Google's PageRank system is a great way to see how websites or blogsites are doing. It's on a scale of 1 to 10.
One way to discover a site's page rank is to download the Google toolbar. This works easily but there are some issues. The biggest for me was not privacy (the toolbar, when showing page rank, also tells Google some of what you're doing online) but the fact that my tablet computer kept crashing. (My tablet doesn't like toolbars, period. The California Association of Realtors has a fabulous toolbar but it, too, caused my tablet to writhe and crash.)
For a less invasive way to learn your PR or that of your competitors, just visit Page Rank checker: http://www.prchecker.info/check_page_rank.php
Active Rain is a huge, active site, and it's PR score is 6. So too does the Keller Williams site (KW.com) enjoy a 6/10. That's running with the big dogs.
My local MLS provider, MLSListings.com, gets a strong 5. Laurie Manny's impressive site, www.LongBeachRealEstateHome.com, merits a 4. That's still a really great score and no small feat to acheive.
My site, PopeHandy.com, and my ValleyOfHeartsDelight.com blog are both at a 3. Here's the interesting thing - I only started the latter about 6 months ago, but started the former nearly a decade ago. There's the power of blogging for you. (I have enhanced my templated website a lot. Friends of mine with the same basic template have a 1 or 2 PR for theirs.)
A friend of mine told me that his blog seems to not be seen by Google. I checked it out and sure enough, his blog, which is on Wordpress, is a PR 0. He was right. With a score so low, and with all his writing, I would probably want to consult with an SEO guru to get it fixed.
What about your blog?
Mary - My primary website is a PR 5 (www.austintexashomes.com). My blog here is a 3 (was a 4 until the update for some reason). My AR outside blog is a PR 2.
Jason, congratulations on your amazing success, which isn't surprising - your stuff is well known nationwide! My AR blog is a sad 2/10 but my Live in Los Gatos (on the Real Town platform) is a PR 3.
Hey Mary... I'm launching a new website and blog next month... Just another thing I need to put on my list!
Hi Mary -
I just checked all my sites and found my 2 outside blogs (12 months and 6 months old) are both ranked "3" but my old website (8 years old) is only a "2." I'm not sure if I should beef up my website, or simply abandon it and work on my blogs.
Vicki
Vicki - I would not ax a site just because it's a PR 2. You can tweak it with more content, more header tages (2) etc. and it'll rise. But importantly, if you've had it for awhile, that counts for Google too. Also, if your website is templated and you've never personalized the content (re-written it), that's an issue too. Goog luck!
I have yet to find a toolbar that doesn't cause my computers to crash, including Google and CAR.
Age counts unless it's dated, just like real estate. Hmmmmmmm. Maybe Internet real estate is taking a page from land real estate. Freshen up your web site on a regular basis and that helps, which is why blogging works so well--fresh content on a daily basis.
I just ran three of my sites through the page rank checker. It's run by Google, so I got the results that I was expecting: