Google PR Still in Flux?
October 6th 2008 23:59
My Blog's PR Still Seems to Be Fluctuating
I recently reported that my Google page rank went from PR 3 to PR 2--a sure sign that a Google Update was in progress at the time. Well, earlier today, I logged in at Writer's Notes and discovered that my PR widget was once again reporting PR 3--and is in fact still reporting PR 3, as of this writing.
Time to Do a Bit of Investigating
The question then became, "Is Google still in the middle of updating/changing some websites' PRs?" In other words, are our sites' PRs still in a state of flux? Well, to be honest, I'm not entirely certain, though I will venture a tentative "yes." I am, after all, finding some indication that certain data centers are now reporting PR 3 for Writer's Notes. And while these sites are definitely in the minority--with most still reporting PR 2, many not reporting anything at all, and some even reporting PR 0--I have the distinct feeling that something is up.
Is This Seeming PR Increase Simply My Prior PR Resurfacing?
I could be wrong, of course. After all, one would expect that perhaps some data centers might be lagging behind in changing my prior PR3 to its newly lowered PR 2--and that would be a reasonable explanation for why some are currently reporting PR 3. This could in fact be the case, since I neglected to check a variety of data centers when my PR was first lowered to see whether some might have still been reporting my older page rank.
Still, the thing that causes me to question this bit of totally logical reasoning is the indisputable fact that my PR widget did register my initial drop in PR (from 3 to 2)--and now it's reporting a subsequent PR increase (back to 3). So I know that at least this one data center decreased and then subsequently increased my blog's PR--which makes it highly doubtful that the PR 3 it's reporting now could be my blog's old PR.
A Fascinating Phenomenon for Further Study
I'm planning to keep my eye on the situation to see what develops. I'll continue checking various data centers for further changes, and my guess would be that I'll find out fairly soon what's going on with Google. While I do realize that many don't regard PR as being extemely important, I find it quite fascinating to study the phenomenon!
What are your thoughts? Are you noticing any fluctuations in your own site's PR? What do you think is going on? Do you even care? Do you enjoy studying the phenomenon, as I do? Please feel free to share your thoughts with us in comments.
To your ever-increasing PR!
Jeanne
Update: I noticed yesterday, October 13th, that my PR has once again decreased to PR 2. So, apparently, the answer to my question of whether or not Google PR was still in flux when this post was written (not to mention days afterward) turns out to be a definite, but unfortunate yes. The folks at Google apparently have decided that their original decrease of my PR from 3 to 2, made earlier in the update, was the right move and have since reinstated it.
Did you enjoy this post? Have anything to add? Has your site's PR been fluctuating erratically lately, as mine has? If so, has it turned out to be higher or lower than it had been now that it's (likely) finished changing? What are your thoughts about this phenomenon of PR rankings that change two and three times during a single Google update?
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Comment by Wilson Pon
Health 2 Know
Techno Stuffs
By the way, I still need to congratulate you to remain the PR3, Jeanne.
Note: Well, my technostuffs blog's PR was increased from PR2 to PR3 in the recent PR update!
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
Google does seem to move website PRs up and down a bit--at least it has during its last several updates--before finally settling on a PR ranking for each site. Don't know whether they've always done it this way or not.
I'm hoping I'll be able to keep my PR 3, which seems to be holding steady, so far--in my PR widget, at least. Haven't had time to check the multiple data center websites lately, though, to see how many data centers are reporting PR 3 for Writer's Notes.
Glad to hear that Technostuffs' PR has also increased during this update. That's good news! Congrats to you, too!
Thanks for the visit!
Jeanne
Comment by Lillie Ammann
After years of maintaining PR4 with never any fluctuations, suddenly my PR dropped to PR2 on my blog and PR0 on my home page! I'm sure that's because I recently completed revamped my site. As far as Google is concerned, it seems the site is completely new since everything has changed. I've noticed I've been getting a lot of Google alerts on old posts, which I'm guessing means Google is re-indexing the entire site. I had one commenter say he got a new Google alert on the comment thanks from back in January. I don't know if there will be any more fluctuations as Google re-indexes my site or whether I'm stuck with PR0 for the homepage and PR2 for the blog.
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
Sorry to hear that you've basically had to start from square one with Google after revamping your site. It's always disappointing when we lose our hard-won PR--and for you, losing it after so long must be doubly disappointing.
I'm not sure that getting Google Alerts on old posts is an indication that your site is being re-indexed, though. (Of course, it could be the case that it is being re-indexed. I'm just not sure that receiving Google Alerts on old posts proves that.) I often receive Google Alerts on older (single) posts or even groups of older posts within the same category. I also regularly receive alerts on old comments I've left on other blogs--some very old. In fact, today I received another alert on several comments I made on Goodword Editing a year ago!
Hope the PR fluctuations will continue--at least to the point of "upping" your PR again! But, whatever happens, keep doing what you're doing, because you're doing a wonderful job!
