Towards the end of October 2009 Google again updated what is know as “Toolbar PageRank.” If you have the Google Toolbar installed on your browser, and you opt in to sending Google information about your internet activity, you can have Toolbar PageRank displayed. It appears as a little green bar that can vary from “0” which is white, to 10, which is all green, and the other nine integer values in between.

Toolbar PR = 3

Toolbar PR = 6

Google PageRank is a complex algorithm that attempts to quantify the authority of a Webpage, based on the number and various qualities of links pointing to that Webpage. Google considers the authority of a Webpage extremely important for the purposes of ranking that Webpage in search results. Toolbar PageRank is supposed to be a snapshot of actual working PageRank, taken at irregular and semi-annual intervals.

Problems with Toolbar PageRank.

Although Toolbar PageRank appears to be a quick and easy way to measure link authority, those who work with search engine optimization on a daily basis know better.

1. Toolbar PageRank is updated too infrequently to be useful. A lot can change in 4 to 6 months, and when you are trying to compare pages, keep in mind, when your are looking at Toolbar PageRank you are generally looking at old data. Actual working PageRank is continuously updated.
2. Toolbar PageRank doesn’t correlate with changes in organic search results. There are problems with translating a complex non-linear algorithm into a 10 point scale. On the lower end, often a drop in Toolbar PageRank reflects a recalibration of that 10 point scale rather than a drop in a Website’s link authority.
3. Google says their Toolbar PageRank measures are misleading and removed the Webmaster Tools version of Toolbar PageRank from the Webmaster Tools interface for that reason. Why did they keep it on the Google Toolbar? My guess is so they could continue to mine date from your browser.
4. Toolbar PageRank can be spoofed by a well known method called 302 hijacking. With this method a Webmaster can give a page an apparently high PageRank. This method does not effect the actual PageRank. This method can be used to scam other Webmaster into purchasing what appears to be a valuable link from the spoofed page.
5. Google Toolbar PageRank display is very prone to errors. The Google homepage is shown below with its normal PR of 10, and erroneously with no PR. 

In short, Toolbar PageRank is not accurate enough to be relied upon for any important decision-making. Although there is some correlation between it and actual PageRank and therefore a pages link authority, a better measure is a Webpage’s position in the targeted search results. After all, isn’t good search engine position your primary objective?

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PHP Web Development - PHP Web Development     | 124.125.247.xxx | 2009-12-07 02:08:28 Then how can we measure accurate Page Rank of Website? Reply | Quote 0   0

Bay Area Web Designer - PageRank     | 76.254.17.xxx | 2009-12-07 12:51:29 In short, you can't. PageRank is often a focus of webmasters who have just started to understand how search engines, particularly Google, work. The simple formula of "Relevance + PageRank= Success" is too simple. Once the complexities of SEO fully are understood, it becomes less interesting to try to discover an accurate PageRank of a webpage. Reply | Quote 0   0

Privathospital - Page Rank     | 122.174.74.xxx | 2010-01-20 11:01:31 You know what would be the formula to find the page rank? I just plan to make a project favoring page rank. Reply | Quote 0   0

Bay Area Web Designer - PageRank Formula     | 99.35.219.xxx | 2010-01-20 11:29:32 The formula can be found here: http://ilpubs.stanford.edu:8090/422/1/1999-66.pdf, however it is theoretical and calculating actual page rank of any particular page with it is not practical or even possible. From outside the algorithm that uses it, toolbar PageRank is probably the best you can do. Instead of fretting over the PageRank number, build quality backlinks and you will be ahead of the game. Reply | Quote 0   0

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.