Google Page Rank is another one of those crazy and fascinating online rating things that bloggers love to follow and use as a tool for measuring their success online. As soon as a Google Page Rank update occurs the web explodes with the news that a Google PR update is underway, waiting to see if your page rank will increase is like waiting to see what Santa might have brought you for Christmas when you were a kid.
I take Google Page Rank in stride and celebrate it when it’s exciting, when a page rank update hits and it’s not exciting I like to reflect on the reasons Gooogle PR doesn’t concern me, doing so gets me back to work instead of worrying.
10 Reasons Google Page Rank Doesn’t Concern Me
1. I don’t write for Google, I write for readers.
2. When I started blogging I had a Google PR0, that didn’t stop me from blogging.
3. My traffic continues to grow with or without increasing Google Page Rank.
4. My community and network is much larger than my Page Rank will ever be.
5. I already wrote 500 posts with a Google PR3 or less, what’s the difference if I write another 500 posts with a Google Page Rank 3.
6. Google Page Rank doesn’t stop people from subscribe to my rss feed.
7. Anything less than a Google PR5 doesn’t matter.
8. I control my blogs fate, not Google Page Rank.
9. My search engine traffic continues to grow with or without a Google PR increase.
10. Google Page Rank doesn’t dictate the success of my blog.
Even some of the most well written and search engine optimized blogs get snubbed when it comes to Google PR updates, there’s no sense in worrying about something that I only have limited control over. Now don’t get me wrong, if the most recent page rank updated resulted in Extreme John having a Google Pr6 I would probably be screaming about how important it is and how excited I am about it. You know you would too.
How do you feel about Google Page Rank? Is it something that you find yourself constantly looking at or is it one of those things you just don’t have time for and can’t be bothered with? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.
P.s. If you don’t know what your Google Page Rank is check out my “How to Check Your Google Page Rank” post.
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{ 83 comments… read them below or add one }
Twitter: jsinkeywest
Bloggers worrying about Page Rank is nothing compared to how it used to be it’s like AOL now who cares. It would be nice if it was an actual representation of the work someone did or the quality of the post, damn then I would have a ZERO
The main thing in my opinion is if a person is truly committed to being successful in blogging or anything they aren’t going to let anything get in their way. I would of quit many setbacks ago now I can almost laugh.
.-= John Sullivan´s last blog ..Facebook vs Twitter =-.
Twitter: extremejohn
@John Sullivan, it would be really nice if it was a representation of the time, hell just the time put in. Wow.
Twitter: Ileane
Hey John,
I’m curious, how are you tracking your search engine traffic? Do you know what search terms are best at bringing traffic to your site? You blog on so many topics it would be cool to know where your organic traffic is coming from.
I hardly get any search engine traffic except for one post I did on Prof. Walter Lewin, but most of my blog isn’t about him, so I assume the traffic leaves quickly.
btw – nice list.
@Ileane
.-= ileane @Blogging´s last blog ..Install Google Analytics! =-.
Twitter: extremejohn
@ileane @Blogging, I use Google Analytics to track everything here on the EJ blog, are you using that for your blog?
Twitter: Ileane
@Extreme John, Yes I just started using GA the other day. Which search terms are sending you traffic from search engines?
.-= ileane @Blogging´s last blog ..Install Google Analytics! =-.
I have never paid much attention to page rank, and anyone that does is getting into a business that Google itself has said that it will discontinue in the near future
Twitter: extremejohn
Very true Bob, all though Google has been saying that for at least 10 years now
Twitter: websiteweekend
My opinion about page rank blows with the wind. As much as I like to say I don’t care, truth is, I care more than I should.
Which is why I’m doing something about it.
But on the whole, I agree, it doesn’t mean a lot, and I don’t worry about it over much.
.-= Dave Doolin @ Website In A Weekend´s last blog ..MasterMind Power I: How 5 Boys Achieved Unparalled Success =-.
Twitter: ariherzog
@Dave Doolin @ Website In A Weekend, If you don’t care about page rank, why do you comment here using KeywordLuv?
.-= Ari Herzog@Online Media Strategies´s last blog ..Showcase Sunday: Win a Free Copy of “The Social Media Marketing Book” by Dan Zarrella =-.
Twitter: websiteweekend
@Ari Herzog@Online Media Strategies, because, as I just wrote, my opinion blows with the wind. I care about it more than I should.
The truth is, page rank matters. I heard Matt Cutts say so in person. I also heard him say it doesn’t matter as much as most people think it matters.
