It seems that most of the Internet world would have you believe that PageRank is in fact dead.  After all, PageRank has been removed from Google’s Webmaster Tools, so case closed, right?  Well, not exactly.

It is true that PageRank data is no longer displayed inside of Google’s Webmaster Tools, and yet, it is still displayed as part of the Google Toolbar.  So is the little green bar completely useless now?  Many people have been saying that PageRank is useless for years so it isn’t much of a surprise that they want to finally be correct.  Of course, a lot of people say that an Alexa score is a totally useless metric as well.

And they aren’t completely wrong.  It is just that they are not using the data correctly.  Alexa Rank, mozRank, PageRank, and other such numbers are not really meant to be used 100% by themselves.  And a large percent of the population doesn’t know exactly how they work or exactly what the numbers represent.  The numbers themselves are relative and only take a single index in to account.

So while PageRank might not be the best indicator of a website’s performance it can still be used as a sort of “popularity gauge”.  Just look at the following example: Adobe.com is PageRank 9, while Randomblog.org is PageRank 2.  If you could get a link from one of those sites, which one would you pick?  I don’t think a lot of people would argue that a link from Adobe.com is the smart choice.

Google doesn’t want webmasters to focus on PageRank.  Instead they want site owners to focus on generating unique and useful content.  This makes sense as a lot of spammy websites have been created to act as “PR Pumpers”.  Obviously, this doesn’t make Google happy and doesn’t promote a good user experience.  And as the “PageRank is Dead” crowd has pointed out all along, higher PageRank does not always equal higher position in the search engines.

I agree that PageRank should not be a primary focus.  I also agree that to the Average Joe, PageRank is more or less dead.  PageRank can be faked, it can evaporate quickly from dropped domains, it can be inflated with redirects, and what the Toolbar displays is outdated.  The little green bar definitely has its flaws.

But links are still the currency of the Internet.  If you want your site to rank well in the search engines then links from other sites are needed.  If other sites do not link to yours you will never be found.  It is as simple as that.  And for that reason, PageRank isn’t completely dead.  While Google doesn’t have to display PageRank anywhere if they don’t want to, the algorithm behind the name still plays a role.

What can be done if the little green bar can’t be trusted?  This is where an SEO Professional comes into play.  An SEO Professional will look at cache dates, the number of incoming links, WhoIs information, and other factors to determine the true value of a website.  This can take a lot of time and understanding all of the information can be tricky.  A good SEO Professional will create a “roadmap to success” which will push your website to the top of the search engines.  Fill out our Contact Form or select one of our custom SEO Plans today for your own Roadmap to Success.