I’ve just noticed that both the Search Status extension for Firefox and the Google Toolbar for IE are reporting More Than Scratch The Surface as having a toolbar PageRank of 5. This is 1 higher than the PR4 the site had the last time I noticed (a couple of days ago).

My secondary site, Jobs In China, is now showing a PR4, where it was previously unranked.

I’ve tried to confirm these figures through about 10 different PageRank checkers, but can’t do so. In most cases, the old values appear. In a few cases, 0 or NaN appear. None show the figures that Search Status and Google Toolbar are showing.

So, is there a toolbar PageRank update in progress?

None of the sites in my feed reader are reporting anything. Perhaps, I’m the first to notice, although I think this unlikely! I just hope it’s not a blip that will be gone in the morning!

I’m out of time to check other sites tonight, so if anyone can confirm that a toolbar PR update is underway, please let me know.

Many WordPress blogs are adopting the CommentLuv plugin, because it gives readers extra incentive to make a comment – it automatically adds a link to the commentator’s latest post at the end of their comment.

This is great for the commentator, for several reasons outlined below. However, some people are not taking full advantage of the benefits.

Benefits For The Commentator

Commenting on a blog using CommentLuv gives you two potential benefits:

1. Increased Traffic / Readership

As people read through the comments, they can see the titles of each person’s latest post. If the title of your latest post appeals to the reader, there’s a good chance they will follow the link to your site, to read the post.

If you have great post titles, you will get traffic from this source. Some of this traffic will convert to regular readers.

2. Benefits To PageRank / SERPs

If the blog running CommentLuv is a DoFollow blog, not only will it send visitors your way, it will also pass you a little bit of PageRank.

Of course, Dofollow blogs already give you one link. While this link helps a little with PageRank, it’s less useful for the SERPs because the Name field is used as the anchor text. This will really only help you on searches for your name. That’s why some people put keywords in the name field – to help on searches for those keywords – at the risk of being marked as spammers.

CommentLuv gives you a second link, which has a couple of advantages over the first:

1. It uses the post title as anchor text. If your keywords are in the post title, it will help you in the SERPs for those keywords.
2. It’s a deep link, pointing to a page on your blog rather than the home page.

These advantages really are extra incentive to make a comment.

DoFollow CommentLuv Stolen Away

Some people are not taking full advantage of the benefit provided by CommentLuv on DoFollow blogs. They could be improving their PageRank and their position in the SERPs, but instead this is being stolen away.

How? The link for their latest post points to a FeedBurner redirect URL, not to the original post on their site.

This doesn’t stop people getting to the post, as FeedBurner will redirect them to the site. However, it means that the PageRank / SERPs benefits are going to FeedBurner, instead of the commentator’s site. Some of this may be passed on by FeedBurner, or it may not be. It’s not worth the risk.

Next time you leave a comment on a CommentLuv blog, check the link to see whether it goes to a FeedBurner URL or to the original post on your site.

The Solution

CommentLuv uses your feed to create the link for your latest post. If you have the Item Link Clicks parameter turned on in your FeedBurner settings, your feed will use the FeedBurner URL and so will CommentLuv.

If you want to change this, see the Turn off FeedBurner Redirect in RSS Feeds post by K-IntheHouse at ShanKri-la.

There are other reasons to turn the Item Link Clicks parameters off, as outlined by K: it makes it harder for people to access the post’s original URL. Why make it harder for people to blog about you?

Add the loss of potential PageRank / SERPs benefits and this becomes a real issue. Unless you really need the extra stats, turn this off!

Final Thoughts

Commentators: CommentLuv gives you extra incentive to make a comment,  particularly if the blog is DoFollow. Make sure you take full advantage!

Blog Owners: CommentLuv can encourage comments and reward those who make the effort, but are you worried about being targeted by spammers?

I haven’t activated it on my blogs yet, but I probably will in the near future.

More Than Scratch The Surface has finally been penalised by Google. I noticed today that my toolbar PageRank has dropped from PR4 to PR0. It appears to only be a toolbar PR penalty – I am still in the same place in the SERPs.

I say finally, because I’ve been watching other sites get penalised, while mine remained untouched. The cause of my penalty: two sponsored posts I wrote about three months ago. Until now, Google hadn’t noticed them.

