How long before links are found in analytics?

[PaddyCoop]

I'm new to website building and have recently set up some links by submitting my website in directories and have also got some people in the same industry to link to my website. But they aren't being found in moz analytics. Does it take time or should they be getting found?

[KyleEaves]

The authority of the sites you are receiving links from will likely play a role in how long they take to show up, if they show up at all. If the pages sending you links are also well linked, those backlinks will probably show up first. If you're listed on a directory buried deep within the site, it's going to be tough for the Moz crawler (as well as other crawlers) to find the links to your site. I've noticed links to my site in OSE come and go depending on the size of the current Mozscape index. I see many more links in Google Webmaster tools, so you're probably best served using a variety of tools to discover backlinks and focus on earning quality links.

I know I focused too much on my backlinks in OSE and my DA & PA when I first started using MOZ. My advice would be to use the information as a general barometer to measure your efforts over time. Best of luck!

[MattRoney]

Hi Patrick!

All link data in Moz Analytics comes from the Mozscape index, which is the same index you access through Open Site Explorer. As has already been said, Mozscape updates approximately every 4-6 weeks. You can learn more about how the crawl works here, under Frequently Asked Questions.

There's information on index updates here.

[LesleyPaone]

One thing that you should be able to do is submit links to bitly as well. Moz has a data deal with them, http://observer.com/2014/03/bitly-signs-data-licensing-deal-with-seo-giant/  I don't know if they still scrape Twitter as well or not, but you could used to tweet a link on Twitter and Moz would index it.

[PatrickDelehanty]

Hi there

I would agree with this, but sometimes, directories do have an impact if they are industry related or topically relevant, it just takes a little bit of manual labor and common sense to judge the site.

If it's a templated directory, then yes, these are spam and you shouldn't be seeking links from these types of sites.

Also, to answer your question, yes, links take awhile to be crawled and seen by different tools, including Moz, Webmaster Tools, and Majestic. You'll even see different numbers of backlinks from different tools and different lists. Don't be worried - this is actually a good thing as you will be able to see different links and different angles of your backlink profile.

That said, Moz updates monthly, so depending on when these links were built, it may take some time.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

[Andy.Drinkwater]

MOZ would be able to answer this more readily for you, but because they aren't Google, they don't have every site, page or link stored. It could be days or weeks.

Just as a side note though, don't use directories as forms of link-building as more often than not, they will do nothing and if you plough through too many, you might cause yourself problems.

If it's a local directory, these can have some benefit to local results though. Each site must be taken on its own merits.

-Andy