Google's PR has nothing to do with Yahoo, Intomi, AOL, or the new MSN coming out. Although Google is the biggest of them, it is not as big as all others combined. Since G is the only one that uses PR, and newer aglos are diminishing the value of PR, I'll stick to my guns that PR isn't as important as some think. Incoming links and their text are far more important than PR, and on page elements are far more important than PR when determining search engine rankings in all search engines. Google's PR still does hold some weight and is still part of their algorhythm, but it is no longer even remotely as important as it used to be. Having constantly changing content will bring in your google bot more often, your site structure will help google bot determine how deep it will crawl. PR is a part of this equation, but it is not the important part. If it was, my site would easily be number one for my main keyword, since I have a PR7 with lots of PR6 and PR5 pages. Other sites are dominating the SERPs in all engines because of their off page optimization and google's perception of what is relevant.

Also, you might notice that this year Google’s results look a lot closer to yahoo’s lately. Prior to last November (the big google dance known as florida) google’s PR was a huge determining factor in ranking. It still is an element, but if you research PR in reputable SEO forums like HighRankings, SEO-Chat, Cre8asite, and SEO-Guy you will likely hear the admins echoing a similar feeling towards PR. Everybody still wants a high PR, but I personally would rather a high ranking. The last two updates have shown some sites to drop PR but gain rankings and vice versa. If PR was as important as some think, then this wouldn’t be possible.

Regardless, PR is cool. I have a lot, which I prefer, but don’t really care enough either way. Some really want that PR, but I just want more traffic. IMO PR chasers are chasing the wrong goal.