Google has updated the ToolBar PageRank. This recent update followed the pattern observed for the last few events. First Google seems to do a minor “adjustment” update, which affects interior pages mainly. They also assign TBPR penalties. Then they follow this with a major PR update which assigns PR to home pages and to new domains.
It’s safe to say that TBPR doesn’t work the way it used to.
One thing it’s easy to notice these days is how “PageRank blank spots”, at least visible gaps in PR exist in so many places. In the past, it was rare to see so many PR or “PageRank Data Not Available” pages. Now they’re very common. These days it’s very common to see PR0 web pages with many backlinks. Google pretty much just arbitrarily assigns values to pages, and they show what the want on their toolbar.
PageRank has no credibility
Due to the tricks Google is implementing for distorting PageRank, the basic integrity of the system is non-existant. Many PR0 pages still push PR to linked pages, which should clearly be a mathematical impossibility.
Firstly, webmasters abused PR and helped to destroy its’ credibility. Now Google is doing the same thing by intentionally manipulating the values they display. In any event, there’s no use getting upset. If you do suddenly have a PR0 page, check for some likely problems:
- Check all outgoing links for quality
- Check for any webmaster errors
- Check your backlinks. It’s likely that the websites that link to you have dropped in PR, also.
During this last update I also see some surprising values that seem over-inflated, as well. Either way, it should be about three months until the next update. Even if you’ve lost or gained, you’ll still need to get back to work and build your website. Whether your website has PageRank or not is of no consequence in the end. Rankings and conversions are what you need to make the most money online.