.-= Dave Doolin @ Website In A Weekend´s last blog ..Blogging Katamari Style (I’m gonna roll you up!) =-.
The Google page rank hysteria in itself imo is a sign people are relying too much on Google as a traffic driver and indicator for success in itself. In your case, your content is quite diverse and I think Google punishes you quite a lot for that. In the long run, I think you are right about number 1. Google need to develop their algoritms at least as much as bloggers adapting to a search engine.
Twitter: websiteweekend
@Lars Tong Strömberg@marketing, maybe not.
I get somewhere between 10-20% of my traffic from Google. When I search on keywords common on my site, many (most?) of the top results are absolute crap.
Maybe I’m not focusing enough. I’d like to have 50-60% of traffic at the current rate coming in from Google. That would be nice. I could do more surfing, and nothing personal (I’ll be stopping by soon, Lars), a lot less commenting.
.-= Dave Doolin @ Website In A Weekend´s last blog ..Blogging Katamari Style (I’m gonna roll you up!) =-.
Twitter: extremejohn
@Lars Tong Strömberg@marketing, I like that. Google is punishing me, those bastards. Well, I guess it is their search engine and their search engine ranking system so there isn’t much I can do about it at this point.
:high: :high:When you see a drop in PageRank (often seen as a penalty), you aren’t really doing anything wrong. If more sites approach a PageRank of 10 (which takes a long time), an adjustment may be made based on the algorithm to adjust all other sites for this change, somewhat like a distribution. This is just a theory, but may have been the cause for some drops in PR over the past. :high: :high:
Twitter: extremejohn
@electric heating uk, certainly not the worst theory I have heard in regards to Google Page Rank.
Twitter: ShotOfCoffee
Couldn’t agree with you more…except number 7??? What does a PR5 have to do with anything, same as the rest if you ask me…meaningless as long as my SE traffic keeps growing.
Twitter: extremejohn
@Mike @DailyShotOfCoffee, and I thought you knew me……
Baseball #5
Hockey #5 and #25
Favorite number when playing Craps 5
My favorite number… 5
Twitter: ShotOfCoffee
@Extreme John,
Now I know why you and Jen get along. That’s her favorite number too.
.-= Mike @DailyShotOfCoffee´s last blog ..Coffee Grounds And Filter =-.
Twitter: extremejohn
@Mike @DailyShotOfCoffee, I have it trademarked it can’t possibly be her favorite number. 4 or maybe 6, but I know it’s not 5.
Twitter: ShotOfCoffee
@Extreme John, I think she’ll fight you for it!
Twitter: johnjmcdonald
All in all, pagerank is one of the worst ways to measure the value of a site! Of course, its still nice to conserve what you have and make sure it flows throughout your pages (ie: most of your categories have their own pagerank and thats a pretty good sign).
Sure, its one of the factors that determines where you rank in the search engines, but its not the only one and it is quite common to have a situation where search traffic grows despite a decline in pagerank. I’ve seen this on one of my blogs that has been as high as PR5 and is now somehow down to PR2. It just doesn’t matter much to me because it gets more search traffic at PR2 than it did at PR5!
Heck, some of my toughest competition for specific keywords is from URLs with a PR of 2 or 3.
.-= John@WebBiz´s last blog ..The fight against SPAM never ends =-.
Twitter: extremejohn
@John@WebBiz, want to know something pretty pathetic? I’ve never even looked at the Page Rank of any of my categories or posts for that matter…. haha I only look at the main domain.
You hit the nail on the head John, write for humans, not for bots!
.-= Keith@Need Information´s last blog ..Are You Writing About What You Know? =-.
Twitter: extremejohn
@Keith@Need Information, right on brother.
Hey John, I just wanted to stop by and say what a great blog this is! I heard about it from some people on the digitalpoint forum.
I agree with you about how page rank is very overrated these days. I have competitors with much lower pagerank than me, and they still outrank me for certain keywords.
Twitter: extremejohn
@Jenn@Woodstock real estate, well thank you for the kind words Jenn, I appreciate it and appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment.
Hmmm what were they saying on Digital Point Forums about me? I’ve never been there before.
Twitter: myblog2day
In my point of view, Google pagerank is nothing if you still getting good readership and traffic to your blog, pagerank is nothing if you still able to make good earning from your blog.
I used to care about pagerank for my blog, but no more right now because I write whatever I like and I love sharing and interacting with readers. That’s it.
