April 30, 2008
Google Toolbar PageRank Update
A Toolbar PageRank update which just hit Google over the last couple of days. I have spent the last three hours analyzing the update and how my test domains faired. It is pretty interesting. Before I get into the results, let’s cover a few things about the update …
The PageRank score is numerical and has an unlimited number of decimal places that it is carried out. So when we see the toolbar showing a PageRank of 5, that can be a range from 4.x - 5.x, depending upon how Google does their “rounding”. The point is, what we see on the toolbar can be very misleading as to what the actual PageRank value is. Also, the PageRank Google shows on the toolbar can be between 1-4 months old, depending on the data Google decides to show publicly. Much like the stock market quotes online that are “delayed 15 minutes”, Google “delays” showing you the PageRank value for months, even though they are computing the live data on a daily basis.
The last public Toolbar was completed around March 4th when the data became stable again. So this was a rather quick update, inside of 60 days as they are usually once a quarter.
Test Domain Results
No site ranked PR4 or above received an increase in PageRank, despite strong link acquisition over the last 60 days.
Site’s which were penalized to a PR0 by submitting to “garbage” directories had their PageRank bounce back to a PR1 or PR2 regardless of what the previous PageRank. For example, one site which was slammed to a PR0 from a PR6 came back to a PR2.
Sites which launched in late February and have had a strong link campaigns still remain at PR0. It seems the data for this public update was pulled sometime in February, but I have not verified this.
Sites which launched last fall and relied on traditional linking methods and press releases all climbed to PR3 in this update. No paid links or paid directories were done to these sites.
Since Google did a slight update on the PageRank of directories a few weeks ago, I’m not seeing any movement in the main or secondary directories.
Filed under Google by Jerry West
Comments on Google Toolbar PageRank Update »
Richard Butler @ 1:49 am
I was not surprised by google updating its search results and rankings. What makes me surprised is when alexa changes is ranking that makes people really angry about.
Wade @ 8:41 pm
Not another update. Just let it be Google. Why do they have to make it harder. We have the right to know our pagerank. They should allow us to check our page rank by our Google Accounts anyways, not some stupid toolbar.
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Jerry West @ 9:24 pm
Richard,
Alexa changing its rankings? Since when do they have a search engine? And when did anyone care about Alexa? They are right up there with Ask in importance.
Wade,
Google won’t share the up-to-date information as it would give Microsoft and Yahoo! and inside view on how PageRank worked, as well as an edge to the blackhats out there who could figure out how to manipulate PageRank more effectively.
Unfortunately, they don’t have to show you anything.
Wade @ 9:07 pm
I understand that they wont share their “secrets”, but I login to my Google Account and can check my Adsense and Analytics right there. It would be nice if I could add my web sites and have it show me the page rank of them. It would be ran off their servers, just a service they could offer. Have it be real time (or within 24/48 hours). Checking your pagerank and having it delayed by months is just plain retarded.
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Jerry West @ 9:17 pm
Wade,
It’s a nice request, and I’d love to have it too, but you have to also look at this from a business perspective. What keeps Yahoo! and Microsoft … and all the black hat marketers from using that information to get an upper hand? Believe me, if Google supplied that information, I’d create accounts with test domains to figure out how they were doing things.
Google knows this, thus will not release the sensitive data. I know it sucks, but it’s capitalism at its finest.