In Open Site Explorer, what does it mean when a linking page does not contain any reference to the URl entered?

[jkenyon]

When running Open Site Explorer on a particular URL, I get a list of linking pages. Many of these pages have a high Page Authority. I am assuming that this is a list of pages that presumably link to the URL I entered. First, is this correct? Next, when I click on an entry in the list I don't see any reference to the URL on the page, even viewing the page source. What does this mean and why is the link in the list?

[DanielH]

I would guess SEOmoz's indexing depends on the popularity of the site, much like Google's caching is more regular on more important sites. What's the mozRank of the site? As a wild guess I'd say check again in a week.

[jkenyon]

Thank you for your reply - it is very helpful. I get that a link can be removed, but if that is the case should I expect that link to not show up when I run the report again? Is there a general rule of thumb for how long the delay might be?

[DanielH]

FIrst queston - "this is a list of pages that presumably link to the URL I entered" - yes those are pages linking to your URL.

Second, if you visit one of the listed linking URL's and can't find the link, that just means the link may have been taken down. There is some delay between live data and what OpenSIteExplorer shows. The other reason might be that the page links to a URL that redirects to the URL you're researching.

Hope this helps!