With the impending PageRank update we thought we would help our readers out
in the understanding of ranking, the algorithm and Google in general.

Among the most anomalous of Search Engine Optimisation considerations is Google
PageRank (PR). Those new to Search Engine Optimisation get too heavily involved
in tracking their PageRank and lose sight of the real goal, which is generating
more traffic to a web page. In reality, the PageRank that is displayed in the
Google toolbar and is used in Search Engine Optimisation software, is virtually
useless as any form of Search Engine Optimisation measurement.

Infrequent Updates

Google Toolbar PageRank is updated infrequently, with the shortest gaps between
updates usually being around 3 months. This means that any time, the PR that
you are seeing for your website could be up to 3 months old. In some cases,
it can be considerably longer between updates.

No Account For Page Relevancy

However, this isn’t the main problem with trying to use PR as an indicator
of your site’s search engine performance. PR is a numerical representation
of your overall link popularity. It doesn’t take relevancy into account. Regardless
of your PR, if Google does not deem your site to be relevant to a particular
search term or keyword then your page will not rank highly.

When PR Matters

PageRank truly only becomes relevant if you intend to sell your site or, in
some cases, if you are looking to sell advertising on your website. Webmasters
do use Google PR as a guide to generate prices for a sale and for paying for
advertising on your pages.

There Are Better Things To Obsess Over

In a lot of respects, Google’s PageRank can do more harm than good. Some webmasters
spend a large amount of time trying to fill the green bar rather than drive
more traffic to their website. Unless you intend to sell advertising space
or sell your entire site then you are better off avoiding the temptation to
obsess over PR.