Goodbye PayPerPost

Like RT, I’ve said goodbye to PayPerPost. I only did two sponsored posts and it’s almost 3 months since the last one. I initially stopped doing them because I couldn’t find any fitting the subject of this blog. Then, as more and more blogs were penalised by Google, I decided to hold off doing any more.

I thought about adding nofollow to the links when Terence Chang recently lost his toolbar PR. I’m not sure why I didn’t. If I’m honest, I guess I thought that if Google hadn’t already penalised me, then they must have missed me. So if you are thinking about fixing any issues on your site, do it today!

I’ve now added nofollow to the links and requested reconsideration via Google’s Webmaster Tools. Now, I wait and hope my toolbar PR is restored.

Why Am I Worried About Toolbar PR?

Cynics will be asking why I’m so worried about toolbar PR, given my somewhat anti-Google stance on previous posts, such as Final Thoughts On The PageRank Debacle and I Signed Up For PayPerPost.

There are several reasons for my change of stance:

1. Originally, I was angry that so many fine bloggers were penalised for what was normal practice. It felt like Google was being very unfair. I’ll admit I didn’t know anything about Google’s Terms Of Service at the time. Since then, I’ve come to realise that Google had stated that the nofollow tag must be added to paid reviews and advertising. I still feel that Google should have communicated this better to the average blogger before penalising them, but in hindsight, they could have reduced real PR rather than just toolbar PR. A turning point in my attitude came when I read a well-considered defence of Google.
2. I originally thought, like many others, that I didn’t need Google. I’ve since come to realise that although it may be possible to have a successful site without Google search traffic, this traffic is where most of the money is. Search engine visitors are the one who are most likely to click ads or buy something (whether from Adsense or Amazon). Turning your back on Google’s search traffic has to be considered as shooting yourself in the foot. If I value the search traffic, I have to play by Google’s rules. I’m now happy to do so: In fact only 3 days ago, I turned down an approach to buy links on my site.
3. I was making very little from Adsense at the time and it appeared that sponsored posts were a better option. This may indeed be the case for some blogs, but I’ve come to understand Adsense much better since then. As I’ve learnt more about Adsense, it’s started performing better – and it’ll only get better as my site grows. Long term, Adsense is a better option.
4. Although toolbar PR is pretty much irrelevant (it’s your real PR and position in the SERPs that really matter), most people don’t realise that. Why is that important? Well, it’d important if I wanted to sell links or write sponsored posts, because they’re based on toolbar PR, but I’m not going to do that! However, I’ll be moving to Brisbane in about 3 months and I’ll be looking for a web-related job. You never know, a PR4 website may help me get such a job, a PR0 site probably won’t!

Final Thoughts

I didn’t have to post this. Google don’t care whether I make this post or not. I could have just requested reconsideration quietly without mentioning it and most people wouldn’t have noticed. But that’s not my way. If I feel I’ve made a mistake, I’ll put my hand up and admit it.

In the past I’ve said things that were anti-Google and pro-sponsored posts. At the time I believed what I said and there is an element of truth in those statements. It may be that for some people, sponsored posts are the best way to monetize their sites. It’s quick and easy money for a small blog, while Adsense won’t start working well until you’ve built your blog up and you understand how it works a little better.

However, I’ve come to realise that in the bigger picture, Google search traffic is a very important element of a successful site. It’s not something I want to lose, so I’ll play by Google’s rules. Today, I’ve only lost my toolbar PR, tomorrow it may be my real PageRank and my position in the SERPs.

Many things have been said about the recent toolbar PageRank update. Most tend to agree that PageRank has lost relevance and that we shouldn’t place too much importance on it. Most of us feel it’s time to move on and stop talking about it. I’ll do that, but not until I’ve had a final say on the matter.

On A Positive Note

Firstly, some sites, mine included, have received a good PageRank. I am very happy that my site is PR4. I’ve worked hard and waited a long time for the update. I was expecting PR1 or PR2 at best, so I am thrilled with PR4.

However, it’s a little hollow, because so many sites have ranked lower than they should (then again maybe mine is ranked too high).

Sites That Should Be Higher

I’m only naming a few sites that I read regularly. There are many more that deserve to be higher, that I’m not aware of right now.

I’ll start with authority blogger Andy Beard, whose site should be PR 6 in my opinion. PR4 is just wrong. This is a definitive case showing that PageRank is not an accurate reflection of a site’s worth.