Thanks for the visit!
Jeanne
Comment by Lillie Ammann
I confess I don't understand Google.
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
Comment by Lillie Ammann
It looks like it's still fluctuating ... I see that the blog is now back to PR4, but the home page is still PR0. Guess I'll just wait and see what happens.
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
Comment by Mark Antony
I guess my situation is a little similar to Lille, in as much I've started over again, in my case, in a new domain! Frankly, I gave up with google, they even dropped me from search engines, then re-instated me for reasons known only to themselves. The worst part is google are unapproachable, and we cannot get to ask them directly.
My old blog went from 0 to 4, then 0 then to 3. Sounds a bit like the stockmarket! I used to do pay per post though, and possibly the volatiliy is down to that issue again.
Your site is showing as PR 2 on mine, Jeanne. One main reason for people wanted higher PR is of course better ranking for their blogs, in many cases, to get better posting offers or sponsorships, but google often penalises over these issues so it's damned if we do, and damned if we don't, regarding PR.
I've stopped putting much emphasis on PR, it's less relevant to my website strategies now, but I do understand the dilemma.
Best wishes, Mark.
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
Google PR has certainly become a can of worms lately, hasn't it? Unfortunately, no one ever seems to know exactly what Google is thinking! And it's very unfortunate that the folks there are so unaproachable. It can't be very good for their image, which I believe is really suffering of late. Many people consider Google irrelevant.
When I first wrote this post, my PR was still 3. Several days later, though, I noticed that it had gone back down to 2. (I've added an update to the end of the post, but perhaps I should have placed it at the top, as I often do, to make it more noticeable.)
Sponsored posts are, of course, an issue about which there's much speculation as to their effect on PR. On the one hand, they often precede drops in PR; on the other, many sites that don't use them also lose PR. So, it's difficult to say exactly how much they affect a site's PR.
I will say that, after a rather long hiatus, I've begun writing a few sponsored posts again (though not very often). Could this be the reason for my PR drop? Possibly. Yet, I can't really say definitively. More likely it has something to do with traffic, inbound links, and other such SEO-related issues. (Of course, it's quite possible that sponsored posts are also part of the equation.)
While I find it interesting to follow my blog's evolving PR and would, of course, prefer that it were higher, I've learned to take it with a grain of salt, to some extent. As long as I do the best I can to provide quality content for my readers and remain responsive to their feedback, I feel that I've fulfilled my responsibility as a blogger--and, in my book, that's far more important than high PR.
Thanks for your welcome input!
Jeanne
Comment by Robyn McMaster
I haven't had the same problem with PR that you have, but my Technorati score seems to fall every time I post a new blog. I know that Liz Strauss spoke of this problem about a year ago. I decided my best path is to do my best work and not to worry. Community is more important than numbers.
Thanks for sharing and I do hope your issue is soon resolved.
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
So sorry to hear that your comment didn't appear the other day! That's disappointing to me, since I greatly value your comments and wouldn't want anything to discourage you from sharing your thoughts here at Writer's Notes.
Whenever I leave comments (other than very short, simple ones), I've taken to copying them (using CTRL-C) before clicking the Submit button just to be sure that, if anything should go wrong, I won't lose them. I learned that the hard way--after writing more than one lengthy comment only to have it disappear into cyberspace as soon as I'd clicked Submit. Now, whenever that happens, I'm able to restore the comment by using the paste function (CTRL-V). That simple precaution has saved me so much frustration--not to mention tons of time that I would have spent recreating lost comments!
Even though you've signed up with Orble, I'd use Copy-Paste as a backup--just in case. (I do it here at Orble myself--as well as everywhere else that I leave comments.)
Glad to hear that you haven't been experiencing any PR problems. Like you and Liz, in the past I too have noticed my Technorati ranking fall immediately after I've published a new post--though I haven't checked this lately. I suspect this may have something to do with the fact that Technorati ranking is probably recalculated each time we publish a new post (or update our blogs). Seems funny, though, that it should always recalculate downward when we update! It almost makes one feel that it's not such a great idea--at least as far as Technorati is concerned--to update our blogs too often! (Or, perhaps there's simply more to the Technorati algorithm than I realize.)
I've stopped worrying about it, though. My Technorati ranking has been as high as 16,000-plus, and now it's twice that; but I don't let it worry me anymore. I'm learning not to let Google's PR "penalties" bother me unduly, either. As you say, doing our best work and developing community are far more important than these more-or-less arbitrary Internet ranking systems.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Jeanne
Comment by Robyn McMaster
You and I have similar thoughts about the rankings.
Keep up your excellent work.
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
I copy all but the shortest, simplest comments now, because it's simply too time-consuming to worry about rewriting even medium-length comments. After all, it takes mere seconds to do, and it's well worth it.
Thanks for your kind words!
Jeanne