What I miss about the google toolbar PR rating

[cosmicnet]

Whether you obsessed about it, ignored it completely, or engaged in the never ending debates about its validity, the PR rating in googles old toolbar left its mark in SEO history.

The main thing I liked about it, and what I miss about it now, was that it showed a PR of 0 for sites/directories that it didn't like. Over night they'd do an update, and a crummy directory would go from PR 5 to PR 0. You knew not to list there, or try to get your link removed if you already had.

Without it, I'm not sure what the modern way of telling whether a link from a site/directory is good or bad.

I see lots of sites offering PR checking have sprung up, but with google no longer providing a feed, I've no idea where they are getting their data from so doubt its value.

Advice? How do you assess whether a link from a site/directory would be good/bad?

[keyplyr]

Agree cosmicnet, it had many useful applications. Too bad it was exploited to the point that it became a liability and had to be removed.

[Atomic]

What you used it for is why it's gone.

[Jori]

Now, we're looking at Majestic or Ahrefs. They have a good idea of the "quality" of a website. It's not so good than the PR from Google, but it's all we have.
This, and looking at the actual positions websites have.

[keyplyr]

Advice? How do you assess whether a link from a site/directory would be good/bad?

• Look at the quality of the site.
• Does it appear "spammy?"
• Investigate the neighborhood, what other links are present on that page & are they reputable.
• Look at where it ranks in the SERP
• Assess the ads... are there too many?
• Source the page looking for any blackhat tactics.