Google Toolbar PageRank (TBPR) Dead But Real is Still Alive

Google's John Mueller hinted in one of the videos that Google won't be updating any toolbar PageRank in future. This news comes as a shock because earlier Matt Cutts had said that Google will continue to support toolbar PageRank. It seems Google is taking decisions faster than before. Another SEO metric that provided a subtle hint about the quality of a webpage is gone. 

Many of us may have noticed that the PageRank of several sites were not updating since the past few months. Now, we know the reason for it, Google has stopped updating TBPR. There was a time when Google used to update TBPR every 3 months and before DA (Domain Authority), this was the only metric for SEO's to judge the quality of a webpage. But, slowly and gradually, this metric was losing importance and Google didn't wanted webmasters to focus their efforts on increasing TBPR.


Google PageRank FAQ's

Has Google Dropped Page Rank From Their Algorithm?


No. Google still uses Page Rank in its core ranking algorithm. 


What is the Difference Between Toolbar PageRank and Real PageRank?

Google updates real PageRank of sites constantly based on backlinks. But, a public display of PageRank values are available with the help of Toolbar PageRank only. Now, Google has stopped updating the public display of values but internally, it still uses it and updates it regularly.


How Will Google Calculate the PageRank Now ?

PageRank is a calculation of the quality and type of link pointing to an URL. The more and better the quality of backlink, the greater the chances of that webpage to rank higher on the search results. You will get higher PageRank if high PR webpages provide dofollow backlinks to your site.


How to Judge the Quality of a Webpage if PageRank is Gone?

The public display of PageRank is gone. You can still judge the quality of a webpage with the help of Domain Authority which is measure of the popularity of the site. 


PageRank is Still Important!

Google until now says "Pages with higher PageRank are more likely to appear at the top of Google search results." so it is a strong hint that Google still uses PageRank in its main ranking algorithm. We never know what the future holds for us but this move by Google can be seen as an effort to stop PR malpractices rather than ignoring it completely in the ranking evaluation.