Cheers,
Lee
Twitter: extremejohn
@Lee Ka Hoong@Make Money Blogging, you can see that the minute you visit your blog Lee.
Page Rank is not as important as used to be.
A site can get a pretty good traffic with a low Page Rank.
And that’s what matters. Isn’t it?
Twitter: extremejohn
@Surfer@Otras Cosas, that’s what matters to me. Traffic. Always has
It’s just another metric in a long list of indicators… I like it when it goes up (ha!), but it’s not something I lose sleep over. Life’s too short.
That, and my site isn’t monetized anyways, so there’s no revenue stream at jeopardy.
.-= James´s last blog ..Trees in the night =-.
Twitter: extremejohn
@James, I am right there with you James. I don’t monetize this blog in the traditional sense, it gives me more freedom to write about whatever I feel like writing about.
I agree with you about google. Although I do get excited to see my page rank go up. I really don’t put to much thought or effort into it. I think they are always chaninging the rules which makes it impossible to keep up with.
Twitter: extremejohn
@Carico, it’s a marathon that’s for sure.
Twitter: tycoonblogger
I would be lying if I said I don’t care about pr. When I dropped to a pr 2 I was pissed. But it just challenges me to work harder!
.-= Tycoon blogger @promote your blog´s last blog ..Driving Traffic to your blog by using your Google Analytics =-.
Twitter: extremejohn
@Tycoon blogger @promote your blog, exactly. If everyone flew to a PR7 within a few months it would be pointless, nothing to work for in some cases.
PR is not my top concern. Like you, I work on providing content to users. I also build websites that solve problems or make peoples lives simpler. Google PR doesn’t seem to rank word of mouth advertising. I’ve had PR0 websites rank #1 in local areas in a month. It really depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. If you’re going after keywords that 1 million people search a month, PR might matter a little more. I feel that blogs grow more by word of mouth. That is how I hear of the blogs I continuously follow.
Twitter: extremejohn
@Anthony @ Jumpness, I need to stop by your blog and check out some of your topics and click through your blog roll, I bet I would find some good blogs to read when I do.
LOL@7
I honestly think many bloggers like it because it is an automatic pre-made filler post they can count on every 3 months or so. LMAO!
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..Blog Move Is Imminent ! I’m Looking For Launch Partners… =-.
Twitter: extremejohn
@Dennis Edell, haha very well played.
Hi John,
I do care deeply about Google page rank and I think you do too judging by your 4 related posts having Google page rank or PR in their titles.
But it doesn’t mean that I constantly worry about it since worry doesn’t change anything.
I also don’t understand how the PR is arrived at because I’ve seen great blogs with marginal PR and good blogs with much higher one.
I also noticed that the PR has no bearing on where a blog is placed in search engines for a particular keyword phrase.
I’d be interested to know why you say that anything below PR5 doesn’t matter.
To me does.
Vance
.-= Vance@Earn Money Blogging´s last blog ..Earn Money Blogging, Get Traffic Without SEO, True Or False? =-.
Twitter: extremejohn
@Vance@Earn Money Blogging, as crazy as it might sound….. because I like the number 5. It was my baseball number as well as my hockey number, and it is the number I like to hit on most when I play Craps
It may sound crazy but why not. Number 5 is not bad and it’s one of the numbers that I don’t mind using. I didn’t like it at school though because it meant F where I went.
When it comes to PR, 6 is better and I wouldn’t mind 4 either.
.-= Vance@Earn Money Blogging´s last blog ..Earn Money Blogging, Get Traffic Without SEO, True Or False? =-.
Twitter: extremejohn
@Vance@Earn Money Blogging, I wouldn’t mind a 6. In craps a six pays decent
Wow you really nailed it there. When people think like that they will succeed. Instead of focusing on all other factors most webowners should focus on creating usefull content. If people like it they will come back and they will bring friends. No matter what the search engines say people will come to you and that is real power.
.-= Johan@UFC Odds´s last blog ..UFC 109 =-.
Its hard not to care about page rank, when discussions of it usually drive such a hearty response from bloggers and SEO folks. I guess once you’ve jumpstarted a nice community of commentators, subscribers and visitors, page rank matters less. Though, I can see how a person just getting started might want to try different SEO techniques to see whether they affect his page rank, and whether page rank affects his community building efforts.
Also, it occurs to me that, for other the types of bloggers who are promoting an online store, it might be helpful for them to focus on page rank, so they can funnel page rank to their homepage or sales landing pages, for better ranking against their competition.
