A very interesting thread started this third of January on Google’s webmaster central help forum. For those that have been curious about Page Rank updates and why the toolbar hasn’t been updated for about eight months (globally), this thread could answer all your questions.
I previously discussed the rumor, “is google ditching page rank?” on this blog, and it was met with a lot of response. Many comments revealed that google has been updating toolbar Page Rank incrementally throughout the past year and that numerous sites have seen a PR increase. Though the updates had not been global. Conspiracy theorists (and those like myself who just want to write a good article), jumped on the Page Rank is dead band wagon and began assuming that perhaps there would be no more public toolbar Page Rank updates.
I wasn’t convinced, and now we know that rumor is (apparently) just not true.
Toolbar PageRank has not been updated for some time now
Stefan2011 essentially asks Google directly a number of questions and mentions how “the visible green bar from Google toolbar, have not been updated from some time now.“
John Mu replies in length but with some key statements that we’ve all been waiting to hear.
The first response came on January 4th, 2011:
Internal PageRank is continuously updated
The entire thread a conversation between stefan2011 and John Mu a google employee can be read here.
Global Toolbar PageRank Update 2011
So now we wait and see, when will this happen. Or does it really matter? Google has aggressively downplayed the importance of PageRank for sometime. What do you think, is this a relief for you, or are you no longer putting the same emphasis on PageRank as you once did?
90 comments
[BLOCKED BY STBV] Zoomit.ca says:
Jan 6, 2011
Google’s 2011 Official Stance on Page Rank | Info Carnviore…
A very interesting thread started this third of January on Google’s webmaster central help forum. For those that have been curious about Page Rank updates and why the toolbar hasn’t been updated for about eight months (globally), this thread could answ…
Marcelo says:
Jan 6, 2011
Since my site is relatively new, I’ve been waiting since December 31 to see if it would get a PageRank 1 at least, in the much speculated next update. But this piece of information has clarified this matter a little bit.
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 6, 2011
Glad to be of help Marcelo! Thanks for your comment here, hope to see you around more.
Justin Germino says:
Jan 6, 2011
PageRank is still essential for helping your articles rank higher in the SERP and continues to be a major advertiser attractor for your sites for those who wish to monetize.
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 6, 2011
Well as google keeps saying PageRank is only one of literally hundreds of factors that influence SERPs, and they’re definitely downplaying its importance. Unfortunately many services (like Izea) rely on PageRank to help advertisers find publishers… hopefully other metrics can prove valuable as well?
Brankica says:
Jan 6, 2011
Hey Daniel, thank you for doing the research for me, I love that I can just read conclusion without actually having to go through it.
I am thinking that maybe they are updating ranks for small groups of websites and blogs. You never know with Google.
I am kinda not that worried because the biggest thing I care about is getting more traffic and although PR can help, there are many more things I have to do to bring traffic to my blogs.
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 6, 2011
Hi Brankica, glad this post was helpful! It is futile to worry over PR, just do what you do best, and the results will come.
Karen says:
Jan 6, 2011
I’ve never really been over fussed about the madness that some have about their Google PR, if my site is getting a good bit of traffic and is ranking nicely for certain keywords, then that’s fine by me.
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 7, 2011
Hey Karen! You like many others are focused on the right thing – but still too many people are preoccupied with pagerank – i think this is why google is skipping some updates, to get their point across.
Ileane says:
Jan 6, 2011
Hi Daniel. I thought for sure the update was going to happen at the beginning of the year for everyone. We just have to wait and see. And for folks that launched blogs after that last update (that would be you and me) it would be great to see something other than zero or question mark on that little toolbar 🙂
Thanks for the update!!
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 7, 2011
Hey Ileane! Would be nice to see something, but I’m not holding my breath. haha, good to see you here!
ark says:
Jan 6, 2011
I’m surprised that people still talk about PR when Google itself has already downplayed its significance.
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 7, 2011
You’re right. Google certainly doesn’t want people obsessing over PR any more… that’s probably why these updates have been skipped / delayed.
