Google PageRank on a Mac?

Great news, actually. In the last few weeks a couple of different - really quite different - options have arisen. The most exciting perhaps is the new Google Toolbar for Firefox, which works on both Mac and Windows versions of Firefox.

As soon as I saw it, I promptly downloaded it while running Firefox, then clicked "yes" to the installation question. I restarted and was rather surprised to have a Terms of Service window to click through:

Not a big deal, but I've never had to agree to specific terms of service before I could proceed! Then, ta-daa:

Once I did agree to the terms, I'm delighted to have a Google Toolbar on my Mac because, like you, I am always curious about my PageRank (and I also am part of an ad network that pays for small text links on high PR sites: contact me if you'd like a referral).

The other way to check PageRank on a Mac is through Mac OS X Tiger's cool Dashboard system:

This particular widget, formally called Google PR Widget, can be downloaded from author Ran Aroussi's widget directory. It's simple, elegant, and so far as I've tested it, the results are completely consistent with what the Google Toolbar reports.

Of course, how important is PageRank? Well, I talk about it in great detail in my upcoming book Growing Your Business with Google and I also talk about it here on this weblog too, in my articles on Google PageRank. In a nutshell, PR probably affects how often and quickly your site is spidered and it likely has some small effect on your search engine results, but it's not the magic elixir to get #1 placement on Google. If only.

Anyway, those two options will give you different ways to answer your question and track PageRank. In their own ways, both are excellent tools.