Twitter: extremejohn
@Will@laser hair removal, it is as important as we make it. Exactly right.
If Google pagerank does not bother you why do you nofollow comment links and various other external links…. Hmmm.
Twitter: extremejohn
@Scott, hmmmm what? Not sure if this is your first time here Scott but if you look around you will find a recent post that explains how this is a DoFollow blog. It has been for a long time, the only recent change is that 1 comment droppers looking for link juice won’t get it, three comment minimum.
I think PageRank is like anything else.
When it’s good it’s good and when it’s bad it’s bad. Like someone else mentioned (here or on another of your posts) at least it gives us something to talk about.
Twitter: extremejohn
@Dwippy@DoFollow Blog List, very true. If it were a 8 or 9 you bet I would be talking about it and you bet it would then be important to me too.
I am pretty sure they look at the page rank of the domain, I use seoquake for my toolbar for firefox and it shows me the page rank of each site I go to plus a whole lot more.
Twitter: extremejohn
@electric heating uk, I used that add-on for a while. I have a new one I am playing with now.
yes its true that google page rank holds a lovely and hard position on the market as if the page rank will be low or not listed than your site does not appears to be working properly or some or the other problem is there so make out the changes as early as possible
Twitter: SwollenThumb
Hi Extreme John. I’ve only checked my PR once since I started my blog. I can say with confidence that I really couldn’t care less about it. It’s all a part of a system that I don’t need to be a part of to succeed.
Google is getting a little big for its’ britches. They want to be able to hold a lot of influence over blogs and the bloggers behind them. Keep in mind that the internet was fine and dandy before Google came around.
.-= Trey – Swollen Thumb Entertainment´s last blog ..The Bloggers Of Tomorrow =-.
Twitter: extremejohn
@Trey – Swollen Thumb Entertainment, I like the self confidence it says a lot about what type of person you are which comes across well in your blog.
Twitter: zxxxt
Honestly I think Google PageRank is overrated. Remember I got PR3 in just 2 months of starting my blog and I was so excited then. Then while I continue to learn on blogging, I found out that PR is very much overrated because it affects SERPs or Search Engine Results Page just a little. I mean I got some articles that made to the first page while I still have PR0.
Having said that PageRank is still important as it still helps you achieve better SERPs especially when competition is tough. Also I can see most advertisers only accept blogs with PR’s (atleast 2).
.-= ZXT´s last blog ..Free Google Wave Invites =-.
I don’t know what the big deal about Google PR is. It is time consuming and can drive people crazy. Nevertheless, I learnt most website and blog buyers consider page rank before they buy your website or blog.
Point #8 really hits home for me, and it makes a lot of sense. Realizing that you are in control of your blogs destiny, not Google or PR or Alexa or any stupid ranking system. This is an excellent set of tips, thanks!
.-= Inside the Webb´s last blog ..Check Your Username Availability on Tons of Websites with Namechk =-.
I hate Google. I posed why here – http://digiscrapping.net/blog/?p=2229 if you want to read it. So I don’t take up your whole comment section with my raving about it. It’s my own fault. But, I still hate Google.
I like your reasons behind why it shouldn’t matter. Great post again!
.-= Heather´s last blog ..Do you think it might be just a tad bit =-.
@Heather, This may be OT but important, you need to take yourself off the default permalink.
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..The Time Has Come. The Deal Is Done. It’s Time To Move!! =-.
Thanks Dennis! Off to figure out how to do that. I’m learning.
.-= Heather´s last blog ..Plumpy Nut =-.
@Heather, Glad I could help, and may the learning never stop!
If you need any help, just ask.
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..The Time Has Come. The Deal Is Done. It’s Time To Move!! =-.
Love your 10 reasons. Very good reasons! Page rank is a nice decoration for those who have it but let’s be real…there are a lot of sites who rank on the first page of Google, and even the top spot, that don’t have rank so is it really that important to chase after after all…or is your time better spent focusing on other things? Well we know John’s answer LOL, and I agree.
I never really worried much about pagerank at all…. until now! Bastard!
.-= The Angry Anarchist´s last blog ..Worlds Biggest Pimple =-.
Nice blog, Mr. Extreme…
PR does not touch me. I do not care about PR. My PR is 0, my Alexa Rank is not important. I write/code for fun, most of the things I show in my blog I use in projects I am working on.