Tweets that mention Google's 2011 Official Stance on Page Rank | Info Carnviore -- Topsy.com says:
Jan 6, 2011
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by David Leonhardt. David Leonhardt said: RT @danielsnyder1: @Ileane Google's 2011 Official Stance on PageRank. http://bit.ly/eKfSQe […]
BenwayNet says:
Jan 6, 2011
As long as my site has a PageRank I don’t care. I currently have one site that doesn’t have a PR because I sell in text links. But its making me good money.
I’d trade higher PR for more community and comments any day.
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 7, 2011
Great point Benway. Knowing what is important is key, some people would rather have a high PR. I’d rather have this community and the comments to engage with. Thanks for yours! Hope to see you around more.
cipro says:
Jan 6, 2011
Thanks for the post I am praying hard that what you are saying about internal pr is true. I have had 0pr for my site since 20 September and I am having trouble with the costs of running the site now. cipro
Dan Lew says:
Jan 6, 2011
I don’t bother about page rank anymore, its really not that important to me, what is more important is the traffic and sales I get! 🙂
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 7, 2011
I’m with you Dan! That is the metric to use. If you are receiving good traffic and making sales then what does any other external metric matter? it doesn’t. Thanks for your visit!
Gabriele Maidecchi says:
Jan 7, 2011
You promised to keep us updated and here you are. Thanks for the good info Daniel, now we’ll have to see if that’s just PR talk from Google or there’ll be facts to back it up.
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 7, 2011
Thanks Gabriele! I agree, this could be just a google employee saying their piece, but may not be coming down from the top. Of course if he doesn’t know better that would mean google hasn’t officially taken a stance (as they would’ve told their employees) so I think it’s safe to assume it’s accurate. They are just making the point that PR is not important and they’ll do their update whenever they want. People get upset because they’ve kept with a schedule for years and now the schedule is pooched.
WebBlitz says:
Jan 7, 2011
Hi Daniel,
(Firstly thanks for all your wonderful posts just found you today and read most of them.)
I dont place much emphasis on PR – as a new blogger Google PR is something that is a little “yesterday” as are metatags.
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 7, 2011
WebBlitz, well thanks for the visit! Good to meet you here and hope to see you around more. I agree with you about PR – google has downplayed its importance for years now, and still people look at it as if it is the only metric that matters.
Looking4 Purpose says:
Jan 7, 2011
I may be missing something but I never knew google had a page ranking or toolbar? I use Chrome, does it support it? Anyone
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 7, 2011
Well yes, Google has a toolbar – I believe it can be downloaded and installed with Chrome… though honestly I don’t use it, and don’t know many who do.
[BLOCKED BY STBV] Featured in Blokube.com says:
Jan 7, 2011
Google’s 2011 Official Stance on Page Rank…
A very interesting thread started this third of January on Google’s webmaster central help forum. For those that have been curious about Page Rank updates and why the toolbar hasn’t been updated for about eight months (globally), this thread could answ…
SERPD says:
Jan 7, 2011
Google's 2011 Official Stance on Page Rank | Info Carnviore…
A very interesting thread started this third of January on Google’s webmaster central help forum. For those that have been curious about Page Rank updates and why the toolbar hasn’t been updated ……
Lisa Irby says:
Jan 7, 2011
Thanks for the update, Daniel. I’m one that doesn’t look at PR much anymore but it’s good to stay in the loop anyway. 🙂
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 7, 2011
Hi Lisa! Thanks for your comment. I too don’t concern myself with PR, however there are a few times when at least having SOME PR would be nice. This blog is only 7 months old and it has yet to be ranked by google! (The domain was registered just after their last toolbar update in Apr,2010). I would like to have some PR simply for the sake of qualifying for a few more advertising opportunities.
DiTesco says:
Jan 7, 2011
Although I am no longer putting as much emphasis on the “ToolBar” PR, I would still like to see it updated as unfortunately there are many who still give importance to this. Google may update the PR regularly, and that has been an ongoing statement from them, but the one that advertisers and peers look at is that green bar. For example, I recently got “denied” from an affiliate network stating that the reason was that my PR was not good enough! Well, should I worry about it? Yes and NO, but only time will tell.
