Rumors of a pagerank update by Google are spreading. Stories abound about the recent updates in the webmaster tools area of Google.
When I log in I can’t even see my old information on links pointing to jackhumphrey.com nor any new information. All the data is missing.
So I can’t verify for my own site if Google is reporting more or less links pointing to this site. Not until I can see the data.
So, Pagerank update. Who Cares?
No one. And everyone. We rant and rant month after month and update after update about how Google Pagerank sucks. Yet we are usually the first to check for update information as if we are the biggest fans of Pagerank ever.
Why we do it…
At one point you could tell a lot from Pagerank. It meant something. We came to rely on it for inferences we could make about sites (our own and our competition’s) and their popularity, rankings, and traffic.
Not so anymore. Now Pagerank is like a vanity license plate for your car. All it tells anyone these days is you have it, and probably have no idea “why” you have it.
I have infinitely more links than other sites with higher pagerank than me. Yet Google assigns weight to my links differently than someone who has fewer but more “something” links than me.
People ponder what weight Google places on different kinds of links, and from what kinds of neighborhoods. But no one, including most people at Google I imagine, knows really how it is all calculated anymore.
Love and Hate
I have been skipped over for a pagerank update at least the last 2 times Google has updated pagerank. How do I know? Because my Pagerank hasn’t gone up. The last time they updated me they actually took me DOWN a notch from a PR 5.
How was that possible given that I was getting far more editorial (voluntary) links from relevant sites than ever before?
Last I checked my link:jackhumphrey.com data, Google had knocked me down from over 1000 links to like 169. So apparently following their guidelines for getting more good links through good content isn’t matching up with their downgrading me from over 1000 links to under 200.
In my Webmaster Tools account, they show ever increasing links. At last count I was approaching 50,000 links reported in Webmaster Tools.
Yet they are only counting 169 or so right now. WTF Google??
Nothing is more upsetting than doing what you are told and not getting the reward promised!
I stopped spamming Google and started playing nice specifically trusting that the reward would be what they said it would be. I get lots of traffic from them, but can’t help but think an increase in traffic would be forthcoming with higher PR.
They DO boost SERPS when sites get higher PR. This is proven all over the place. So my traffic from them would easily double or triple with the PR 6 I should easily have.
Who Cares? Advertisers.
I won’t start an aggressive advertising campaign with this site until I have a PR 5+ (again!). Why? Because whether we think PR is important or not, advertisers DO. They won’t advertise on anything less than a PR 5 site because they think that anything less doesn’t get any traffic.
Big mistake on their part. This site is at 5000+ uniques per day. Skipping over this site becuase my PR sucks is a dumb move. But that’s how the world works right now and I’ll be damned if I am going to spend time re-educating the mass of advertisers in my niche on why basing their advertising on pagerank is a stupid thing to do.
Many people have tried and failed to get advertisers off their PR addiction. PR lust is worse than crack for its addictive qualities.
We all have a lot to get over when it comes to PR. It’s not just the advertisers. I am sure while people are ranting about pagerank on their blogs they are checking their PR all the time, at the same time.
What do you think about it?
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Alex 10.07.07 at 4:51 pm
Jack,
You are not alone … although my blog don’t have as many inbound links as your, I still get a good score and yet, big G bypassed my PR for 6 month. Am still sitting at “No Rank”
and yet I rank well. I have actually posted quite recently with similar sentiments you voiced in your post and I think they are playing for something a lot bigger then PR. Problem is as you mentioned - advertiser pay heavy attention to that green bar …
Stefani 10.07.07 at 4:57 pm
I care about my Google PR. I only hope it to be higher on the next update.
Mr GrownUP Geek 10.07.07 at 8:49 pm
I live and die by that stupid little green-bar.. I hate it ! ..no.. i love it..
Randy 10.08.07 at 8:48 am
Jack, I think you hit the nail on the head with this one. I am still fairly new to this with growing page rank but sometimes I wonder, Is it worth working that hard for or can I still make money online without the worries of page rank. Whoever said Internet marketing was easy must already be at the 7 figure mark now. Keep up the great post Jack.
Thanks
David 10.08.07 at 4:20 pm
Jack - While you are right - you are also wrong. It’s NOT the size of the pagerank that counts, it’s what you do with it.
If conversions are good, then the pagerank just becomes a bit of a distraction.
See - Size DOES matter (if you use it right)
GBG (God Bless Google)
Jack Humphrey 10.08.07 at 6:08 pm
So true. That’s why I wrote it both ways. Right. Wrong. It is what it is. ONWARD!
Gary 10.08.07 at 6:16 pm
You’re right that advertisers are missing some great opportunities by overlooking sites with less than a PR5.
With so much traffic now coming from social media sites and other search engine “alternatives”, it’s more difficult now to measure a site’s traffic potential based solely on PR. But targeted traffic has value - no metter how it’s obtained.
Advertisers will need to find better ways to evaluate a site’s potential. Perhaps there’s an opportunity for someone to develop a good tool for this.
Jack Humphrey 10.08.07 at 6:53 pm
Here’s one: http://www.compete.com
Keebu 10.09.07 at 10:23 am
When will Google dump pagerank ?
I will sleep sound then
George 10.09.07 at 12:16 pm
I agree with Keebu. Google should dump Pagerank altogether and stop whining about people buying and selling links.
Mike Pedersen Golf 10.09.07 at 1:41 pm
Man…does google have a monopoly or what? I realize it’s the biggest search engine in the world, but putting all the eggs in the google basket probably isn’t the best approach.
Rob Oresteen 10.09.07 at 2:13 pm
GBG? Jeez dude…Google tells us how to play and acts as if their poop doesn’t stink.
But for all of you who think Google is great, check out results for “Tienanmen Square”. Remember the massacre in the 80’s?
Try one search at google.com (USA)
Try another at google.cn (China)
Any questions about Google’s integrity? They chase a buck just like the rest of us do.
So play their game if you must but Power Link. Thanks Jack for another great post.