Google Plays Down PageRank…Yet Again

Google PageRank.  If you know anything about SEO, you probably have heard of Google’s PageRank.  Some trumpet PageRank as absolutely the most important metric in SEO while others don’t give a rip about it.  So, what should you think about PageRank?

PageRank is a figure based on an algorithm developed by Google.  It’s based on several factors, including inbound links, and has generally become known as the number telling you how important Google thinks your website is and how well they are going to rank your site.  But is it really that important?

Yes and No.

The trick is that the Google’s PageRank isn’t what most people think it is.  It’s not that number in the Google toolbar with the green bar.  It is an internal figure (or calculation) that plays a role in the rankings of your website.  You and I never get to see the real PageRank.  Even the real PageRank isn’t as important as it used to be.  With hundreds of factors going into the algorithm which determines the Google Rankings, PageRank has given up some of its pull to other factors, like social signals, personalization, and relevance.

So, what does Google tell us about PageRank?

In a recent blog post Google has (once again) said not to pay much attention to the Google Toolbar PageRank.  For the record, this isn’t really news.  They’ve been saying this in one form or another for years, but people’s attachment to PageRank holds on.  Google suggests in their article that we shouldn’t really pay much attention to PageRank, but should focus on bounce rates, conversion rates, and click-through rates.

I find it interesting that Google says we should all pay attention to conversion rates and bounce rates instead of PageRank.  Sure, conversion rates and bounce rates are important, but they aren’t really related to PageRank.  It would be like if I asked a mechanic how my brakes were and they said I should really be thinking about my engine.  Well sure, my engine is important, but I’m talking about my brakes right now and they are important to.  A good conversion rate isn’t going to help me in my search rankings.

There Is Nothing Else
The problem is that Google doesn’t have something else to point us to that is the equivalent of PageRank.  Well, that’s not really true.  The more accurate statement would be that Google has no intention of giving us any information that is the equivalent of PageRank.  This recent post and the other previous posts like it are really Google’s artful way of saying the Google Toolbar PageRank isn’t accurate or important and we’re not going to give you the information you want so you might as well focus on something you can track, like conversion rates, etc.

My advice is to not pay attention to Google’s Toolbar PageRank, with the possible exception of using it for some indications in keyword research, but even then I’d only use it if you aren’t able to use something more accurate.

My Question To Google
The real question I have for Google is if their PageRank figure is so useless that even they are telling us not to pay attention to it, why have it on the Toolbar in the first place?  Instead of writing about the irrelevance of the toolbar PageRank for 2 years, wouldn’t it be easier to just turn that feature off?

So, what do you think?

Do you pay attention to PageRank?

Do you think it’s important?