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Is PR "useless"?

Discussion in 'Google' started by Jim4767, Jul 18, 2007.

  1. #1
    Predictably, as there seem to be PR fluctuations going on right now in some data centers, the forum will abound with confident declarations that “PR is useless”. Let’s look at that.

    1. Either Google is lying. Possible, but not likely. Or...

    2. PR is not useless, per Google’s own statements on their current, ©2007 page (http://www.google.com/technology/), quoted below:

    • “The heart of our software is PageRank™.”

    • “PageRank continues to play a central role in many of our web search tools.”

    • “Google combines PageRank with sophisticated text-matching techniques to find pages that are both important and relevant to your search.”

    Some assert, “I’ll take SERPs any day over PageRank!” That is a colossal misconception. Again, unless Google is lying, their statement on PR is that it is very much involved in the search engine results pages (SERPs). To summarize the quotes above, Google says:

    • Page Rank plays a central (not minor or peripheral) role in many of their web search tools.

    • They use PR (remember, in “a central role”) to “find pages” related to your search.

    It is mind-boggling to me, in the face of Google’s clear statements (copyright 2007), that some posters continue to maintain that PR is not related to scoring well in the SERPs, or that it is only a minor influence. To the contrary, Google says that PR plays a central role and is indeed used to find pages relevant to your search. A “central role”!

    Any thoughts? Any corrections? I’m open here, but open to input that is consistent with the statements of Google, the ultimate PR “expert”.
     
    Jim4767, Jul 18, 2007 IP
    maldives likes this.
  2. w3bmaster

    w3bmaster Notable Member

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    #2
    For me is just a number

    And i enjoy and have a nice laugh when i see people that "fight so hard" and ar like PR addicted

    USELESS
     
    w3bmaster, Jul 18, 2007 IP
  3. Bryce

    Bryce Peon

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    #3
    I agree with w3bmaster, IMHO it's useless and I gave up long ago worrying about it. Why ? My top earning site has a PR3 after 2 years, doesn't have Adsense/CJ/CB or any affiliate programs on it, I'm not selling text links, but I make money from selling memberships and selling direct advertising. The site was promoted off the internet by "word of mouth", no serps necessary... so, my biggest earner (over $3K per month) has existed outside of Google entirely...

    As far as "real time content" and keeping "current", Google has to bypass the PageRank schema at some point to keep the serps up to date these days especially considering the rise in popularity of blogs. For example, if a blogger is posting about a particular Boston Red Sox pitchers performance last night, it would hardly make sense for the serps to pull a 3 year old article from when that particular pitcher was on the Florida Marlins just because the older page has more backlinks directed at it.
     
    Bryce, Jul 18, 2007 IP
  4. Lexiseek

    Lexiseek Banned

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    #4
    Definitely useless. You don't need PR to rank for "Free Pentecostal Bible Studies" as you've surely discerned by now.

    PR excites the newbs, mainly.
     
    Lexiseek, Jul 18, 2007 IP
  5. Jim4767

    Jim4767 Prominent Member

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    #5
    That's fine, if for you it's just a number. That's your prerogative.

    However, that number seems to be pretty important to Google! Otherwise, they would'nt devote so much time, money, algorithms, and engineers to it. I learned years ago in Business School ... follow the money trail! I'm not going to ignore to my own peril something in which Google is so heavily invested.
     
    Jim4767, Jul 18, 2007 IP
  6. Lexiseek

    Lexiseek Banned

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    #6
    What does PR have to do with money? My website revenue is $140,000 per year and I un-installed the Toolbar two years ago.

    Why ask the question if you aren't prepared for people to disagree with you?

    People who are making their entire living off the internet don't obsess about PR.
     
    Lexiseek, Jul 18, 2007 IP
  7. MasterOfLogic

    MasterOfLogic Well-Known Member

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    #7
    depends on how you use the PR. I suppose if you just get PR for purposes of selling links, then PR is not useless.

    As far as the SERPS, PR is useless. I have PR 2 sites that rank page 1 of google for competetive product keywords, while the other sites are PR 5 and 6.
     
    MasterOfLogic, Jul 18, 2007 IP
  8. Jim4767

    Jim4767 Prominent Member

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    #8
    Actually, I have 25 keyword phrases on Google's first page. #4 for a KW with almost 500 daily searches. #5 for a KW with nearly 8,000 daily searches, per Overture.

