Google updated the PageRank that is displayed in their toolbar. Each update causes a stir among the SEO community and webmasters are trying to get their websites to the top of the Google Rankings.

PageRank, or PR, is a system used by Google to assign rank to web pages. PR is a numeric value from 0-10, or no PR (gray bar) calculated by Google using proprietary algorithm. It is essentially a score out of ten as to the "value" of your site in comparison to other websites on the Internet. It is based on two primary factors; the number of links you have pointing to your website and the value of the links pointing to your website. The value is calculated based on the PageRank of the page linking to you and debatably the relevancy of the page linking to you .

The most current PageRank update will undoubtedly cause a larger stir than usual in that many sites have shown drops in their visible PageRank while at the same time showing significant increases in their backlinks. This fact reveals that one of three things has occurred in this latest update:
1) Google has raised the bar on PageRank, making it more difficult to attain a high level, or
2) The way they are displaying their backlinks has changed, or
3) The way they calculate the value of an incoming link has changed.

Google Raising The Bar To Lower Yours

In the past few PageRank updates it has become quite apparent that Google is continuously raising the bar on PageRank. In their defense, with all of the reciprocal link building, link renting, etc. going on , high PageRank sites has attained those ranks simply by building or buying hundreds and thousands of links.

New Backlink Calculations

It should be noted that Google does not show all backlinks. Google is showing less links than before which negates the possibility that a website's PageRank is dropping due to a decrease in links but being hidden by an increased number being displayed. In short, while which backlinks google chooses to display has certainly changed over time it does not appear to be a major factor in this update.

Multiple links from the same site or run-of-site links

1) Intelligent and relevant reciprocal links do not seem to have been penalized, probably due to the increased relevancy factor. If you reduce the value of irrelevant links and raise the value of relevant ones then there is no need to penalize reciprocal links as, done incorrectly, they will penalize themselves. Links with text around them such as "Partners", "Advertising", etc indicates they are purchased . Google has and is actively trying to reduce the value of paid links. This appears to have been moderately successful where there is clear indication that the link is paid for.

2) Links from sites that hold little relevancy .The relevancy factor appears to have become more important. Links from sites with content related to yours is showing positive results while sites with larger numbers of less relevant links are showing drops in PageRank.

Traditionally the search engine results will begin to fluctuate based on the new visible PageRank 3 to 7 days after they are visible. This does not have to be the case as Google had these numbers all along but it's worked this way in the majority of cases in recent history. So monitor your search engine positions over the next week or two and watch for changes. Try to hold back on making major changes to your site during this time as often the final positions will differ from those that can be viewed during the shuffling.