It’s that time of year again; leaves are changing color and readying themselves for the ensuing winter in the Midwest USA and other parts of the world that share the same climate.  In addition to the impending weather changes, webmaster forums and SEO blogs all over the world are abuzz about the latest Toolbar Page Rank update by Google and all the speculation, worries and joys that come with it.    From the Webmaster World website to the Digital Point Forums and Sitepoint’s Forums; the threads on this hot topic pile up like the drowning snowfalls that bury certain parts of New York every few years it seems.  So, what is this buzz all about?

Really, that’s a great question.  Many unknowledgeable website owners naturally associate increased Google Page Rank with higher rankings in Google; today’s search engine powerhouse that is capable of showering visitors on your website faster than an avalanche can swallow up a small city.  The question remains, however, is the semi-quarterly toolbar Page Rank update really all that important for today’s website owners?

I submit that the answer is no, it isn’t.  Higher Page Rank does not necessarily equate with higher rankings in Google, and the toolbar Page Rank itself isn’t even the true Page Rank of a given page according to Google.  The toolbar Page Rank is merely a graphical display of a number, 1-10, based on a snapshot of Google’s datacenter at a fixed point in time of that gauges an individual page’s worth according to Google; that worth, or “Page Rank”, is primarily dependant on the link popularity of that page. 

Back in 2005 SEOmoz.org started a project utilizing the input 37 of today’s top natural search engine optimization professionals to pinpoint the top ranking factors (http://www.seomoz.org/article/search-ranking-factors) in Google. Even with the updated study (http://www.seomoz.org/blog/ranking-factors-version-2-released) showing that Global Link Popularity, which affects Page Rank, is one of the most important factors when weighed against other Google rankings factors, it’s still only a small part of the estimated 200 or more factors that determine a websites ranking in this major search engine.

Certainly increased toolbar Page Rank is beneficial for those that make a practice of selling links, which is a huge no-no in Google’s eyes anyway; but for the average website owner a Page Rank update shouldn’t carry any more weight for them than the local phone company re-vamping their telephone book in which your brick and mortar business happens to be listed in.

Today’s website owners should not be overly concerned with their website’s Page Rank.  Instead, they should be focusing improving their websites for their users and providing content and features that will keep these visitors coming back for more.  Of course, in today’s competitive market it’s absolutely necessary to work on increasing a website’s link popularity and improving on-page elements, such as a website’s page titles, to help them move up in the SERP’s (search engine results pages), but Google isn’t by any means the only search engine that can deliver targeted traffic to today’s websites nor is toolbar Page Rank the ultimate determining factor in a website’s position in Google; not even close.

While there is certainly a world-wide buzz that surrounds this regular happening; today’s website owners really shouldn’t get caught-up in the buzz themselves. There are certain things that can be done to help search engine users find your website through the search engines, such as improving your website’s link popularity (getting other website’s to link to yours) and using keyword focused page titles.  There are other things that you, as a website owner, can do to cause these visitors to take notice of your website and create a “sticky” environment that will help turn the one-time visitor into a regular patron, such as by providing a user-friendly interface and giving them what the content and the services that they are looking for.  Bottom line, the toolbar Page Rank update doesn’t mean squat to your website visitors, and really, it should mean about the same to you as well.