Well, it's that time again. We're all sitting here waiting with baited breath for the next Page Rank or infamous Google "PR" update. According to the Web gurus and their own algorithmic calculations they developed in their parents basement, it was supposed to have happened over a week, over a month, over a (insert any timeframe here) ago but still hasn't. Needless to say, the Internet world is in a tizzy.



Every blog and forum post is on to page 26 and has broken down into blatant name calling and spam postings because they've run out of speculation as to the reasons for the delay. It's pretty entertaining nonetheless. People are calling Google a bunch of thieves, stealing money from their pockets with every additional non-update day that goes by. SEO firms are shuttering their businesses because of unmet client expectations thanks to those "arrogant SOB's" in California.

Beyond keeping the SEO forums and bloggers busy and the rest of us wasting countless hours reading the posts and putting in our two cents, why do we even need PR? I've seen some of the postings speculating that the delay is due to the fact that PR is on its way out. Much to the dismay of many, I'll go ahead and say it, it probably should be.

I'm pretty new to all this Internet stuff but the question needs to be asked. What purpose does PR hold? Surely there are people smarter than me who know the answer because I just don't get it.

Well Mr. Smarty Pants, without Page Rank how would I know how well my sight is perceived? How about the same way it is on any other search engine but the "Big G", you do a keyword search and see where your sight falls. If it's higher than last month/quarter/year, you're doing something right. If it's lower than the last time, you're doing something wrong. And, if your wireless mouse runs out of batteries before you can scroll down far enough to find your site in the results, you've been penalized. Seems pretty clear to me.

I just don't understand why we need Page Rank AND search engine results? The only thing that PR has created is a cottage industry of paid links companies who sell virtual real estate on their high PR site. Google themselves have said that they are cracking down on paid directories and the like, and often performing manual removals.

Why not just do away with the PR bar and be done with it? Google can still rank sites according to their quality standards but just keep it internal and have it reflected in the search engine results.

At the end of the day, many will say that it's Google's world and we're just playing in it. You think the Big Daddy update was major? I'm no Nostradamus but one day, probably sooner than later, you're going to wake up and your Google Toolbar is going to be missing something, the Page Rank piece. Page Rank is going to be a thing of the past.

After the dust settles and you've completed the twelve steps at trembling hills, it will be business as usual. You'll still need to develop a good site based on basic SEO, good content and quality back links. Only now, it will be easier.

Think of all the extra development time you'll have not reading the various blog and forum posts. Imagine the reduced stress from not worrying about what PR your site will have after the next update. In the long run, it will be a good thing.