PR Lag: What the Heck is That?!
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Have you ever wondered why your brand new website seems to be taking forever to acquire visual PR (the green bar on your Google toolbar)? Welcome to PR lag. Hugo Guzman explains what it is, what it means to your SEO strategy, and why it shouldn't make you foam at the mouth.
Did you know that the little green bar in your Google toolbar is always late? Do you ever wonder why your brand new site remained at a PR 0 after the last PR update even though you acquired a handful of PR heavy backlinks just before the update occurred?
“Visual” PR (the green bar on your Google toolbar) always has a lag. What do I mean by a lag? I mean that the backlink data used to calculate your visual PR is anywhere from one to ten weeks old. So for example, if the PR update occurs on January 1st, 2005, chances are that the backlink data being used update the PR value(s) will be from somewhere between October 15th to December 25th (give or take a handful of days). Anyone familiar with astronomy will understand the following analogy:
Visual PR is akin to light from the sun or from a distant star. It provides you with a glimpse into the past because the information that you are receiving is dated. Just as the light from a distant star is millions of years old when we see it here on earth, the PR rank on your little green bar is weeks old when it finally gets “updated” on the toolbar.
This PR lag is the primary reason for the overabundance of posts like:
“50 backlinks, but no PR…Why?”
“I’ve been building up my backlinks for a while, but no PR…Why?"
“I’ve been busting my butt looking for inbound links, but no PR…Why?"
“Backlinks but not PR. My health is failing and my hair is falling out…Why?"
Next: PR Basics >>
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