[pgo]

Fiction: Automated "rank checking" programs are a good way for webmasters to save time and measure their online presence.

Fact: Automated rank checking programs violate Google's Terms of Service. They use server resources that should be spent on answering user requests. We strongly request that you not use rank checking programs to check your position on Google.

So...I shouldn't use my Firefox SEO extension?

[emil]

I've got two. too lazy to uninstall one of them.

[lyndon]

Fact: Automated rank checking programs violate Google's Terms of Service. They use server resources that should be spent on answering user requests. We strongly request that you not use rank checking programs to check your position on Google.

I take this to mean programs that search Google and others each day for their position under potentially hundreds of keywords. A simple report for one URL and say 20 keywords is essentially 200 queries (reading 10 pages of each) per search engine - on a daily basis multiplied by millions of webmasters, one can see why they aren't too happy about it.

PR checkers and the like are fine.

[pgo]

Ah. Very good. I was hoping that was OK.

Another question - how do those PR checking apps work? I mean, is there a manual way to find PR? I only ask because I was getting 2 different PRs for the same page from 2 different tools!

[lyndon]

the only guaranteed way to get the PR (pagerank) of the site is to use Google's own toolbar on IE.

[sularome]

you have to use the google toolbar, but you have to know that your page will have a different rank with and without "www" in front.
i mean http://www.bla.com/
will have a different PR from http://bla.com/

[emil]

Originally Posted by sularome

i mean http://www.bla.com/
will have a different PR from http://bla.com/

Yep, this happens to my site, too. However, if you click the links you've posted (I know they weren't supposed to lead anywere) you'll notice that both have the same PR (with or without www.) Anyone care to explain, please?