Google changing PR threshold?

more backlinks required to get PR6

[Vork]

I had a couple of PR6 sites, and after the recent pr update on google my sites went pr5, though the number and quality of backlinks remained the same.

is it because Google set a higher eligibility limit for sites to get their pr, in terms of number of backlinks?

what do u think?

[doc_z]

A change in toolbarPR for your page can be caused by several effects:
- a change of PR for pages linking to page
- a change of transferred PR caused by a change of the number of links on those pages
- a change in the PR algorithm (e.g. the damping factor)
- a change in the toolbar scale

Normally, PR changes are caused by additional links on the backlink pages and/or a drop of PR of those page (i.e. from a high PR6 to a low PR6).

[Strider]

Thank you a lot doc_z for your reply!

So it appears that the most effective cure here would be increasing the number of backlinks to the sites?

[Strider]

I just seem to have the same problem as Vork :)))

[digitalv]

The most effective cure would be to ignore that little green bar ... it doesn't mean jack squat.

I have a PR8 site that you can barely find in the search engines unless you search for it by name, and I have a PR4 site that is in the top 3 (usually top 2) natural results for a ton of relevant keywords. Stop chasing PageRank and focus on getting TRAFFIC if you want to do well :)

[Rhadamanthus]

From my understanding of the PR algorithm, I doubt that Google has "changed the threshold" any. Instead, the natural result of the way PR is calculated is that as more pages are added to the index, the "threshold" required to reach a certain PR is higher. And since Google is growing all the time, it's constantly getting harder and harder to achieve a certain PR rating.

[huppy99]

We have a number of large websites in different channels.

One channel has changed. our site, and most of our competitors in the region have all dropped on ranking point. The rest of our sites seem unaffected. A little strange, but Google is always changing.

I am sure that most people would find that if their own site went up or down, then most likely a number of competitors would have done similarly.

[webnewton]

My dear Vork. PR is a variable. It depens upon the total no of identified web pages on www at any time. The web pages are constantly increasing and hence the relative effort to achieve the pr.

[shrirch]

Some of the fluctuations can be attributed to changes in Dmoz.org PR.

[walkman]

I think it has changed too. Last time we saw a drop in most sites I was checkign out.

and yes, PR matters. Provided the rest of the SEO stuff is equal or near equal, PR will boost you. If you don't agree, please link to my site (sticky me :)).

[ownerrim]

in a hostile environment where the number of potential adversaries is ever increasing...the first order of the day is to keep stocking up on guns and bullets: content AND links. Or to quote the movie, galaxy quest, "never give up, never surrender".