Successful Blog

Check Google Backlinks Through Yahoo

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I’m not actually sure how I got there. That happens to me in real life too–more than I’d like to admit.

Somehow I ended up on a forum called SEO Guy on a thread about backlinks. The discussion was about that age old question

Why don’t my backlinks show up in Google?

It’s accepted knowledge that Google only reports about 5% of the backlinks it knows about. This practice frustrates folks attempting to see where they stand.

Embedded in the discussion thread that I found was a way to uncover what backlinks Google has by asking Yahoo. The technique set forth below by forum member Brandon is complete with the compelling argument for why you would trust that Google has these same links.

This is an image of Brandon’s post at the SEO Guy Forum.

This is an image of the search text in action. It took a few tries to get it right using a blog with a subdomain. Note the space before the hyphen.

Not only did I find out what links Google has, I found out that Yahoo doesn’t show me all of its links when I do a simple link:mydomain.com search either. The link count for both my personal blog and for Successful Blog were both almost 40% higher through this command.

Believe me the entire thread at SEO Guy Forum is worth reading. I just found this particular bit worth highlighting for your attention.

I’m heading back that way. I’ve bookmarked both the SEO Guy Forum and the SEO Guy Blog. This SEO Guy makes SEO interesting. What a concept!

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles:
Google–Do You Have Something to Tell Me?
Google Site Maps–Looking for Lancelot or Guinevere
Google Blogger–403 Forbidden–How Could You Let that Happen!
Google Zeitgeist–Will Make ME Millions

Blogger/ Firefox–Editing Trap

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If you’re working on a Blogger blog and using Firefox, recently when they hid the time options choice on the posting box, they also hid an editing trap.

Note: This seems to be true only in Firefox.

Here’s what happens: When you go back in to edit, unless you check the “keep current time” box, the time resets itself. That means that the time on the post becomes time of the edit, rather than remaining the time the post was originally published.

A post written in May, but fixed in July would move two months through your blog!

Read this explanation of how Blogger posts are an editing trap by Improbulus at a Consuming Experience. The post will lead you to the software fixes that you need.

Whew! What a mess that could be. Just when you thought your blog was doing fine. . . Thank you again. Improbulus.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Great NEWS!

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Great News
to Announce

It is with great pride and sincere thanks
that I announce that Mr. Paul Scrivens and I
have reached an agreement in which I will become
the sole owner of

Successful Blog

What that means for our community is that Successful Blog
will be getting a new design and a new host.

Thank you, Paul Scrivens.

It’s been a pleasure doing business with you.
I hope to do so again in the future.
Sincerely,
ME Strauss

Great Find: 50 Coolest Websites

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Great Find: TIME: Tech Time–50 Coolest Websites by Maryanne Murray Buechner
Type of Article: End of Year List
Permalink: 50 Coolest Websites
Target Audience: Any Internet user

Content: Maryanne Murray Buechner defines one quality of cool as something you probably haven’t bookmarked already. She figures there is no value in pointing out what most people already know. The article is divided into five sections.

On the last page, Ms. Murray Buechner reviews the criteria for each section. As a publisher, I might have put this overview first to give readers a “roadmap” to the article. So if you’re like me, you might want to start there and then return to the sections that interest you most. The sections are these.

NEWS AND INFORMATION–less-traveled links to the real world.

LIFESTYLE AND CULTURE–great content and presentation that showcases a particular area of interest.

COMMUNITIES–sites that do a great job of connecting people for work, play, or other common interests.

TOOLS AND ESSENTIALS–sites chosen for their ability to perform a service.

JUST FOR FUN–as the name implies, entertainment.

I’m partial to the lie detector. Although it’s great to see Bloglines getting its due in the “real world.” The IpodLounge and some of the Just for Fun links were nice discoveries.

I think you’ll pick up a site or two from this list you’ll want to visit again. I just can’t imagine that you’ll know everything this list has to offer.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Thank you, Blogarithm–But Why?

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Remember when I spoke of backlinks that were totally bogus?

Well this has me totally confused. . . .

In checking my backlinks for Letting me be . . . random wondering and philosophy I found this link to Bookarithm.com, a page that says their subscribers subscribe to me. Being a visual person, I was taken by how the page on which I’m linked at a glance seems to imply that I am a subscriber too.

blogarithm page

We know I’m fair and I’m nice, but I’m not necessarily the most savvy chick. Until I checked my links, I didn’t know that this blog existed. At least I thought I didn’t, but maybe I had subscribed. The info said date added 10/25. Added to what? I wondered. Did I add it to Blogarithm and not remember? I’ve made mistakes before. You know that.

Thinking perhaps my memory was slipping, I decided to check whether I had signed up for an account–one that I didn’t remember. I tried to login. Here is the message I got.

blogarithm setup

Nice to know my memory is still in tact–or at least that theirs is as bad as mine is. I put on my detective hat and did a little blog-digging. Went straight to Wholinkstome to see what this blog was about. Here’s what I found.

blogarithm wholinkstome

Now I am totally, completely, undeniably, and utterly confused.

Why would a blog with a PageRank 7 need to link a little blog like me? I appreciate the benefit of the Google Juice, believe me. Thank you, Blogarighm, but I’m not sure I understand why.

I just got !!! The subscribers are likely to subscribe to Michael Noggs blog not to Blogarithm–I knew I was making a mistake in here somewhere.

As my friend Nancy says, “Liz, sometimes your so fast, and sometimes you’re sooooo sloooow.”

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Speaking of Zeitgeist–Don’t Leave Trends

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Blogger know thyself.

While you’re finding out how your readers search, why not personalize Google to find out what you might learn from your own search trends?

Just last week Google introduced Trends–a feature that lets you look at your top searches, clicks, and other info about your personal search activity. To use it, you only have to sign on to your Google account when you search.
All of the details are described for you at this page of the googleblog_blogspot.com logo.

The key features of Personalized Search offered through Trends are that it

  • Orders your search based on what’s relevant to YOU. Over time, new search results are ordered using your search history, particularly what you have clicked on in the past, to deliver more personalized and relevant results to what you are looking for.
  • Past searches–web pages you have browsed– are available to you for browsing, researching, and removal.
  • Labels and bookmarks you attach to your Personalized Searches can be accessed from any computer.

I’ve been playing with it for the last three days and here’s what the read out looks like.

Google Trends

I’m thinking this could be very useful for that “where did I see that” syndrome. No extra work, a better record. I like that.

–ME “Liz” Strauss