Thanks Larry!

PageRank is a link analysis algorithm named after Larry Page. Google uses this algorithm as one of many factors to score documents (rank nodes) in the linked database that we all call World Wide Web. It was developed by Google's founders Larry and Sergey while they were students at Stanford University in the late 90's.

Rumor has it that "true" PageRank is calculated continuously for each single page on the web, and to an almost infinite precision. The exact number is used internally by the search engine and, neither the value or its calculation method are ever disclosed publicly. Toolbar PageRank (TBPR), in contrast, is represented as an integer between 0 and 10 on a logarithmic scale. This number is visible through Google's toolbar as users navigate to any individual page, and seen to be updated every few months.

Experienced webmasters generally take this number with a grain of salt. They understand that the visible number is just a snapshot of a particular point in time, and only a very crude benchmark of a page's ranking power. And of course, this is only one of the 100 or so factors that the search engine supposedly considers when it ranks a page for any particular query. Take a look at WikiPedia's article on PageRank for some more in-depth information on the topic.

For most websites, their home page will usually show as the document with the highest toolbar rank. It is not uncommon to hear webmasters talk along the lines of "I have a PR7 website" - usually for bragging rights or when engaged in a pissing contest - when they actually mean that their page with the highest TBPR has a value of 7.

A high TBPR can certainly be an ego boost, and possibly give off a general signal about that page's overall performance. So, obviously we were stoked when the DineMonkey homepage attained TBPR 5 on Oct 19 2008, and the DineSXM.com homepage jumped to 5 on Jan 2, 2009 within a year of its launch. But surprisingly, the blog that you are now reading never managed to get anywhere in nearly two years of existence. Well, finally today this has changed: dinesxm.blogspot.com is our third website related to making restaurant reservations online to receive a TBPR of five. So, yay for us! :)

Thank you, Mr. Page and all Googlers, for recognizing the value of our contributions to the web. We'll be sure to put our newly acquired bragging rights to good use!

All kidding aside: we actually do make a serious effort to provide valuable information and tools, through DineSXM, DineMonkey and this blog, that make it easy for guests to book their favorite restaurants. We also try very hard to do the same for webmasters who want to build local destination guides that let their visitors make online table reservations... Let us help: we're always looking to improve and grow new markets - get in touch if you like our style!

- Norbert, Chief Chimp at DineMonkey