Did Google Spank You?

The talk of the blogging world, especially among those who monetize their blogs, is the recent Google Page Rank update. While everyone waited with baited breath, hoping for a little PR jump, Google was busy making sure that those who have “gamed” their system paid the price. There were so many sites that went down in PR that it was hard to keep up. Naturally, I read everything I could while the numbers danced.

First, from what I can tell, Google took PR points away from those who were selling text links. Anyone who monetized their blog with TextLinkAds or one of the dozen other text link marketplaces got slapped. Oh, except for those utilizing only Google’s Adsense. That’s right, it’s perfectly fine to advertise on your blog using Google’s marketplace.

At first blush, that might seem terribly wrong. It could look like Google has taken a page out of Microsoft’s playbook on killing the competition. I even read a few blog posts implying just that and wondering about some kind of lawsuit. The idea of revenge on the evil Google for punishing those who are earning money without them may see like the way to go. But it isn’t. It won’t happen and it shouldn’t happen.

Google created Page Rank as a way to grade webpages for purposes of their search engine. It was an internal thing that they made public. They never charged anyone for it, they just made the ranking public.

It also happened that Google became The Major Search Engine in all of the World Wide Web. Google wasn’t just a search engine, it became a verb, too. Even my husband, who has touched a computer mouse exactly one time in his entire life, has told me to “google” things for him. And so, naturally, those who want to be found online became more and more interested in Page Rank. They cared because it meant they would be found.

And really, that is all Page Rank is. Having a high PR doesn’t mean you’ll show up at the top of Yahoo’s search or Ask.com’s search. It doesn’t mean your writing style is better than someone else’s or that you have better content. It means that Google thinks your page is relevant for keywords or something like that. Actually, no one really knows how Google ranks sites or what their algorithm is exactly. It’s their secret. But I’m pretty sure they don’t go to each site and grade the grammar and spelling and quality of writing. It’s just about their own search engine. That’s it. And they don’t owe anyone anything. They don’t have to be fair. They don’t force advertisers or marketing departments to care about PR. That’s a choice the industry has made. And one they can reverse at any time.

So, what to do if your PR went down? Or if it stayed the same and you can’t get it to go up? Well, nothing, really. If you’re a blogger, I’d suggest you follow the advice from my friend Colleen and just keep doing what you love – blogging. If you have paid links, fine. If not, that’s fine too. Blog the way that makes you happy and don’t worry about Google or their Page Rank.

We all know how things change online so quickly. Yes, Google is a powerhouse and everyone uses them to search. Today. Who knows who the search giant will be in a year from now? I remember when Netscape was The browser of choice and Internet Explorer was just a way to get online and download Netscape if you didn’t have it on a disk. How things change! And so, if Google’s rise is followed by a fall at some point, at least in the search engine game, Page Rank won’t matter at all.

The next question, then, would be: Who is poised to become the next big thing in search?

I’ve found a search engine that I believe could give Google a run for their money. I’ve been using it exclusively since my own PR took that first hit and I’m more than pleased with it. Expect a full review soon.

• Posted in:
  • Blogging
• • Send to a friend,
  • your printer or
  • your friend's printer
• • Comments (10)
  • Trackbacks ()