. The fact that they are working with us to give us more control over our sites and how they appear in Google, is a good sign.
Google Page Rank Goes Up For Some Sites
This morning the new Google Page Rank Update was unveiled and many sites that I manage rose in PR. Get Found Now and it’s blog rose from a 3 to a 4 and all of my other clients that use WordPress also saw an increase in PR. This is coming on the heels of Google’s Last Page Rank Update Which Hit Sites Selling Links Hard.
I am still not convinced that Google’s public Page Rank matters very much in the SERP’s, but we shall see over the next couple of weeks if the index reflects these changes to PR. I certainly hope that it does since all my sites rose in PR. Whether PR matters or not, by sticking to solid SEO practices and Search Engine Optimization Guideline We All Must Follow your sites will be as successful as mine. The trick is to not do anything tricky. Post relevant unique content, use solid keyword stuffing tactics, use deep link navigation and obtain on-topic inbound links and you will do fine.
The fact that this update rolls out within a week of a negative update is indicative of Google trying to appease webmasters clamoring for justice in the SERP’s. It remains to be seen how our placement will be affected with the new PR.
Along with the PR update there was also some of the dancing you would expect within the SERP’s. The main index has not had a major update in a while and I suspect that we are 2 to 3 weeks away from an index overhaul. The last time Google updated PR, 15 days later there was a major overhaul of not only some elements of their algorithm, but of the SERP’s as well. I believe that something similar will take place again.
Everyone by now should have a baseline of where there top 100 keywords rank in Google. I use Rank Tracker as my tool of choice for creating SERP’s reports. I will be running reports daily on all of the sites I manage and will keep you all informed of any major index changes.
Google Page Rank Update Hits Sites Hard
The wait for Google’s Page Rank update is finally over, but the results are not what many expected. Staying true to their threat that they will be penalizing websites that sell links, they have knocked some pretty heavy sites on the head. This is one more example of Google eliminating competition in online paid advertising. While this doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone that follows Matt Cutt’s blog, it still is more evidence that Google Is Not Your Friend.
Again they are expending energy on creating a monopoly in online advertising and not doing anything to make their SERP’s better.
Does Page Rank Matter Anyway?
There are a lot of my peers that believe as I do: Page Rank means less now than ever. This is a bold statement, but I think it is true, as far as “public” page rank goes. Yes there is a difference to the little green bar on your Google Toolbar and what Google really uses to gauge sites. In fact of all the sites that were targeted in “Google’s bitch slap” as some are calling it, none have seen a decrease in placement as far as I can see. Several high rollers in the blogosphere that were hit by a 3 PR drop haven’t lost any traffic either.
I am more inclined to believe that this is a warning shot across the bow of sites that are selling links, more than an actual real penalty like their earlier 1 to 30 drop that affected some sites a year or so ago.
If you actively sell links, you better make sure your links are both stealth (not part of a syndication network like Text Link Ads) and are relevant to your site’s content theme. When I buy links, I don’t choose sites that have off-topic links. I also only buy links as a last resort for a client’s site that has gotten off to a rocky start or are trying to expand their keyword set.
All in all a look at the SERP’s shows more and more sites ranking in the top 10 for high powered keywords that have PR in the 2’s and 3’s. A lot of people are freaking out about this, but I am counseling my clients to remain calm and stick to our plans which rarely include paid links. The best thing to do now is stick to the SEO Guidelines We All Need To Follow.