Google's Page Rank system is often misunderstood.
Getting a high Page Rank does not mean that the website will be guaranteed a good position in Google search results.
But it does mean something. It means that Google trusts your site to some extent. You may have a little trust or a lot of trust. A PR 1, for example, means that Google is just getting to know your site. A PR 6 means that Google likes your site quite well.
My experience is that the higher the PR the longer the site has been on the Internet. I've also noticed that sites with more visitors will eventually get a better PR. I'm not sure how Google knows how many visitors the site gets, but this seems to be true.
There are a lot of "seems" with Google. The guys at Google don't want us to know too much because they want their search results to be as pristine as possible without outside meddling.
I use the Google Toolbar for convenience in searching, but I tend to notice the PR graphic that goes with the Toolbar more often. When I visit a website I want to know if I can trust it too. If Google trusts it, then I am more likely to trust it too.
Does that make sense?
greg cryns
