Why don't directory backlinks show up in Open Link Explorer?
-
Why don't we see linking root domains like yelp, google, yahoo, etc? Is there any way to get a more accurate list of links to a domain where webmaster tools are not an option?
-
Thanks Everybody for the quick and thoughtful responses. I'm sure I'll find the data I'm looking for with the suggested tools.
-
Hi Scott,
Sadly, we don't have quite the server farms and processing power and PhDs that Google and Bing have to throw at this, so we don't have as robust an index. For sites that you can't verify in Google Webmaster Tools, don't forget to check out Bing. They announced at SMX Advanced in June of 2012 that they're again offering up a ton of link data for even non-verified sites.
-
SEO SpyGlass is not a half-bad additional link tool to check out as well. SpyGlass is slower and will not pull data instantaneously like Majestic or OSE. However, what I like about SpyGlass over the other tools is it will actually visit the sites and see if the links still exists, which is why it takes so long to get all the data together.
-
Open Site Explorer actually has quite a limited crawl. We don't find it unusual for OSE to report under 5% of the links that something like Majestic reports. However it does try to target the top end, so you don't end up wading through page upon page of dross.
You should also be aware that it isn't updated as often as some of the other tools. That can mean that newer links don't appear.
OSE is good for finding a picture of the links that are likely to actually be helping in rankings. If you want a full and fresh set then it probably isn't the best tool, but you might find that "full and fresh" isn't always the most useful.
As broadbeach says, Ahrefs or Majestic would be good options (I love ahrefs at the moment). Raven just uses data from OSE and majestic, so there are no new sources in that, although it is a great tool for many other reasons.
-
Hi Scott,
If you believe that Open Site Explorer doesn't show every single link (which may well happen), you can always double check a website by using the following tools:
-
Majestic SEO (very very good)
-
Ahrefs
-
Raven Tools
I believe the best one is still the link report you can find in Google Webmaster Tools (with Majestic SEO second), but as you say, that is not always an option.
Best of luck.
-
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
I earned some high-quality backlinks, but the target page's ranking is not improving. Why?
Within the last three months, I acquired five .EDU backlinks and two editorial links to a page ranking for a competitive keyword. After the first few links came through, the page jumped from #15 to #7. It stayed there with minor fluctuations for a couple weeks. I earned a couple more good links, and the page fell as far as #44. It has recovered a bit then, but has not returned to the first page. It is worth noting that the .EDU links were achieved by sponsoring university programs. Could Google possibly be recognizing this as a link scheme? Are the links being earned too quickly? I don't believe it could be either, as the links reside on high quality, trustworthy sites and there wasn't a sudden major influx of them. Thank you for your insight! Also, I think my username tricked Moz into thinking I'm a staffer. Not the case!
Link Building | | StevenLevine0 -
Are Directory links relevant?
What are everyone's thoughts on directory links now a days? I'm talking about the old tried and true ones, like Yahoo directory and DMOZ? We had previously been on a couple and removed the links, thinking it was hurting us. But we've been falling in rankings for a while now, and I'm trying to think of some ways to bring us back up (even if they're small). Do you think it would be worth it to be added back in? Anyone's thoughts on this would be appreciated.
Link Building | | Viewpoints0 -
If i get link pointing to a specific page , will that link add up to the count of linking root domains too ?
If I create a fresh link pointing to specific page on my site, apart from adding a number to "page linking root domains" does it also add up to root domain linking ?
Link Building | | Techbate1 -
Back linking to t foreign sites
One of our major competitors seems to be linking to an Asian speaking website that has a blog/product review formant. I was wondering how they are achieving this. Are there any non English /Asian sites worth submitting to and what is the best way to go about this if English is the only language you speak! And of course is it worth while doing this from an SEO perspective.
Link Building | | Hardley10 -
Why aren't my blog links counting?
In our blog posts, we frequently include links to our product pages on our official site. However, the blog root domain is not showing up on Open Site Explorer for any of these product pages. In other words, why isn't Google counting our blog as a unique root domain? If it helps, here is the link to the blog: http://jampaper.wordpress.com/ Thanks for your help!
Link Building | | jampaper0 -
Root Domain Link for Affiliate's Link
It seems my affiliate link: http://www.hrmsplugins.com?partners=21 is not being considered as a "root domain" backlink when this link is used on their website. Is there a reason for this?
Link Building | | delphia0 -
Keyword links are not showing up in majesticseo or open site explorer
I've been doing link building by writing good content and getting other blogs to post my articles with keyword links embedded. One example is: Original article: http://www.cleanedison.com/blog/setting-the-stage-for-greenbuild-2012-1997 Re-published article: http://www.renewableenergyfocus.com/blog/2012/11/7/guest-blog-setting-the-stage-for-greenbuild-2012/683.aspx (Keyword is LEED Certification - it goes to http://www.cleanedison.com/leed) I have 2 questions: Why isn't this backlink being found by majesticseo or open site explorer? Why isn't my original article showing up a google search at all? P.S. Overall, despite my best efforts, my keyword rankings have been falling recently, is there anything obvious that I'm doing wrong?
Link Building | | CleanEdisonInc0 -
Is purchasing internal page links from directories worth it?
Since data suggests that only the first link on a page to a singular URL is counted, are the deep links purchased from directories worth the money/provide any value?
Link Building | | mj7750