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 7, 2011
DiTesco, I agree with everything you’re saying – the only reason I’d like PR updated is because others look to it as a metric of worth (though I think it probably isn’t). Advertisers is the problem, too many of them want a good PR, and that is unfortunate since so many other metrics are more valuable and meaningful. Thanks for your comment!
Lisa says:
Jan 7, 2011
Hi Daniel:
As much as I don;t want to pay attention to PR…I can’t help it! I would like to see some updates although I am becoming more and more attracted to the mozrank. We shall wait and see!
All the best,
Lisa
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 8, 2011
Hey Lisa! I have heard a little about MozRank and even checked mine out (info carnivore ranks 4/10 on mozrank), but I don’t know how or if it could become an industry standard the way pagerank has been. Thanks for your comment.
Lisa says:
Jan 8, 2011
Hi Daniel:
The research so far that I have done shows that mozrank closely correlates to Google PR. The sclae is 0/10 and they do a better job, IMO of analying links to pages AND domains. Where the discrepancies begin is with domain rank. mozrank tends to be a bit off in this are in regards to Google.
Anyways, only time will tell eh?
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 10, 2011
Thanks for the info on Mozrank Lisa. It’s good to know! I hope it becomes more mainstream.
Lisa says:
Jan 8, 2011
Oh and 1 more thing…:) mozrank attempts to update on a monthly basis so that sites have a more accurate real time analytic. Ok, I m going now!! 🙂
lawmacs says:
Jan 8, 2011
Google PR is good but for me it doesn’t need to be updated more than about three times yearly however way we look at it the ranking in search engine results page is more important but PR is a trade mark of google i don’t think they will get rid of it for now that is just my opinion
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 8, 2011
Well I agree it doesn’t need to be updated every week or month, but at least once a year would be nice. Google has been consistent with updates until recently, now there have been none in about 8 months.
ihaveapc says:
Jan 8, 2011
This is indeed very interesting.
Google PR if is diluted will have impact on many revenues generated due to this.
Guess this is Google’s way of saying that we should build quality sites and let everything else follow.
Cheers.
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 8, 2011
Yes people will be affected if PR is dropped – but I don’t think it will be. As you can see we will apparently be seeing a global toolbar update soon.
BizSugar.com says:
Jan 8, 2011
Google’s 2011 Official Stance on Page Rank…
For those curious about Page Rank updates and why the toolbar hasn’t been updated for about eight months, this thread could answer all your questions….
olddogg.com says:
Jan 8, 2011
Google’s 2011 Official Stance on Page Rank…
For those curious about Page Rank updates and why the toolbar hasn’t been updated for about eight months, this thread could answer all your questions….
Doc Sheldon says:
Jan 8, 2011
I haven’t concerned myself with PageRank for some time, as a metric. I think there are many other criteria to focus upon that carry more weight.
That said, it IS interesting to watch and see what Google does with it, as that can be an indicator of where their ever-shifting priorities lie. As I’ve said before, I still suspect (dare I say, “predict”?) that PR will eventually become a thing of the past (sooner, rather than later), as Google continues to shape their semantic capabilities.
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 8, 2011
I think you’re right about PR eventually being dissolved… not yet I suspect, as the internal PR is an important part of their algorithm and determining the SERPs, but it may not stick around for long either.
Jose says:
Jan 8, 2011
Hi Daniel and readers,
It’s known that PR is continuously updated and only once in a while is exported to the bar.
A website’s or blog’s rank depends upon many other factors besides this one, although the word “rank” has in itself an important meaning, of course.
Although I haven’t seen any increase on my blog’s visual Pagerank, during the last two or three months, the number of visits has increased significantly.
I believe that this is simply because I keep writing relevant and useful content on a regular basis.
My advice to all of you is to keep writing.
José
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 8, 2011
Jose. That is perhaps the most simple and direct advice one can offer… absolutely, keep writing. Statistics, analytics, ranks etc… all serve to distract from what we really need to do. Though they have value, quality content and hard work need to be of greater focus than anything else! Thanks for your comment and glad to see you here!
