Death of Google's PR to threaten Directories?

Yes I agree, I think google is participating in the discussion so it can hear as much as possible from the end-users. Toolbar page rank is not even activated by default (or wasn't last time I installed). Really only SEO's and webmasters use it. IMO gooogle is not going to get rid of it anytime soon and the only way they will get rid of it is if they have something they deem better (or more profitable) to replace it.

 

we could adapt to new life without PR...

 

Google pays $1.00 for each referral that you send to them where the person starts using the Google tool bar. The only reason they do that is that having that tool bar there is highly valuable to them.

Of the people who are on DP what percentage do you think has the Google Tool bar or PR rank bar either with FF or IE? I would bet a very high percent, whether you believe in PR or not.

Now how many would have that toolbar if the PR bar was not there? I bet that very few would. Easy enough to just type Google.com when you want to search.

That PR bar brings Google huge amount of people to use there toolbar. They will not give up such an easy free way to have people use thier product.

Whether that PR bar means anything or not Google will keep it for all the free publicity.

 

I don't think it's going to be discared soon. First they need to find a more appropiated way to rank websites using more than on-page info.

 

I think they are simply spreading these type of rumors to discourage people from buying link on other sites.

As paid links are affecting the algorithm very much.

The best example is this web hosting provider

http://www.jeffbrowninc.com/UK-Web-Hosting---affordable-webhosting-services-in-UK..html


They got to PR8 by buying links but their service is worst when they are compared to other standarad webhosting providers like softlayer.com which has only PR6

 

Content - Content - Content.

It has always been the king - and it will stay the same.

I remember Shawn Walters comment in his interview with Jeff on Aviva's blog -- "bring in the visitors - webmasters will follow you."

Since reading that interview my whole concept changed. I am now concentrating more on improving the directory structure, content and other things.

About Google discarding PR - IMHO - PR will stay there. But as I have been saying to friends on IMs -- Google is going to over-haul all its algorithm - including SERPs, PR etc.


So the age old theory of -buying high PR links to get high PR will go. Google is going to discount lots of lots of links during this update.

Lots of directories are going to loose PR ( including myself) with high PR backlinks. On the other-hand lots of directories with low PR backlinks will get high PR.

IMHO- Google is testing the algo with some sites and still have not found the right combination. That is the reason why some sites got PR changed and most are still untouched.

I believe this update will revolutionise the PR thing. And I am personally very much ready to face the new Algo.

 

Couple comments...

Is that for ~$50 listings each...if so, very impressive...more power to you!

True...but their green bar is lit up and everyone knows it...hence $200/year. (yes, I understand they are also Alexa Rank 1 for traffic)

Possibly, but they would still be in the top 5 on G for "web directory" because PR does not determine G rank.

Historically, the sites with Higher PR can charge more...just look around DP or anywhere for that matter.

Whether PR disappears or not, there are many excellent directories whose webmasters do not allow PR to control the destiny of their directory. They have worked extremely hard and in return their sites have gained high PR. Everyone needs to decide on their own, whether they buy advertising for PR strength, backlink strength, or potential traffic...which coincidentally seem to go hand in hand, at least in my experiences.

Hypothetically, with the current ranking system, which would you choose?
1. Backlink from a relevant PR0 site for $100/month
or
2. Backlink from a relevant PR10 site for $100/month

Now ask yourself, does PR matter?

Best of luck to all.

 

Who would believe reading the posts on this and all the other forums. PR is still a paranoid obsession with most and that includes myself.

It currently has little or no influence on ones ranking in Googles search results. Why would they change that?

The rest is almost history and its long overdue. Do you not wonder why the PR pimps are sitting this out and smiling contentedly after being so voluble in the past?

What do you mean by promotion? Does this not translate into Buyng PR and trading it for votes in todays market?

There we go. Says it all. Who will argue that there is any value in PR let alone that it has any impact on the search engines? Will someone please explain to me, once again and just for clarity, why I should pay $200 a year for a link on an "Authority" site when I can get the same value from a newly launched directory displaying half a dozen links.

I think I will just stick to the free directories. They have the best chance of weathering this storm. Whats going to happen to the high PR directories when the bottom falls out of their market? Who in their right mind is going to pay $10 let alone $100 a year for the sort of traffic they pass?

 

even if they did do away with PR, Google will still recognize the quality directories from those that are not. This little i trust Google. Thus, i believe that those directories with high PR now, will most likely still have high standing with Google, as directory owners are focused on more than just PR, but backlinks, SERPs and content. Google cannot possibly ignore ALL these parameters....

 

Pr never really mattered when it came down to buying links. Google's Backlink count is what i always shopped for.

But either way, PR does matter and I think it will leave a mark on our business if Google decided to take it out. Sooner or later we will have something new to value our websites with.

 

Just read an article about google pagerank.

If it is to be true, what will be the main reason people submit to your directory. No matter you admit or not, the reason people submit their sites to directory mostly depends on PageRank, it is easy to be seen by installing google toolbar.

There are some other factors like PS, Alexa, Backlinks, but they are easier to get than PR. So if pagerank had gone, what would be the most important factor to get paid submission?

 

Why start a new thread???

This was started only 5 hours ago:
http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=431469

 

lol, he probably just missed it, its okay. I've probably done something like that before as well.

 

A lot of nail biting going on right now. But you are not suggesting that high PR sites really do have a special relationship with Google are you? Back links are back links and whilst many people wave their hands around theatrically and talk about "Relevance" in whispers, no one has been has been able to show conclusively that there is any difference between a vote from a one week old directory that has been indexed or an established directory selling expensive links on the strength of this special relationship it has with Google and its visitors of course.

 

I'm not biting my nails, but sure am clipping them nice and even...back to the topic, it seems to me your trying to convey that a free PR3-4 link can be just as valuable as links from established directories (Yahoo!, DMOZ, Botw, Aviva, Alive, etc). Now if what your saying is true, can you show any conclusive evidence to backup your statement? Probably not.

Perhaps you might want to check out this:
http://www.v7n.com/forums/web-directory-issues/63075-free-directories-vs-paid-directories.html

 

I don't believe that PR is going to go away anytime soon - if at all.

 

It's ok as long as it doesn't get to be 1,600 posts long.....

 

It would be a sad thing to see it go if that was to happen. But I think that sites which are not directories would suffer a greater impact. Directories are a valueable source for relevant backlinks and therefore webmasters and sites owners will continue to submit to them because of that.

And even without the green bar, as others have said there are other ways to score a website or directory so I think it is safe to say that directories will still be alive and tickin with or without the green bar.

 

No I am not. What I am saying I that there is no difference between a back link from a directory that does not even register for PR and Alive directory and if you disagree can you show any conclusive evidence?

And just to clarify one point are you suggesting that Alive carries the same weight as Dmoz?

 

They might be changing or removing the pr system, but I doubt it will happen anytime soon.