If you're interested in buying a new domain name for your website, you have to be wary about all of the scams out there. One of the most pernicious scams is the artificially high Page Rank domain name. This fake page rank scam affects hundreds or even thousands of enterpreneurs every year—don't be its next victim. Keep reading this guide to find out how a fake page rank check tool can save you thousands of dollars, and how to check fake page rank well in advance of making any final purchase decisions about a domain name.
But I Thought Page Rank Couldn't Be Faked!
Page Rank is designed to be a true measure of popularity for websites. Because it is defined by Google and Google alone, you may think that there isn't a need to do a fake page rank check. After all, why check for fake page rank if it's not really a problem?
The truth is, though, that page ranks can be faked through a rather simple scheme called a 301 or 302 redirect. This kind of redirect makes Google think that the page rank value of the domain name you're buying is actually the same as the page rank of the website that the redirect goes to. This page rank could be either higher or lower than the page's actual PR value, but in the typical formulation of this scam, the 301 or 302 redirects go to a website with a very high Page Rank.
Why does it work like this? Because 301 redirects designate a website that has permanently moved to a new location. Google allows this kind of redirecting so that websites can make permanent domain switches without having to worry about their Page Rank value declining precipitously as a result.
This means that it's actually critically important for anyone who is buying a web domain to do a fake page rank check so they can be sure that they're actually getting what they pay for. Even if you're buying from someone you believe to be trustworthy, it doesn't take long to check fake page rank, and it's completely free, so you're not out anything just from checking.
When Should I Do a Fake Page Rank Check?
Generally speaking, it's a good idea to check fake page rank any time you're offered a high PR domain name. If the domain you're being offered has a Page Rank of 3 or less, you may not feel that it's as important to do a fake page rank check—after all, even if the real Page Rank value turns out to be slightly lower, it won't be too big an ordeal to bring it back to the PR level you were told the site was.
The more expensive the domain name, the more critical it is for you to run the fake page rank check before making any financial commitments. Check fake page rank through several different sources to make sure that you're getting the best information possible, and that the tools you're using are working correctly.
Will My Own Page Rank Ever Be Fake?
If you ever decide to sell your own domain name, you don't need to worry about running a fake page rank check on it. It takes actual purposeful effort to create a false PR value, and while you can check fake page rank on your own website before selling it, you're very unlikely to come up with a positive result unless you deliberately ran redirects on your front page.
If someone tells you that your website has a fake PR value, you may want to run a fake page rank check on it to make sure that they're not telling the truth. If you check fake page rank and discover that they were not telling the truth about your website, now you'll have a way to actually prove that you have behaved ethically.
Fake Page Rank Penalties
When blogs have a relatively high Page Rank value (PR of 5 or 6, typically) but Google has identified them as selling blog entries or guest posts, Google may perform a fake page rank check of its own. If Google's check for fake page rank reveals that you've got a lot of inbound links coming in from sources that are very suspect, they may decide to artificially reduce your Page Rank value.
After a check for fake page rank indicators like artificial link structures, in 2012 Google actually made a large number of search engine optimization blogs have a Page Rank of 0, regardless of what their link numbers indicated the PR value should actually be.
Fake Page Rank Check Tools
There are literally hundreds of tools available to check fake page rank online. Because Google changes the way that programs can access Page Rank values on a regular basis, these sites and tools often don't stay in the same place for a long time, or a tool that worked a few months ago may not work now. The best way to find fake page rank check tools is to
If Someone Tries To Sell You a Fake PR Domain
Let's say you run a fake page rank check and find out that someone is trying to scam you. Unfortunately, there's no one consolidated space on the internet that helps people find which sites have come up positive in a check for fake page rank. You will just have to trust that other people will also check fake page rank before they purchase domain names that have fraudulent redirects.
Check Fake Page Rank For Inbound Linking Sites
You should also consider making sure that the websites linking to you don't have a fake page rank. Check fake page rank of any site that is giving you inbound links so that you can make sure their links won't suddenly be worthless when their fake page rank comes to an end.