OK, this week has been a rocky one in the social arenas surrounding the SEO communities. Why? Google has made a BIG statement by updating the PageRank visible from the Google Toolbar.
It all started on Wednesday when many notable websites dropped 2 to 3 points in the little green bar. Much speculation ensued and alarm around the blogosphere trying to figure out what it all meant. It was paid links became the consensus. A couple of weeks ago, Danny Sullivan at Search Engine Land announced that buying or selling links may negatively affect your PageRank and/or rankings in Google.
Here are a couple of posts that put things into perspective:
Toolbar Hysteria
8 Things We Learned About Google PageRank
Google Scares the Search Crowd
So, as everything started settling down, all of the Sphinns started getting hot, carrying the PageRank debate into the conversations into Thursday and still on Friday. Now, rather yesterday, I noticed that the PageRank (that to this point had remained unchanged) on SEOpittfall.com had moved from 4 to 5. Then today, while trying to catch up on all of my reading, Eric Lander at Search Engine Journal noted:
I’m seeing a number of new sites showing PageRank updates tonight, and assume that it has to be happening elsewhere as well.
So, many of the authority websites that lost PageRank earlier this week have regained most if not all of their green bar that was noted on Wednesday.
I sit here and contemplate the need for assuming the value of a web page to Google… I think that, more than anything, that Google may be sending a message, what could this message be, here are a couple of thoughts:
- The PageRank bar is not to be trusted
- Paid links should not pass PageRank
- PageRank does not equal ranking
- PageRank does not guarantee traffic
- Traffic does not equal PageRank
- Google doesn’t want to help others make money from their ranking tool
I know that it is hard to imagine, but Google isn’t open source, when will someone build a better mousetrap?
Alexa, sorry 
Compete, not yet
Who’s Next? 
Really? PageRank is a popularity contest and it always has.
So, those who want to continue to sell links, start valuing web sites using another form of measuring stick other than PageRank.
For those not buying or selling links, eyes on the prize, namely targeted traffic.
What are your thoughts?
Did you see any major changes in your PageRank this week?
Did you miss the whole thing?
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Here is a ranking tool that does not have basis on Google’s PageRank:
Blog Juice Calculator