On April 30th, Google updated the PageRank toolbar. This is the second update of 2008. The next update is expected at the end of September.
What is PageRank and how important is it in the search engine ranking algorithm?
PageRank is the algorithm that Google uses to give a numerical value to the importance of a web page. This value is used as part of the algorithm that determines the order in which the results of a search are displayed on Google.
PageRank is named after its creator Larry Page. PageRank does not mean "ranking of pages."
The purpose of PageRank is to assign a numerical value to web pages based on the number of times they are recommended by other pages and the PageRank of these pages. In other words, it establishes the importance of that web page.
Over the years, Google has been modifying this algorithm with the aim of neutralizing some of the tricks carried out by webmasters who want to fraudulently modify their positioning. In this latest update, it seems that the algorithm has also been modified, since numerous websites have lowered their PageRank… although, luckily, many others have increased it, including those of some of our clients.
How do updates work?: Difference between real PageRank and Google Toolbar PageRank
The PageRank shown in the Google toolbar is only updated approximately once every 4 months.
The bar shows us a PageRank in base 10 on a logarithmic scale. That is, it is easy to go from 0 to 1 or from 2 to 3, but it is very difficult to go from 5 to 6, and even more difficult to go from 6 to 7. But this is not the real PageRank of our page, but the value that Google assigned to it the last time it updated the PageRank of the bar.
There were 3 PageRank updates to the Google Toolbar in 2007: in January, in April and at the end of September. The forecasts for this year are the same: we expect 3 updates.
The PageRank that Google uses for its calculations is much more precise and uses a much larger scale, although we do not know by how much, and Google is completely secretive about this, although it seems to be based on 100. Its internal servers update it daily.
When will the next update be?
If everything goes according to plan, we should expect it during the month of September. So all the actions to increase PageRank that we carry out from now on will not be reflected in the Google toolbar until this month.
This does not mean that before September our actions will be useless. Nothing could be further from the truth. Remember that Google works with a real-time PageRank.
I don't see PageRank in my Google toolbar, what should I do?
By default, the Google toolbar does not include this information, but you can include PageRank from the toolbar options, and in this way, while you browse the web, you will be able to know the PageRank of the pages you visit. This will help you know which web pages you should try to include your links on to increase your PageRank.
Links of interest:
How can I improve the PageRank of my website?:
http://www.geamarketing.com/posicionamiento/mas_pagerank.php
Free Online Course on Search Engine Optimization:
http://www.geamarketing.com/posicionamiento_buscadores.php