The following are other great sites that I read regularly, which are definitely worth more than the PR3 they’ve been given:

• Big Bucks Blogger
• Untwisted Vortex
• The Cayman Host Blog
• The Make Money Blog

All of these sites serve up quality content on a regular basis. They have a much larger body of work than my site and many more backlinks. I know my DualFeeds plugin boosted my PR a lot, but I just can’t understand how their PR is lower than mine. It’s incredulous!

What Can I Do About It?

Stop using Google. I’ve read people suggest this. Would it work? Probably not. Even 10,000 bloggers abandoning Google probably wouldn’t have any effect. Am I willing to do it? Honestly, no. Some of their tools are very useful and I would find it hard to give them up. And as Josh points out Google Brings Traffic – Why Boycott it? But full marks for Maurice who stopped using Google tools even before the recent PageRank penalties.

Promote other alternatives. Many of us are Google centric, but there are other options out there. We can easily promote these options, instead of, or as well as, Google. We should be doing this anyway!

Pass on the link love. I’m going to try to link to the sites I listed above more often. Of course I’ll only link to them only when it’s relevant. As I already link to them fairly often, it probably won’t have much effect, but it’s the least I can do. I’ll try to give good quality links rather than making the common linking mistakes encountered on blogs outlined by Andy.

Move on, remembering that PageRank isn’t really relevent. It’s time for us to do this. Things like traffic and subscriptions are more important. Hopefully advertisers will stop using PR to measure the worth of sites.

So Is Google Evil?

When the first round of penalties kicked off, RT asked Is Google Evil Now?

I don’t think they are. I think they just have a different agenda from us bloggers. It’s their search engine, it’s their PageRank system and they can do what they like with them. My real frustration with Google is that they aren’t open enough about what’s happening and aren’t specific enough about the rules. No one really is really sure what’s okay and what’s not.

Getting slapped for something you thought was okay is a lot worse than getting slapped for something you knew was naughty.

PageRank Alternatives?

If PageRank is not an accurate reflection any more, can someone else come up with an alternative ranking system, which is fair and updated regularly?

There have been other ranking systems but they weren’t adopted widely. To be successful, such a system would have to be introduced by a big name.

My original thought, first voiced in the comments of Reflections On The Google Slapfest, is that Yahoo would be the ideal candidate. They must have a private ranking system already and they’d love to deal a blow to Google.

However, I found Yahoo already tried this back in 2004 (or thereabouts). Yahoo called their system Webrank, but it seems to have been abandoned long ago. When I searched for information on it, what I mostly found was webmasters saying that it was just a poor copy of PageRank and it wasn’t worth worrying about. So, to an extant, we’ve made our own bed.

It’s worth noting that I also found complaints about Yahoo applying penalties. Sound familiar?

Maybe it just isn’t going to get any better. Or maybe we are underestimating how hard it is to make systems covering such a massive number of sites work successfully. Still I’d like to see Yahoo have a go.

What I Won’t Be Doing

I won’t be stopping writing sponsored posts. Adsense: 35 cents in a month; Sponsored Posts: $16 for one post (on a topic I’d write about anyway). If you can pass my Maths Comment Spam Protection, you can add this up!

I won’t be cloaking Nofollows so only Google sees them – Thanks Lucia.

And I won’t be talking about this any more. Well maybe in the comments.

The Final Word

I’ve said my piece. Now I’m moving on…

I’ve been an interested reader in the current PageRank blogstorm, but not an active participant. I haven’t been affected personally as this blog was created after the last toolbar update, so my PageRank has been 0.

After reading Andy Beard’s Real or Fake PageRank Update In Progress, I decided to see what the PageRank checkers were saying about my site. The answer: It seems I’ve jumped from PR0 to PR4! See the screenshot below.

There are a couple of 0s in there, but they are mostly 4. I’ve tried about 6 different checkers (just to make sure) and they all say the same thing.

Now, I’ll be thrilled if this stays true, and I do have some top quality backlinks pointing at my DualFeeds plugin page (which seems to be PR5), but I’ll be very surprised if it does stay at PR4.

If it does, then I will be a little embarrassed, because of the number of quality sites listed on Andy’s post which seem to be in the region of PR4. I’ll be horrified if both my site and Andy’s end up with the same PageRank – his site should be miles above mine, as anyone can clearly tell.