Google PR is not important for me… that’s it
.-= Michael Pehl´s last blog ..jQuery MagicLine Navigation with Newsticker Demo =-.
Twitter: extremejohn
@Michael Pehl, hey when it comes down to it, it’s all about the blogger being happy. PR and Alexa Rank are nothing more than short term motivators to those that care about the numbers. I’m bias if the numbers aren’t great I hate them, haha.
Hi,
I read your post . I like your confident . It is good for SEO . I think your have a good knowledge about SEO. I regular read your post and I also wait for next blog …… Thanks
Twitter: extremejohn
@David, thank you David.
hey John,
steve
I like the Angry Anarchist’s comment above.
You have the right attitude about page rank. Don’t worry about it.
That said, it is a measure of popularity, and is a “factor”, but it doesn’t measure relevance… which is much more important.
Best thing to do is just blog…
.-= steve´s last blog ..Trade Show Outboarding =-.
Twitter: extremejohn
@steve, perfectly said Steve.
hey John,
steve
Sorry, I didn’t see your “artwork” at the bottom of this page until I posted my comment. Sweet. If I every need a limo ride, I’ll look you up.
PS. Who created that for you? And do you really have a pink hummer. I guess I should read more of your blog and find out!
.-= steve´s last blog ..Trade Show Outboarding =-.
Twitter: extremejohn
@steve, no problem Steve. Yes the Pink H2 is very real, as for the art work it was done by an outside designer as opposed to my current designer Dawn who handles all of my design work.
Happy to see your blog as it is just what I’ve looking for and excited to read all the posts. I am looking forward to another great article from you. After skimming through your website
SOOOOOO then what you are saying is that half your blog is lies and bullshit which is why you made it nofollow?
AHhhhhhhhhhhhhh gotcha.
Twitter: extremejohn
Actually had you had a half a brain or a little bit of class you probably would ASK instead of assuming. I know it’s hard to imagine not receiving link juice for every spammy ass comment you leave on blogs, but this blog is DO FOLLOW. Just not for comment dropping spammers, do a little homework and read around the blog a little bit. You get Do Follow here, but it wont be on your first comment and it wont be if you abuse the Keyword Luv plugin. ll things im sure you have a problem with.
And next time you have something to say, try not looking like a complete puss bag by leaving an Anonymous comment. Even more sad than your claims of bullshit and lies.
When you see a drop in PageRank (often seen as a penalty), you aren’t really doing anything wrong. If more sites approach a PageRank of 10 (which takes a long time), an adjustment may be made based on the algorithm to adjust all other sites for this change, somewhat like a distribution. This is just a theory, but may have been the cause for some drops in PR over the past
Some advertisers consider amount of traffic, alexa rank & page rank as essential before they ask for space. They are not as open-minded as some of us are. I think PR is here to stay, so get it high as possible.
Twitter: roof_cleaning
Agreed, Alexa Rank is more important, and how u show up in the Google Searches. Just so u know, I found this blog in a Keyword Luv Tampa Blog search (same way I found Danny Nappi). This Blog seems to show up in many Keyword Luv searches I do. Perhaps a Post titled ” What’s Happened Since I learned to Luv Comment and Keyword Luv” may help you gain a higher position in these all important searches ?
LOL, I once had an “SEO Guru” warn me about Keyword Luv “bleeding page rank”! Well, if bleeding page rank increases my blog traffic drastically, here is the knife!
Chris@Apple Roof Cleaning Tampa Florida´s last [type] ..No Pressure Roof Cleaning Tampa- FL
Twitter: mattsfraser
Great post, frankly, like you I could really care less about page rank, I’m in agreement with you that if you provide great content and focus on building a community you will increase traffic and increase sales. I’ve seen PR0 sites out rank PR6 sites so I’m not too concerned with it. Thanks again for the great post.
Matt Fraser´s last [type] ..How to Have Post Excerpts on Your Home Page with Headway
Twitter: extremejohn
I think that’s a great way to look at it Matt. Content = traffic = traffic = the potential for sales, unless I planned on selling my site down the road I don’t really see a point to be concerned with it.
Hey there – I really like your attitude about it. Many of us get so drawn into going for a pagerank that often we overlook some of the simple, and critical elements for keeping our users happy.
Twitter: extremejohn
Hi Jesse and thank you for taking the time comment. Fact is Google Page Rank has been long dyeing, I don’t see any reason for that trend changing since I believe Google’s PR patent runs out in 2015.
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