Google PageRank: Frequently Asked Questions - Can my PageRank go down?

PageRank can decrease if you lose some important links that are no longer linking to your site. PR loss can also occur if some of your linking partners also experience a drop in their own PR, possibly setting off a chain reaction of lower PageRank all through the immediate linking network.

Does PageRank leak away from a page through outgoing links?

PageRank leak is a controversial topic that has both supporters and detractors. Supporters of the PageRank leak theory point to the fact that PageRank is transferred from page to page, resulting in a slight loss to the sending page. As a result, constant work to keep adding new links is required to maintain the existing PR level. The opponents of the leak theory believe that failing to send out links will harm the page, as some SEO experts believes Google downgrades pages that fail to transfer PageRank. They also believe that outgoing PageRank will return in larger amounts to the generous linker than ever flowed to outside Web pages.

Is it important to have good PageRank?

Yes, as PageRank is part of the Google algorithm that determines where your blog or website will appear in the search engine results. Higher PR pages, especially for competitive keywords, will often be listed higher, but high PageRank is only one of about one hundred determining factors in the Google algorithm. It is not by any means the most important factor in search engine rankings.

Has the value of PageRank to the Google algorithm remained constant over time?

The importance of PageRank has declined over time as well, so chasing PageRank is less important than adding theme relevant inbound links. Keep in mind that relevant on-page content of your blog or website is even more important than PageRank. If adding more PageRank remains a priority, strong content will attract high PageRank theme relvant links in its own right.

Has the possible new link dampening filter affected PageRank transfer?

It’s thought that newly acquired inbound links are dampened by a Google filter that lowers their link popularity and Google PageRank flow, despite their theme relevance. New links are only able to pass along a percentage of their available linking power, with that percentage increasing gradually over time, as the link ages. Eventually, the entire potential PageRank and link popularity value becomes awarded to the receiving page. The purpose of the new link filter is apparently to lower the benefit of freshly purchased links to their buyers.

Should I make PageRank values an important factor in my linking program?

PageRank concerns should be very low on the list of linking priorities for any website owner. Far more important is linking to pages that offer quality and useful content for your site visitors. Taking care of their needs should have a much higher priority. Also to be given more consideration is providing interesting and informative content on your own site. High quality content will attract inbound links in a natural manner. Those theme relevant links will bring along link popularity value, and of course an additional boost of Google PageRank. Even the lower PR value transfers add up over time, as PageRank is cumulative. The more incoming links, the better, and content is key to attracting them to your Web pages. The Google PageRank will arrive as part of the overall package.