Hey This has probably been asked a 100 times but could any of you guys tell me when the next Google PR update will be? I have been working on a few personal sites of my own and it would be interesting to find out. Thanks in advance.
Yes ,this question has been posted a couple of times, and the answer that was posted before (don't rememeber who did, but I bookmarked the link was: http://www.seocompany.ca/pagerank/page-rank-update-list.html
That isn't info. It's just a history of previous updates, which as a predictor of when the next update will be makes it something between a wild guess and rank speculation. Stop worrying about it. The update will happen when it happens and not a second earlier. Furthermore, once the toolbar PR is updated, it won't mean anything anyway, since (1) any effect on Google rankings will have already been in effect for some time, and (2) following the update, that PR value will only be accurate for somewhere between a few hours and a few weeks.
Okay, so PR updates and various updates by Googs doesn't amount to much except cosmetics (in some cases), so the only Goog update that matters is those named updates, correct? In that case, how often do THOSE happen? I know Bourbon just came and went in, what, June or July? Any rank speculation or wild guesses on how often Google does this major algo/SERP updates? I know, I know, it's all hopless wild guesses and spec, but what the hey, even wild, unproven guesses are better than not knowing anything, right? Anyways, I'm just trying to get a "feel" for how long I'll have to wait until my sites move in the SERPs...
Those major updates happen maybe once or twice a year maximum, and there's no way outside of Google's offices to know when they'll occur. According to Google Guy, more minor updates to the algorithm happen on average 1-3 times per month. Most of those probably go almost unnoticed amidst the usual ups and downs of Google search rankings. My advice is to stop worrying about it -- it will happen when it happens. And how would it help you to know exactly when it will occur anyway? As I said, the public PR updates are not going to tell you when your sites will "move in the SERPs" anyway because anything that is going to happen in that regard is happening on an ongoing basis and has already happened by the time public PR is updated.
First off, I just wanted to point out that was Minstrel's quadruple nickle post ... 5555; cool number Next, I want to congratulate everyone for helping the rest of us rank better. The more people get wrapped around the PR and Google axle, the better for those who could give a hoot who are spending the time more wisely on their sites, content, linking efforts, optimization et al which will have a much greater efficacy in gaining in SERP and hence traffic, than the little green bar that seems to be so blinding to many. Facts: PR does not mean quality. PR does not mean better SERP. PR does not mean visitors. PR ... doesn't mean squat except IBLs .... What really floors me is that people are buying selling links based on PR! No doubt, we've all seen those PR6 and up sites that are crap, have no visitors, will likely get banned and so on .... how is that worth $600 a year? I'd much rather have a link on a site that actually has relevancy, visitors and potential to send me visitors ... PR value is always my last consideration. Oh, sure, I'll take a stab at the original question .... second week of October; keep staring at the light - while you're being hypnotized by it, others are out performing you in factors that matter.
You are in the minority though. From a link sellers perspective, I would rather have a PR7 with very little traffic then a PR3 with lots of traffic. Why - Because of exactly what you said which would mean more money. I personally don't buy links that way (I agree with you) but there are so many people that do, PR can be quite important. The other person who values PR is a directory owner. PR5's get signifigantly more submissions then PR3 and PR4's. I went from a PR3 to a PR5 on one of my directories in the last update and my submissions tripled. I had the same amount of visitors the day before, the same rankings, etc but that one event - the updating of visual PR - meant a massive increase in the "value" of my site. As an advertiser, I would love to see PR go away completely. It would mean real prices for traffic. But as long as the bar shows something - anything - PR will still have some value
But what you're saying, yfs1, is that public PR is important only to link-sellers/link-buyers and the uninformed, right? If you are basing decisions about linking strategies based on public PR, it seems to me you need to become better informed about what public PR actually means and represents. Similarly, if you're making decisions about which directory to submit to based on public PR, you are probably passing up some valuable directories. It's all a matter of education...
Except you are talking about a huge mass of people that drive the market. Try a test. Post in the Buy Sell Trade section that you have advertising/links for sale. Make it extremely specific with traffic numbers, screenshots, theme, right down to the breakdown of which countries visitors are from. Just don't post the PR. I guarantee you will have all kinds of people asking "Whats the PR"? I agree they have no concept of how it works, but that doesn't change the facts. The public at large thinks PR is the end all and is the main (if not only) decider of link monetary value. Thats why PR IS important to the link seller/directory owner. Because the public at large demand it. You will get fewer submissions/bids with a lower PR. I agree with you that that is out of miseducation but if you are the one selling the links/ selling your site / asking for submissions you are going to lose money if your PR drops.
By the way, I will give you another example. There is a site seller here at DP that has some of the worst sites I have ever seen and rarely do they have more then 25-50 uniques a day. What they do is start a bunch of these, use their network of links to point to them, wait for the next update. Then when they get a PR3/PR4/PR5, they sell them right away. These are sites that are worth $50 tops (and that is very liberal), yet they routinely get around the $200+ mark. It isn't for the site design as most of them don't even work properly Its not because of the age of the site - They are usually 2-5 months It isn't because of traffic - They get around 25 uniques People are paying for PR - and everytime they do that they give value to PR. It is the general public that sets its importance these days - not the algo used to calulate it
I understand and agree with your points, yfs1, and that's precisely why whenever I see a thread I wade in to try to correct the misinformation. Piblic PR is the last thing anyone should be looking at when they are trying to evaluate a site for purchase or as a link exchange partner.