Google Lockdown - Should You Care?

It’s all over the news, well blogging news anyway. Google has dropped one of the biggest PageRank nuke which affected even the big name bloggers like ProBlogger, Andy Beard and Coppyblogger. But it doesn’t stop there, even Forbes Magazine got a drop in its PageRank.

Here is a list of websites that took the PR Hit compiled by Daily Blog Tips:

• Statcounter (from 10 to 6)
• Engadget (from 7 to 5)
• AutoBlog (from 6 to 4)
• Problogger (from 6 to 4)
• Copyblogger (from 6 to 4)
• AdesBlog (from 7 to 5)
• Search Engine Journal (from 7 to 4)
• Quick Online Tips (from 6 to 3)
• Search Engine Roundtable (from 7 to 4)
• Blog Herald (from 6 to 4)
• Weblog Tools Collection (from 6 to 4)
• JohnTP (from 6 to 4)
• Coolest Gadgets (from 5 to 3)
• CyberNet News (from 6 to 4)
• Washington Post (from 7 to 5)
• Washington Times (from 6 to 4)
• Charlotte Observer (from 6 to 4)
• Forbes.com (from 7 to 5)
• SFGate.com (from 7 to 5)
• Sun Times (from 7 to 5)
• New Scientist (from 7 to 5)
• Seattle Times (from 6 to 4)

According to PinoyMoneyTalk, some big name Philippines websites also got affected.

• Daily Inquirer (from 6 to 4)
• Manila Times (from 6 to 4)
• Philippine Star (from 6 to 4)
• Yugatech (from 5 to 3)
• Jozzua (from 5 to 3)
• About My Recovery (from 5 to 3)
• Retzwerx (from 5 to 3)
• PinoyMoneyTalk (from 4 to 2)

Why would Google do such a thing?

Is it because of paid links and paid reviews? Might it be because Google is changing it’s PageRank Algorithm? Or maybe because of the curse of the 666? What ever the reason is, why the hell should we care?

Google PageRank is not a big factor, traffic is!

Yuga shares an insightful thought on why pagerank shouldn’t matter.

If you’re not selling links for PR juice, why should it matter? So, if you don’t sell ads on your site or blog, the PR is just for decorative purposes. Five years ago, it might represent some sort of authority but that perception has been devalued or totally erased now. Will people stop reading your blog? Will feed readers un-subscribe? Will blogs not link to you anymore?

If there’s one valuable lesson this has taught many of us, it’s the realization that high PR does not mean high traffic. So, even at a much lower PageRank, referral traffic from Google still remains the same.

As to how DoshDosh puts it, “Google is a factor that is outside of your control”.

If your ad revenue is affected just because PageRank changes, then you’re not doing something right. Not exploring the right monetization options. Not having a long term business plan. Not making full use of the traffic you have. Not getting the right advertisers who know the value of your site.
And all these are factors within your control. Who cares what Google thinks about content or site quality? People are the ones who visit your site and decide if its worth reading or recommending to someone else. Google doesn’t own the way you write or think. They don’t influence the type of content you decide to put out.

So enough of this Google Lockdown. Let’s get back to the basics of making money online, which is to create great contents, gain readership and build your traffic.

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