The Sunday Seven Weekly says:
Jan 8, 2011
[…] Google’s 2011 Official Stance on PageRank […]
Pippa says:
Jan 9, 2011
As it’s been over 9months since an update I was getting quite puzzled, the number of people saying we need to get links from high pr pages just kept growing yet the number of pages we could get the links from wasn’t. It’s good to know I wasn’t imagining it.
I tend not to worry about my own main site pr too much but have some clients who have had new sites and would like to see a difference.
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 10, 2011
Pippa, thanks for your comment here. I can understand how if you’re working in the SEO industry your clients would like at PageRank as a way of measuring whether or not you’re doing a good job for them. Frustrating, when it doesn’t get updated.
Randy Pickard says:
Jan 9, 2011
While the folks from the Googleplex have announced that there are 200 factors influencing search rankings, internal PageRank counts for a lot more than 1%. The folks at SEOmoz estimate that external links account for about 33% of the ranking factor. Given that PageRank measures external links, it would not surprise me a bit if internal PageRank accounted for 33% or more of the ranking algorithm.
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 10, 2011
You could be right Randy… though we’ll never know. I’m hearing a lot about SEOmoz lately and would like to see it go more mainstream. it seems like it could fill the gap where google is ‘slacking’?
Tini Martz says:
Jan 10, 2011
I was wondering as to what was taking so long. Then again, I haven’t really been doing much to ensure that I get a high grade when the next update actually do set in. Still, here’s hoping I get a high one.
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 10, 2011
Here’s to hoping! 🙂 … and thanks for commenting.
cipro says:
Jan 10, 2011
I keep hearing people saying PR is not important but that is just not true I have an optimised site and many backlinks and my site has 0PR and getting good SERP position on other search engines but it does not even appear on google for the same search term instead other sites with PR>0, far less SEO optimisation and backlinks are getting good SERP position. Someone please explain this to me. cipro
Randy Pickard says:
Jan 11, 2011
Toolbar PageRank is a whole number representing Google’s rating of the link popularity of a page. Although this publicly available number has not been updated since April 2, they are still updating internally utilized link authority. It is a key factor in how often and deeply your site is spidered.
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 12, 2011
Thanks Randy. Yes, google updates internally all the time. Glad to have you visiting over here.
Steve@Internet Lifestyle says:
Jan 11, 2011
I have long giving up holding too much importance on PR or reliance that the displayed numbers mean anything at all.
That being said it is still an important factor, even if only in “perception” of a sites value.
I must say I sort of expected a dec 31 update, and have been surprised there wasn’t soon after. Thanks for finding this info that I missed! It is nice to know that at least a global update is coming.
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 12, 2011
I like the way you put it Steve… important even if only in “perception”, still too many people rely on Page Rank as being the definitive statement on a sites popularity. I too hope we see this global update soon!
John McNally@Blogging for Pleasure and Profit says:
Jan 13, 2011
I’m not focused on Google Page Rank Daniel, but that’s because my ranking is ‘o’. 😆 I want traffic to my blog so I’m just looking at the Alexa toolbar and Google Analytics.
As soon as I get any page rank at all, you can be sure I will be checking it regularly. 😉
John
Leamington Spa, England
Tristan says:
Jan 14, 2011
Huh. Interesting! I thought for sure they were done with updating the green bar. Google’s style to me seems like they’re either 100% behind their stuff of 100% done with it. But I guess there IS middle ground, eh?
Will it change the way I do anything on my blog? Nope!
Thanks for sharing this info, Daniel!
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 17, 2011
That’s right Tristan! PR shouldn’t be a driving force behind anything we do with our blogs… just be yourself, and work hard. Google is google, they do what they want. 🙂 thanks for your feedback!
Joshu Thomas says:
Jan 15, 2011
Daniel,
Really appreciate your efforts in reaching out to the common webmaster and sharing quality information from your research!
cheers and all the best!