I’m not saying my site is bad, but Andy’s site is great. Not only that, it’s established – he has multitudes more content and backlinks than my site does. If you look at other indicators, such as traffic, my site is clearly just not in the same league as Andy’s. If we both end up with PR4, it will be a travesty and perfect evidence of PageRank just not working.

Andy, if you do read this, the two servers which are reporting me as 0, are reporting you as 3. This may indicate that these servers are showing the old value, before the update (but of course after the totally unfair penalties). I’m not even considering the possibility that you’ll be at three after this. I’m hoping you’re on 5, but even that would be too low.

This is the first update / roundup style post on More Than Scratch The Surface. I originally thought I’d stick to articles, but I can now see the need to write about things that aren’t worth a full post. Expect to see these occasionally.

Plugins

I spent most of last week on the IFrameWidgets plugin. There were quite a few issues, but now there’s only one left: the site who makes the widget won’t know which page the widget was called from. This is fully explained on the plugin’s home page. I’m waiting a little while to see what the fallout of this is (if any) before I start to actively push it. I learnt a few HTML / Javascript tricks while sorting out the issues, so expect some posts on these soon.

The new version of the DualFeeds plugin should have been released six weeks ago, but I just haven’t gotten around to finishing the documentation yet. I’ve been busy, but that’s terrible! I did fix an obscure bug (only present when switching feeds and for some versions of php) over the weekend. Thanks to Dmitry from www.sportreport.ru for helping me sort this out. Anyway, expect this to be released towards the end of next week.

Alexa Milestone

A couple of stumbles from K-IntheHouse and Andy Beard helped push this site through the 150K barrier at Alexa recently. I’ve been surprised how easily I’ve moved up the rankings, but I’m anticipating that it will be harder from now on, as I’m in the same area as a lot of other great blogs.

Stormy Weather

Google storms, Blogrush storms. There’s a lot going on in the blogosphere. I’m an interested reader of it all, but there’s been no impact on me personally.

My blog is newish, so I don’t have any toolbar PR yet to lose. As Josh points out it seems that only toolbar PR is affected, not the SERPs. Let hope that’s true. I suspect it’s all part of Google‘s bigger plans for PR, whatever they are (and we’d all love to know). It would be good to see Google being more open about what’s going on, but I’m not holding my breath!

I haven’t signed up to Blogrush yet, so this is just based on what I’ve read. I will say in Blogrush’s defence that it is a public-beta, so people have to expect issues. However, it’s got to be said that the recent episode of making 10,000 blogs inactive has been handled very poorly. It would have been better to warn people that didn’t match the criteria and given them time to address it, rather than just pulling the plug on them.

I’ve worked in the software industry for 13 years and been responsible for releasing product and managing client communication. You can’t keep everyone happy, but right now Blogrush have way too many people unhappy with them. I think long-term they’ll probably sort out their issues, but they have alienated a lot of people which will make their job more difficult.

Guest Post

Something else I’ve been doing this week is writing a guest post for Snoskred’s Get Out Of Your Niche series. We’ll be moving back to Australia in six months, so I’ve written about what I’ll miss about China and what I’m looking forward to back in Australia. It should be appearing tomorrow on Snoskred’s site, so check it out if you’re interested.

Most bloggers think that selling dofollow links is bad, right? But what if you do it in a roundabout way, without really intending to? Let me explain…

It started when I read Blog Begging or Donations? on the Cayman Host Blog. This discusses whether the rise of donation plugins like Buy Me A Beer or Buy Me A Coffee is a good thing or not.

While I can’t see myself ever asking for donations for a normal post, I am considering it for my DualFeeds plugin page.

It came to me that I should create a list of links, on the plugin page, to anyone who donated. This seemed like a nice gesture for people willing to give me some of their hard earned money.

Then I thought, “Hey, they’d benefit from the fact that I have nofollow disabled – maybe that’s even an incentive for them to donate”. Not only are they rewarding me for the plugin, they are getting a dofollow link on a page that might end up with a decent PageRank (the decent PageRank might be some time away, given this is a new blog).

But it raises questions in my mind. Is it okay to give links to people in return for a donation? Am I crossing the line if I use the dofollow link to sell making a donation?

Of course I haven’t actually decided yet whether I will ask for a donation, but I’m interested to know what you all think about this.