{"id":3292,"date":"2015-01-28T20:00:51","date_gmt":"2015-01-28T20:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mysiteauditor.com\/blog\/?p=3292"},"modified":"2023-06-29T09:02:08","modified_gmt":"2023-06-29T09:02:08","slug":"is-google-pagerank-dead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mysiteauditor.com\/blog\/is-google-pagerank-dead\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Signs Google PageRank is Dead…to Non-Googlers"},"content":{"rendered":"

I keep seeing the same question posted over and over, \u201cIs Google PageRank Dead?<\/strong>\u201d My thoughts are yes and no. Yes, it\u2019s dead to those outside of Google. No, it\u2019s not dead to Googlers (people who work at Google). In other words, I still think Google uses PageRank as a part of their organic ranking algorithm. I just don\u2019t think they will push PageRank out to the public anymore.<\/p>\n

I\u00a0did a little research and came up with 10 signs, from which\u00a0we can safely assume Google PageRank is dead to non-Googlers. While researching this topic, one thing I noticed killing off Google PageRank for non-Googlers has been in the works for a while. For years Google has been throwing us hints, and slowly removing\u00a0PageRank data from our grasps, until one day it was gone.<\/p>\n

1. PageRank data removed from Webmaster Tools.<\/h2>\n

In 2009, Google removed PageRank data from Webmaster tools.\u00a0 I know this happened nearly 5 years ago, but now we know it was a sign of what was yet to come.\u00a0Maybe this will help us predict Google’s future a little better. After all, the best way to predict the future is to know the past.<\/strong> This\u00a0was their explanation as to why they removed PageRank from Webmaster Tools:<\/p>\n

[quote text_size=”small” author=”Susan Moskwa, Googler”]<\/p>\n

We’ve been telling people for a long time that they shouldn’t focus on PageRank so much; many site owners seem to think it’s the most important metric for them to track, which is simply not true. We removed it because we felt it was silly to tell people not to think about it, but then to show them the data, implying that they should look at it.<\/p>\n

[\/quote]<\/p>\n

2. Less updates over time.<\/h2>\n

Checkout this graph I whipped up. It shows the number\u00a0of times Google updated PageRank for non-Googlers, since 2006. As you can see,\u00a0Google has consistently released fewer PageRank updates<\/strong> over time.<\/p>\n

\"Is<\/p>\n

3. PageRank never was added to\u00a0Chrome.<\/h2>\n

Thinking back, Google never did add a PageRank to their own browser, Chrome. In fact, the only way to see PageRank on Chrome is if you install an extension by a 3rd party developer. If it had a future you’d think they’d promote Google PageRank on their own browser.<\/strong> But they never have.<\/p>\n

[att_highlight color=”red”]How to Convert 30% of Visitors into SEO Leads: Landing Page Science<\/a>[\/att_highlight]<\/p>\n

4. Matt Cutts says he’d be surprised if PageRank was updated again.<\/h2>\n

On October 6, 2013<\/a>\u00a0Niels Bosch tweeted a question to Matt Cutts, Head of Search Spam, asking if\u00a0we should expect a PageRank update before 2014. Matt Cutts responded by saying, \u201cI would be surprised if that happened.<\/em>\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Previous to Matt Cutts’ response Google only updated PageRank once that year, on February 4, 2013.<\/p>\n

5. PageRank was not updated for 10 straight months.<\/h2>\n

In 2013, Google didn\u2019t update PageRank for 10 straight months. With respect to previous years, that was a pretty long drought<\/strong>. As I stated earlier, PageRank was updated on February 4th, and it was not updated again until December 6, 2013. Historically Google has updated PageRank three to four\u00a0times per year.<\/a> A 10 month delay was a sure sign that something was changing.<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0Matt Cutts says\u00a0the PageRank \u201cpipeline\u201d is broke, and Google isn\u2019t interested in fixing it.<\/h2>\n

On\u00a0October 23, 2013<\/a>, at Pubcon Matt Cutts stated that the PageRank \u201cpipeline\u201d is broke, and Google isn\u2019t interested in fixing it. The pipeline is what Google used to send updated PageRank data to toolbars,<\/strong> for non-Googlers to see. Even though\u00a0Google may update PageRank internally everyday, it only pushed data updates to non-Googlers, via toolbars, three to four times per year.<\/p>\n

7. Matt Cutts says PageRank data is\u00a0only updated to help searchers.<\/h2>\n

Matt Cutts, once said, “the reason why they (Google) still have it (PageRank) is not because SEOs use it but rather because searchers and users still use it to determine how “reputable” a website is.<\/em>”<\/p>\n

Strong words. He sounds a bit reluctant to still\u00a0address Google PageRank<\/strong>. It also sounds like he wished they would have stopped updating Google PageRank data much\u00a0\u00a0sooner.<\/p>\n

8. Googler John Mueller\u00a0says Google will never update PageRank again on 1\/22\/14.<\/h2>\n

[quote text_size=”small” author=”John Mueller, Googler”]<\/p>\n

I wouldn’t use PageRank or links as a metric. We’ve last updated PageRank more than a year ago (as far as I recall) and have no plans to do further updates. Think about what you want users to do on your site, and consider an appropriate metric for that.<\/p>\n

[\/quote]<\/p>\n

Well, John hasn’t been fired yet, so…<\/p>\n

(See for yourself at minute 20:30)
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