First you need to know that there are two different types of Google pagerank, toolbar pagerank and the actual pagerank assigned to any given page. This is what confuses so many Webmasters in the Internet marketing community. The toolbar pagerank is actually a reading off of the actual pagerank. The toolbar pagerank is most often outdated while the actual pagerank is frequently updated. The actual PR that is assigned to a page is not shown on the Google toolbar or anywhere else while the toolbar PR can be found in various places.

It is very possible to find a page that has a high toolbar pagerank but does not receive many unique visitors. It is also very possible to find a low toolbar pagerank that receives many unique visitors. The reason for this is because the rank of the pages linking to any given page plays a large role in the calculation of the pages rank. There are of course many other factors that are calculated in to establish the ultimate pagerank of a page but the ‘in-links’ are a major factor. In most cases a high pagerank page will receive a lot of unique visitors but it is important to know that it is not always the case.

So, to clear it all up in a simple statement; the actual Google PR does indeed effect your pages rankings while the toolbar PR does not effect your rankings at all. Many new Webmasters anxiously await the next toolbar PR update expecting it to give their site visitors a boost. Hopefully this article has provided clarification on the subject.

The next time you are looking for strong link partners or others to promote your products, do not look at the toolbar pagerank. Instead, look at the layout, structure and appearance of the site. Does it look like an amateur site or that of a professional? Is it well structured and search engine friendly? If you answered yes to all of the above questions then the site in question is probably worthy of a link exchange or product endorsement. If the site has a low toolbar pagerank but it was put together well then it will most likely achieve a nice PR in the future.