If you have been following Google PageRank keenly, you will notice the PageRank is no longer available. Google has resolved to do away with showing PageRank publicly. Most Google toolbar users have already experienced this change, although some may show for some time before the setting is rolled out completely.
Visible PageRank removed
Many people might be worried about this new development from Google, but the reality is it will not affect the raking of pages on Google. The only change that has been made has affected the publicly visible PageRank information. PageRank values will continue to run internally within Google servers.
PageRank algorithm
On this effect, Google has confirmed that PageRank still runs internally in their algorithms. A Google spokesman confirmed that there are no changes regarding how Google internally evaluates PageRank data. The only information that has been removed is public display of the information on Google. Therefore, looking at the matter from an SEO perspective, the metric has not been so relevant over the years.
Does removal of PageRank affect SEO and Site Owners?
After inquiring from Google, it emerged that the removal of the public PageRank does not have any effect on the value of SEO. Instead, it has eliminated the tendency of website owners using metric data that has not been updated yet.
The feature does not affect how webmasters handle SEO or how websites appear. The web console feature will be the substitute to help webmasters get information about the presence of their content on Google. The advancement of the internet has made the PageRank feature virtually useless, hence the need to replace it with other more effective options. Eliminating PageRank reduces confusion when it comes to understanding the relevance if search metrics.
Non-Google Tools
There are several tools and extensions that are made to offer toolbar data. These tools have been functioning effectively but with the current developments on Google PageRank, it is expected they will stop working soon. This is due to the fact they were fetching most of the data from Google PageRank before it gets modified to display.
Reasons for removing PageRank
Webmasters across the world have bowed down to the fact that the surprise PageRank update that was rolled out in 2013 would be the final – it was even an unexpected update after a different issue leading to the update was resolved.
This also helps to address the challenges many websites were experiencing when they moved from http to https…. many arguments cite they lost their legacy ranking from http. This data would not be transferred to https, something that means the site owner had to begin all over again to attain top status like before. Many cases of loss of PageRank were reported and this made many people not to switch their sites to the secure https.
Link sellers have also been hit hard by this update. Sellers offer links based on the value of PR they have, so in the absence of PageRank, valuable metric data will not be available for use by sellers.
Additionally, more SEO tips continue to be shared based on the already defunct PageRank, something that confirms the feature laid a big impact on marketing and online campaign management. The only thing webmasters and website owners need is to accept the reality that has come too soon then work on finding other reliable options.
