Backlinks are the life blood of any SEO Campaign. Without backlinks your site will not prosper and you will not see an increase in position in the Search Engine Results Pages. A backlink is basically an external link, or inbound link, that points to your site. Google's algorithms are such that they place less emphasis on on-page factors than they do one off-page or off-site factors - this is because the trust value of a website is more easily measured in the context of other websites that link to it than it is by any on-page or on-site "manipulation" that a webmaster may perform on his or her own website.
Checking your backlinks count is a relatively simple process. There are a number of tools out there than can aid you in this process including free tools like Link Diagnosis, Backlinks Watch and Yahoo! Site Explorer. Of these three tools, Yahoo! Site Explorer is by far and away the most popular tool. Google itself offers a link: command to webmasters looking to gain a stronger insight over their backlinks, however this operator is notoriously inaccurate in the results it provides. A better and clearer way to get a gauge on the backlinks pointing to your OWN website is to use Google Webmaster Tools, where you can see a near precise breakdown on all the links Google considers valuable in your backlinks profile.
The main advantage to use Yahoo! Site Explorer over Google Webmaster Tools is that through Yahoo! Site Explorer you can perform a backlinks analysis on any website of your choosing. Google Webmaster Tools only allows you to view your own backlinks profile. While Site Explorer is the oft-used tool of SEO professionals, there are other tools out there that can, in some instances at least, provide a stronger indication on the number and quality of backlinks pointing to a site. SEOMoz's Open Site Explorer is one such tool, as is the backlinks analysis tool offered by Majestic SEO. Both of these tools provide more data than is customarily available through Site Explorer, and both charge a subscription fee.
Find out more about Seach Engine Optimisation, and in particular how to build links to your website, at SEO Firm.
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