I was amazed to find that my dead website check found over 100 sites that have suddenly shutdown, all in a matter of weeks since Google performed their PageRank update. My site check runs weekly and is quite proficient in finding all sites that no longer post an actual website to the domain, instead nothing or some parking page in lieu.

Whilst I typically may get a handful of dead sites per month, I have not found a quantity this large. It seems that Google's recent change to its toolbar PageRank score, punishing any site who sells advertising, has had an impact not only for Google, though would impact across other sectors including domain registry, hosting, software and so forth.

I wonder if Google realize with what little change they make, they seem to have the ability to affect and/or break businesses who are not prepared or account for such problems? Legitimate or not, I watch that PageRank score do exactly this to the mum and dad businesses, bigger even, that rely on something that Google themselves hype, then strip away because they got out of the other side of bed that day.

I wonder how other directories have seen the impact? I know that running http://www.directorylist.org that I also just removed around 50 directories, all of which suddenly ceased operating for the same reasons; Googles recent update. I see both good and bad things coming from such acts of Google, in that yes it does give the web a clean out of some of the poorer sites, however; it doesn't really fix anything because those involved simply shutdown one domain, open another five or so moving in a different direction that Google isn't punishing.

Not sure whether Google really fix anything with their decisions, trying or not, though I just don't see it for those who are in the business of selling PageRank. What I do see is some businesses shutting up shop not because of the PageRank value, though simply because they lose rankings in the process. Interesting.... though evil at the same time.