Another Unexpected Google Page Rank Increase!
July 27th 2008 23:15
Google PR Surprise
Just noticed that Google has increased Writer's Notes' Page Rank from PR 2 to PR 3! That's good news! Ever since I first achieved PR 3 at the end of October, 2007 (see Google Page Rank--at Last!), only to lose it again about a month later, I've been waiting (rather impatiently) to gain it back.
Initial PR Loss
At the time, (i.e., during the notorious 2007 Google PR fiasco, er, update, during which the Big G stripped an unprecedented number of blogs of Page Rank and lowered the PR of many others), Writer's Notes' PR dropped to 0--a major disappointment! I didn't blog about my lost PR at the time; I guess it was too painful to talk about. Instead, I quietly removed my PR widget from my sidebar and left it at that. I had, however written a post related to this topic shortly before losing my own PR. Do Paid Posts Equal Link-Selling? The Latest PR Dilemma for Bloggers was my response to the PR other bloggers were losing. When my own hard-won PR unceremoniously dove to 0, I all but discounted Google as a viable blog ranking source, though I had little choice but to accept its proclamation. And there things sat, until early May.
My First PR Surprise
I suddenly noticed, one fine day in May, that I had Google PR once again--PR 2, in fact. Since many of you already know this story, I'll spare you the details and refer anyone who doesn't to my post, Has Your Google PR Changed Since the Last Update? Find Out! (You'll also be able to check your own PR by using the PR-checker tool found in this post--that is, if you don't already have a widget which automatically updates your PR whenever it changes.) The most interesting thing to me about this unexpected PR increase was that it occurred between Google updates--which, at the time, I wasn't aware could happen.*
Repeat Performance
Well, it's happened again: my PR has increased between Google updates.* I've finally regained the PR 3 I lost eight months ago (which had taken me nine months to achieve in the first place)--and interestingly enough, it's happened less than three months after the first increase (to PR 2). Now that I can live with! And hopefully the only way I can go from here is up!
What's Your Google PR?
If you haven't checked your blog's PR lately, now might be a good time to check it. The handy tool I've mentioned above will make that very easy to do. I've also placed a link to the Google Page Rank Checker Tool in my (left) sidebar under Spotlight Posts. That way, you'll be able to access it anytime you'd like to check your blog's PR.
Why not check it, now? Maybe you, too, will be in for a pleasant surprise!
To ever-increasing Page Rank!
Jeanne
*I now realize that I'm likely wrong about this, since, at least this time around I know that a number of other bloggers also received PR increases. That would seem to indicate that these were actually Google updates that I just didn't realize were happening--which makes a lot more sense than the idea that my blog's PR increased without an official update occurring.
Did you enjoy this post? Learn anything? Have anything to teach or share with us about Google PR? We'd love to hear from you!
Please note: If the StumbleUpon and other social bookmarking buttons aren't visible, please click the "Add Comments" link beneath this post. Thanks!
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Comment by tlcorbin
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
Appreciate your good wishes!
Jeanne
Comment by Lillie Ammann
Comment by Brad Shorr
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
Your very kind words are greatly appreciated!
Sometimes it can be quite difficult to get that Google PR endorsement that can help demonstrate our blog's credibility. Yet, that's when it's most important to persevere. If we continue doing what we've been doing all along (i.e., working to make our blog the best it can be for our readers), eventually Google will sit up and take notice, adjusting our PR to more closely reflect our blog's real value.
Onward and upward!
Jeanne
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
Thanks so much! I appreciate your endorsement every bit as much as I appreciate Google's--actually more! (And the same goes for Lillie's!)
It's tough to say when Google will see fit to raise my PR again; but wouldn't it be nice if they did so within the next few months, as they did this time?
As you say, people do tend to pay attention to Google PR--no matter how unfair we may feel ours is, at times. But, I believe that's really only at the beginning--before a particular reader becomes familiar with a blog. So, while low PR may impact new traffic, it probably affects repeat traffic far less. After all, the proof of the blog is in the reading!
Thanks for your support!
Jeanne
Comment by Lindsay
I try to ignore PR for the most part and just concentrate on increasing traffic from month to month. It is hard not to get disgruntled, though, when it drops a notch.
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
It certainly is difficult not to get disgruntled--especially when your PR drops to 0! When that happened to me, I have to be honest, I really began to consider Google somewhat irrelevant--particularly since my blog's traffic and backlinks were steadily increasing at the time.
At that point, I removed the PR widget from my sidebar and, like you, began ignoring PR--other than watching, wondering, commenting, and speculating occasionally about why Google was doing the same thing to so many other blogs that it had done to mine.
Thanks for your support!
Jeanne
Comment by dcr
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
So very sorry to hear that! It's always difficult to know exactly what Google is thinking and what specific criteria it uses to determine page rank. The good news is that, in another few months, your blogs can potentially gain PR (or gain it back). Writer's Notes' page rank increased to PR 3 less than three months after its prior increase to PR 2.
Here's one way of looking at it (philosophically, of course): If you're in it for the long haul, what's another three months in your bid for higher PR? (It actually took Writer's Notes more than five months to rise from PR 0 to PR 2 [after losing its first, very short-lived PR 3]. But, now the period between PR increases appears to be shortening--and that's encouraging!)
Hope your blogs' PR will rise dramatically very soon!
Thanks for the visit!
Jeanne
Comment by Wilson Pon
Health 2 Know
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Fun Places 2 Travel
I think you deserve it, as you'd been working really hard for it...
By the way, I'd use the PRchecker.info to check out my technostuffs.com site, and to my surprised...I got a PR2 for it...lol
WoW, I didn't even expected to get a PR2 for my site, as I'm only update it once every 4-5 days...
Great to get your PR back, Jeanne
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
Thanks so much for your hearty congratulations! Many congratulations to you, too, for getting your unexpected PR 2! It certainly pays to check our PR every so often, doesn't it? And putting the PR widget on our blogs makes it even easier--because that way we don't even have to do anything to find out when our PR changes, since the widget updates automatically.
Thanks again for your good wishes! Best of success to you in the future!
Regards,
Jeanne
Comment by Braphic Design Blog
Thanks
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
I'm assuming you meant Graphic Design Blog and your username in your comment was a typo, so I've reposted your link in this comment.
Thanks for your good wishes! Hopefully, your blog's PR will increase soon, too!
Thanks so much for visiting Writer's Notes and leaving a comment!
Jeanne