I have PageRank!

Skeptic: My Google Toolbar PageRank indicator says 0/10 for your site. (Nelson laugh) ha-ha.
Me:Yes, but I started getting referrals from Google, including referrals from the search phrase [brian white]. I must have *some* PageRank…

Indeed, to rank for Random Stuffâ„¢, you need some PageRank. PR is calculated pretty much continuously inside of Google which keeps our results fresh, but the Toolbar PageRank value is refreshed not nearly as often. Thus, one should not pay too much attention to PR, and instead rely on their own logs and analytics applications.

How did I get PageRank? I’ve met a few industry folks at shows like Pubcon and SES, and have been getting links to my posts from search industry news sites and blogs by them or from those who have heard of me (self-rating: I’m a C-lister at best). That little bit of effort has turned into a nice stream of traffic, although I’m not focusing on that at all.

Update: In the comments, Adam Senour points out quite correctly that PageRank is just one of over 100 factors in how pages or sites rank in Google.

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17 Responses to I have PageRank!

  1. Adam Senour says:

    Hey Brian,

    I guess the only thing that scares me about this post is the easy potential for misinterpretation (that to rank, you need PageRank exclusively, with no regard to the other factors.)

    Other than that, it’s a good post and something I know a lot of people need to read.

  2. Brian says:

    Good point, Adam–I updated the post.

  3. Brian says:

    Also, i hate the green “I’m the authori-tah!” highlighting of my comments. I’ll have to tweak it (been looking for another theme anyway).

  4. You can easily delete the highlighting by removing the code that does that from comments.php in your theme… Drop me a line if you need me to do it for you :)

  5. Halfdeck says:

    Some people obsess about TBPR because it makes the prices of their links go up.

  6. Simon Dance says:

    Yeah, but let’s not get all caught up with PR, as the key for online business has to be enquries and custom. A PR 3 site might be good for linkability, but what of selling products or affiliate revenue?

    I think sometimes webmasters are guilty of focusing on pagerank when usability and good quality content can drive both pagerank and visitors… just my thinking…

    Si

  7. Sean Carlos says:

    It appears that the number of signals used has doubled in the last 9 months from 100+ to 200+. The New York Times, in an article at the beginning of June, wrote Mr. Singhal has developed a far more elaborate system for ranking pages, which involves more than 200 types of information, or what Google calls “signals.”.

  8. Matt Keegan says:

    Wanting/getting a good PageRank is fine, but never a completely accurate way of determining how well a site does. I want high SERPs for all of my keywords as that is what determines who ultimately finds my site.

  9. Adam Lasnik says:

    An alternate title could have easily been “i can has pagerank lolz!”

    (oh lord, when WILL this meme die? :P )

  10. As your talking about your wordpress theme… I only just today discovered Matt Cutts blog was amazed by the wealth of information about Google coming (almost) directly from the horses mouth. I then went on the hunt for similiar blogs and yours is now the third I have found. Yours is only a baby yet, but some good info all the same. Thanks for that!

    What strikes me most about all the “Google employee blogs” that I have found is ALL of them are using wordpress…. Have ye no faith in your own Blogger?!

  11. Adam Senour says:

    I can’t speak for Brian, John, but I asked Matt Cutts a similar question once and his answer (which makes complete sense) is that Matt wanted to retain intellectual property control of his blog. A blog hosted on Google’s server would be a lot messier to get control of, should something happen to a Googler’s employment status.

    I’m not sure if that’s Brian’s (partial) reason, but if it is, it would be a valid reason.

    I just wanna know why you Google-types don’t get under the hood and start coming up with your own themes. Come on, Brian, put some hair on your chest. :D

  12. gabs says:

    NOOOOOOOOOOO

    Not another page rank junkie…..

    I bet someone has started a thread about this over at DP ..

    LOL.. hehehehehe

  13. Forrest says:

    This makes perfect sense, and I’ve come to the same conclusion myself. Awstats and Analytics tell an awful lot more than the green line on the toolbar.

  14. Adam Lasnik says:

    Personally, I use ExpressionEngine. That’s what I’ve been using for years, and I see no need to change. I think Blogger (especially v2) is cool, but EE is great for my needs.

  15. Sounds like a valid enough reason Adam. I use both wordpress and blogger (well i’m just getting used to them really but making progress), I host my blogger blogs on my own servers and use my own domain name. I was of the opinion that I have the same rights as if I had done the same using the wordpress system. I guess it Google could make things difficult for an employee, but I’m amazed that someone working for them would think that Google would ever stoop so low if ever there was a loss of love between them. Better safe than sorry I guess, in all situations.

  16. Dav says:

    Thank you Brian. That makes perfect sense.
    Although my page is still new, I’ve come to the same conclusion myself.
    ~Dav~

  17. José says:

    Hi,

    I found this old post through a forum.
    Anyway, I got this feeling that a pagerank update may be comming up soon.
    However I do agree that one should not worry too much about it.
    I’ve found out (like many of you already have), that writing about almost unique themes is a way of getting a good search engine exposure.
    Maybe even posting some wrong words, like Briean instead of Brian.
    Conducting interviews is also a good way to get visitors and with possibility for the guest’s name to be searched on the net, you may get more search engine exposure.

    Kind regards,

    José

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