Josh
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 17, 2011
Hey Josh! I thank you for your compliment and feedback. Hope you keep visiting here! See you soon. 🙂
Bsteel says:
Jan 17, 2011
If we don’t use Pagerank as a measuring tool of our site and product visibility to Google searchers — what should we use? How can I tell (other than visits/revenue etc) whether our new emphasis on title tags, keywords etc. is working?? Is there some tool where I can print out our ‘visibility’ for lack of a better word – now, vs a few months from now, so I can prove to my bosses that all of this work we are putting into making the site more search-friendly has all been worth it? They like to see NUMBERS, as I’m sure you know. lol Any info you might have, I’d be interested to see it – thanks!!
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 18, 2011
Bsteel, well if you read the thread that I mention in the link the employee from Google actually answers your question exactly and offers some other sources of information. For instance, what about sharing your google analytics information with your bosses – should that prove effectiveness? What about your Alexa or Compete rank? How about counting your incoming links? All these things are NUMBERS/STATS that should be going up if you are doing a good job.
SEO services says:
Jan 20, 2011
Really nice additions and updates from google!!..
Daniel says:
Jan 20, 2011
I have always believed pagerank is not a important measure when it comes to search engine marketing. I found it more accurate the SEOMoz tool bar, and the mozrank. Nevertheless, seomoz is not google.
Anup @ Hack Tutors says:
Jan 21, 2011
Thanks for this news! I got PR 3 for my blog. Before it was 0 😀
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 21, 2011
Good for you Anup! I’m really hoping for an update here at info carnivore. It is now the morning of the 21st and I’m yet to see anything – though I did notice my twitter profile got a 4/10. Hopefully there are still further updates to be done… thanks for sharing!
Adam says:
Jan 29, 2011
What tool do you use to determine your PG? There are so many of them and all show different things… For example SEO stats FF add-on shows infocarnivore.com as zero at google.
And i think that google is going down in the near future, i know, very brave prediction for a newbie but they’ve spread their “nets” to broadly, if you know what i mean. And it’s became really hard to control.
Today the social media is the thing that will determine your game, and what you sell and how you sell will finally leave a trace on your success and business at whole.
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 31, 2011
Hey Adam. It’s unfortunate that info carnivore is still getting a 0 from google. Any tool will work they should not be showing different things, since they all have to contact google to get a response. Of course google stores data on different servers, and that may be why the varying responses. Still… not sure why you would see a variance. My twitter page is 4/10. And info carnivore is just shy of 1 million backlinks right now, so I don’t know what is holding us back from being ranked with something better than a zero, but I suspect domain age is a factor – since google has told me that young domains are ranked slower and less than more established domains. It takes time, that is the key. Social media is certainly a key too success though, and learning to use and manage it right is very important… and unfortunately also very time consuming.
John Morrow says:
Feb 9, 2011
Thanks Daniel,
This clarified some things for me, as you so often do. There are so many analytic tools out there that us relatively new bloggers really have no idea what is worth paying attention to.
I installed a page rank tracker a month ago and it has been steadfastly stuck at 0, but I just figure that is because my page is so new.
Look forward to more great stuff.
John
Lisa Irby says:
Mar 16, 2011
I’ve downplayed the effectiveness of PR for years now. My site’s PR has always been inconsistent with traffic and other things. So I just check it from time to time and go, “Oh, OK.” Now, let me get back to content and videos. LOL
Daniel Snyder says:
Mar 17, 2011
Hi Lisa. I agree PR is certainly over-hyped, and traffic is my measuring stick. If traffic is coming, and sales are converting even with a 0 PR what difference does it make?
Lonnie @ My Income Lab says:
Mar 22, 2011
And conversely, a decent PR does not magically open the floodgates to traffic as well. My wife has a soup-making blog that she consistently updates 2-3 days a week since Fall of ’09 and it has a PR of 3. But traffic has been at a consistent level of about 2800-3000 visitors/month for a while now (probably since October ’10)
PR doesn’t matter; understanding your audience and how you engage with them, while providing good content is all that counts.
