Why PageRank (really) Matters
Advanced SEO’s rejoice in their malignant disdain of Google’s PageRank as an authority indicator. “Foo on you Google – I am much smarter than your PhD’s and your silly 10 point scale.” or “I would rather stop watching Battlestar Galactica for a month than be caught referencing PageRank in front of Danny Sullivan.”
PageRank is widely considered a generalized, inexact, imprecise, ballpark estimate of a site or page authority. Almost every search includes results where a PR 3 outranks a PR 6. If you want to read more anti-PageRank rantings, check some of these out:
Avvo’s PageRank just went from a 5 to a 6 and I opened a bottle of champagne. Here’s why:
However fuzzy PageRank may be, it is a widely adopted and widely referenced number among businesspeople. It serves as a proxy for a company’s importance, influence and success. Our change in PageRank reflects Avvo’s growth. The fact that we are now one logarithmic point behind Lawyers.com will not be missed by prospective advertisers, business partners and the media as they evaluate who they want to buy from, partner with and interview.
So stop snickering at PageRank . . . I know you look when you think no one is watching.
