Finding backlinks to a website

There are a number of ways of finding the backlinks to a website but each has pros and cons. The two simplest ways are to use Google Webmasters or the link: command.

You can only use Google Webmasters if you control a website and can verify ownership. In terms of Google PageRank, Google's Webmaster interface is the most accurate way of determining which backlinks to your website Google actually takes any notice of. The problem is that Google Webmasters often lags behind the real world situation. If you've added lots of links to a site they will often not show up in webmasters for some weeks or months. Usually there's a jump in the number of backlinks reported at the same time Google exports PageRank values to the Google toolbar.

An alternative method is to use the link: command. To use this, type the following into any search engine:

link:www.domainname.com

for example: link:www.resourcefill.com to find backlinks to the domain www.resourcefill.com.

The problem with the link: command is that some search engines don't return all the backlinks. Google in particular only returns a sample - usually far less than it returns via Google webmasters. The best search engines to use for the link: command are Yahoo and all the web (www.alltheweb.com).

by ML