Daniel Snyder says:
Mar 22, 2011
Lonnie, I agree and more and more my focus is invariably on creating quality content that appeals to what people are really looking for! Thanks for your input here.
Fisayo @ Secrets of Entrepreneurship says:
Mar 31, 2011
Great post. For me, I only care about giving my best post to my readers. Google’s PR does not really matter to me….
Daniel Snyder says:
Mar 31, 2011
Fisayo, you have the right attitude. Focusing on PR is unimportant really in the big scheme of things. I can understand its importance to some, but for most there are more important things to be concerned about (especially when it comes to blogging).
Lauren says:
Apr 6, 2011
I’m actually seeing more of a benefit from keyword analysis and density than pagerank with my new posts. Density around 1.9 will land you on the front page, whereas 1.3 will land you in the tenth spot. I have a pagerank 6 and use blogger, so my articles are indexed right away, however, it does seem with the new changes, careful attention to keyword placement is the key for me at the present.
Daniel Snyder says:
Apr 6, 2011
Hi Lauren. I don’t think SEO is as cut and dry as you’re putting it in your comment. Rank on the google front page will not be determined by keyword density in an article as there are literally HUNDREDS of other factors that will determine that. Working with a site that has a PR6 will make things a lot simpler for you in terms of ranking however, and it all of course depends on niche and competition. Not to negate keyword placement, it is very important and I’ve written articles about that as well. Thanks for your visit and comment here!
Lauren says:
Jul 29, 2011
Terribly late reply, so busy with studies and the blog. I know that SEO isn’t as cut and dry as I make it seem, but, after testing posts with certain density and an ample amount of inbound links pointing towards that specific post, I’m seeing an increase in the SERPS.
Also, one of my first posts made it to the front page of Google and has stayed there for 2 years. Initially it had no inbound links and measly density, so who really knows why Google placed it there.
The Terrible Trouble with PageRank! « « Hypertransitory.com Hypertransitory.com says:
Jun 20, 2011
[…] this even matter? I checked out this article from Info Carnivore about Google’s 2011 Official Stance on PageRank, where he states that Google has downplayed the importance of PageRank (which is borne out by the […]
IT Appointment Setting says:
Aug 10, 2011
Hi Daniel,
Great info in there. I guess Google is playing secretly when it come to their updates. They don’t like us to know it and understand it, in that way they can manipulate the money making side of them but we are always keen observers. I encourage you to engage more on BE. have a nice day.
key lock boxes says:
Aug 26, 2011
Google is making updates every now and then. almost every month they are updated PR. I don’t know what play they are playing.
Harris says:
Sep 29, 2011
Hi Daniel,
I’ve got a PR 2 site which gets around 2000 unique visitors a day, and also another blog which is PR4 and gets half of that (around 1000). No need to say which one is more preferable right 🙂
Really, traffic is what actually matters and not PR.
Cheers
Harris
First Properties says:
Nov 28, 2011
An ideas when PR will be updated
Daniel Snyder says:
Nov 28, 2011
Page Rank is updated all the time by google internally. They only release a public toolbar update once in a while, and that schedule no one really knows… it generally happens at least once a year, but there is little consistency too it.
Sagar says:
Jan 19, 2012
My blogs pagerank went down last update, hope the next pagerank updates comes soon and brings me happiness.
abhiz says:
Jan 28, 2012
My website got the pagerank 1! but i need to increase that to pagerank 4, is that will get within 1 month?
Blog Lady says:
Mar 14, 2012
Daniel, the many changes Google keeps doing with its search formula means this: It’s time to stop obsessing with techniques and artificial manipulation of search engine algorithms. They may ditch PageRank, they may not; they may just downlplay it. Who can tell?
The only thing us bloggers and Internet marketers do is make websites in the right way. And nowadays there is only one right way to do that: the natural way. Do what Google wants. Make searchers happy by giving quality, relevant content. That’s all we can do. And if you do that, people WILL link to you and visit your site. You wouldn’t have to worry so much about PageRank, Panda, etc. anymore.