Google has removed it’s PageRank from Webmaster Tools and there’s some discussion about it lately, along with a lot of rumors and exaggerations but who knows what’s going on? Google hasn’t always been the most forthright company. In the spirit of ‘That’s Right, I Said It‘ attitude I thought I’d share my thoughts with the three people that read the nonsense I write.


In the Webmaster Central Help forum a Google employee said, “We’ve been telling people for a long time that they shouldn’t focus on PageRank so much; many site owners seem to think it’s the most important metric for them to track, which is simply not true. We removed it because we felt it was silly to tell people not to think about it, but then to show them the data, implying that they should look at it.  :-) “


Now that’s just fine, Google wants to keep and use pagerank but we “shouldn’t focus on PageRank so much“. I agree with Extreme John‘s statement last month, “Page Rank is an important factor when it comes to how other bloggers and even investors view your blog“. [See How to Check Your Google Page Rank]


When deciding where we want backlinks PageRank is a quick and easy way to get an idea of the authority, in Google’s eyes anyway, that the site has. When we are determining which keywords to use and how the competition looks with those keywords we use PageRank. Sure, Google PR isn’t the be-all end-all ranking tool and no one should be obsessed with it but I don’t see why it should be ignored. Personally I prefer Alexa rank over PR anytime, Alexa gives us an idea of traffic, not just how good someone is at SEO.


When Google changes or updates the PageRank Algorithm some will be happy and many will be disappointed. Most, I think, couldn’t care less. And changes there will be, you can always count on that. Getting obsessed with it is setting yourself up for certain disappointment. Look at the list of sites that lost significant PR exactly two years ago: Google Changing the PageRank Algorithm? In fact, ExtremeEzine.com had a PageRank of 05/10 and I would love to see it there again. It’s a “status” thing, sure, but it’s more than that. It’s a measurement of success to many sites, webmasters and internet savvy geeks like me. Just like money is, like it or not – agree with it or not. If you can advertise on one of two related and relevant sites for the same price,where are you going to put your money? The one with zero PR or the one with a five? Case closed!


I post and comment without a single thought about PageRank and it probably shows. I had no idea what this site’s PR was until I checked seconds ago. I really don’t care, it’s a personal blog. I use this site as self therapy and to show off how smart i is, really. If I was making money from this site it would be a different story. I want traffic and PageRank on sites I’m feeding my family from, especially if I’m selling ad spots on the site.


My conclusion? Google spent all that time developing a popular system while saying they don’t want it to be popular. Why did they even make it publicly visible? They hide everything else like it was National Security or something. Now, to prove their point, they have removed it from one of their products. Big deal! Ever hear the term ‘you made your bed now lay in it‘? If they don’t want it, move over; I’ll gladly lay in it! For a company that earned revenue of $5.94 billion last quarter they sure seem dumb sometimes.


That’s Right, I Said It now you do your part and Speak You Mind!


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