    And I'm hardly a "newb". ;) What I am is a DP member trying to help those who are ignoring a key part of SEO (Page Rank) that Google says plays a central role in their search engine tools. I'm not offended at all by those who choose to ignore PR. It just allows those of us who don't ignore it to do better. :)
     
    Jim4767, Jul 18, 2007 IP
  9. Jim4767

    Jim4767 Prominent Member

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    #9
    I'm happy for you. Well done.

    My reference to money is the money Google obviously invests into keeping PR in a central role in their web search tools.
     
    Jim4767, Jul 18, 2007 IP
  10. Lexiseek

    Lexiseek Banned

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    #10
    I knew you'd be happy for me, so thanks.

    Now, are you talking about real internal PR or Toolbar PR? Do you even know the difference?
     
    Lexiseek, Jul 18, 2007 IP
  11. Bryce

    Bryce Peon

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    #11

    Well said Lexiseek... As I posted, I made over $36K in the last year on one of my sites that has nothing to do with Google or PR. I will also mention, the reason I took the approach with the site in question was that I had spent 2003-04 trying to do what many people here are doing, build pagerank... As far as sharing the secret of my success or the site in question, sorry, no can do... I think Lexiseek will agree with me that when a webmaster has the tiger by the tail, he/she isn't going to give or sell you the secret.

    I personally think if people spent as much time on being creative and innovative as they did obsessing on backlinks and pagerank, they might actually latch onto something that they can make a living from...
     
    Bryce, Jul 18, 2007 IP
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  12. Bryce

    Bryce Peon

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    #12

    hint: the difference is in the serps... :D
     
    Bryce, Jul 18, 2007 IP
  13. Jim4767

    Jim4767 Prominent Member

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    #13
    Yes, I know the difference. It has been explained often and well on DP.
     
    Jim4767, Jul 18, 2007 IP
  14. sachin410

    sachin410 Illustrious Member

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    #14
    PR may not be as important as it was in the past. Toolbar PR is not always accurate and cannot be relied upon all the time. I have come across hundreds of pages which have a decent PR (2,3,4) with not more than 1 or 2 links.

    However, the concept of PR is still valid. A link from a page, that itself has strong links, does benefit.
     
    sachin410, Jul 18, 2007 IP
  15. Jim4767

    Jim4767 Prominent Member

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    #15
    That is indeed a potential problem. But rather than "bypassing" PR, Google says: "Google combines PageRank with sophisticated text-matching techniques to find pages that are both important and relevant to your search." (http://www.google.com/technology/)
     
    Jim4767, Jul 18, 2007 IP
  16. Lexiseek

    Lexiseek Banned

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    #16
    Good. Since you put up "official statements" from Google, I guess you conveniently missed the one about "PageRank is one of over 100 different criteria" used to rank pages which is mentioned nearly as often. Plus, they're talking about internal PR, which only they can see.

    The crap they show to the end users is a "snapshot" that's over 90 days out of use. The only one's who care are the people selling links back and forth to other for PageRank. Why? Because it's the only ranking factor they can "see".

    That's why us webmasters who care about making money and ranking don't care about PageRank updates. The green eye candy is NOT used to rank pages.
     
    Lexiseek, Jul 18, 2007 IP
  17. scoobby

    scoobby Active Member

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    #17
    you people that say pr is useless dont know how to read???G says it have a central role so it does!I know that its not the only thing that matters but sure your Serps will be better with higher pr!maybe a little but will,so is not useless!!!Is like your best teacher give you a score for the last 3 month exam and u saying that his opinion is useless.
     
    scoobby, Jul 18, 2007 IP
  18. Lexiseek

    Lexiseek Banned

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    #18
    I think getting all your information about how Google ranks from Google is a dangerous practice to involve yourself in.

    If PR is everything, find a competitive keyphrase and order the sites by PR. Are they ordered from 1-10 based on highest PR? 2 years ago they were, and that's when I cared. Now take a look and see if you can find such ordering.
     
    Lexiseek, Jul 18, 2007 IP
  19. ajitjc

    ajitjc Banned

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    #19
    How can you strongly say like that?
     
    ajitjc, Jul 18, 2007 IP
  20. Jim4767

    Jim4767 Prominent Member

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    #20
    No doubt, PR is one of over 100 different criteria. However, unlike most of those, Google says that “PageRank continues to play a central role in many of our web search tools.” Not peripheral, minor, or 1/100th in importance.
     
    Jim4767, Jul 18, 2007 IP