At https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/sitestats, there's a section at the bottom of the page, "Your page with the highest PageRank," showing the past three months. It seems to change every time I go into Webmaster Tools, which is maybe once a week.

Compared to this, external PR checking tools are way off. In fact, my highest ranking page right now reports PR 0, while most of my site shows a 3. I'm thinking the data in the site's CP in Webmaster Tools is more accurate than the PR checkers ... which would mean they don't work.

Some of the regulars can explain why that's so ( updated three or four times a year, etc ), and would say PR is a meaningless distraction anyway. But any question that comes up in here, a dozen people will answer with "get more backlinks to increase PR," so I hope this observation is worth sharing.

Originally Posted by ForrestCroce

...PR is a meaningless distraction anyway.

I'll go with that.
My pages with the lowest "page rank" get the highest traffic. My pages with the highest get the least.

Originally Posted by willcode4beer

I'll go with that.
My pages with the lowest "page rank" get the highest traffic. My pages with the highest get the least.

yeah for some reason, apple.com has a 10/10 page rank whereas google's is 8/10

I know you're new, but did you not read what Forrest just wrote?

Some of the regulars can explain why that's so ( updated three or four times a year, etc ), and would say PR is a meaningless distraction anyway.

PageRank has been a meaningless distraction for quite some time now. Stop worrying about that silly little toolbar number. It means next to nothing.

It means almost nothing, and isn't accurate anyway. Even if it was something useful to know, the toolbar doesn't tell you. Ought to be the end of the discussion...

But sadly...





... it won't be.

sounds good.

Isnt google trying to snuff out backlinks to force websites to either get more custom content or PPC sponsor links?

as people have said..PR is useless..forget about it..

PR is not useless. Pagerank is the important factor in evaluating the site or looking for link exchange partner. If your site doesnt have a page they rejected it but we check also the quality of the site and the web traffic

Originally Posted by wogazm

as people have said..PR is useless..forget about it..

Pagerank is the important factor in evaluating the site or looking for link exchange partner

Is it that you simply DO NOT WANT TO learn anything, or are you so stuck in this PR mania that you simply cannot see beyond it.

TOOLBAR PR IS USELESS it is NOT NOT NOT the important factor in deciding where to link. Toolbar PR is the MOST ridiculous metric on which to get links.

So Chris do you feel strongly about the uselessness of Toolbar PR?

Originally Posted by SEOS

Isnt google trying to snuff out backlinks to force websites to either get more custom content or PPC sponsor links?

Mind if I ask a basic, common sense question? Where the heck did you get this idea?

if this helps I have a PR2 and in google webmaster I have PR0 always have my sites been around about 6 months. it might be that your sites new.
one more think. pagerank is not worthless. it help you will adsense. Higher PR means higher paying adds.

That's an interesting theory. It's completely wrong, but it's interesting. PR has nothing to do with how much an ad pays you. The two aren't connected at all.