Backlinks! Say it ain't so!

Backlinks don't matter much anymore, and they're very good at figuring out that you built them.

The best way to get them is to link out. Give and ye' shall receive.

That it doesn't show your backlinks doesn't mean they are not indexed. They are indexed as soon as Googlebot crawls that backlink. Also Google's backlink checking doesn't show MOST of the backlinks. Yahoo's tool is more accurate but no tool shows all backlinks anyway.

So rest assured, your backlinks are indexed!

I am talking about external backlinks. Links I have on other sites that link to my site.

Google (not sure about Yahoo) gives you 'credit' for your backlinks long before they show up as a backlink from within Google's webmaster tools.

If Google has indexed a page and that page has a link to you (that isn't 'nofollow'), you've received the backlink.

Have you checked the links on those external pages? Are they indexed at all? I always make sure the links on external sites are indexed. You can either bookmark them or make some blog posts on Web 2.0 properties. And don't forget to ping them.

It's more complicated than you think, LilBlackDress.... unfortunately.

-- If your keywords have a lot of competition, then you'll need longer and more links to crack the Top 10.

-- If the links you're getting are on sites that don't get spidered very often by Google, they won't get picked up very fast. Get links from sites that have high PR on the homepage (at least). Shoot for PR4 or higher, if possible, as those sites get regular visits by Google's spiders.

-- If the links are 'nofollow' they might not do you much good. This is not a sure thing, but most still seem to believe that nofollow links aren't helping nearly as much as dofollow links.

-- Are you using the phrase you want to rank for as the anchor text in all your links? If not, you probably won't show up for that search phrase even after a mountain of links.

-- Those claiming to shoot right up to the top with new content are experiencing what's known as QDF (Query Deserves Freshness). It means new content discovered by Google gets a temporary boost in the rankings. Then it dies off. This is normal. Many newbies think it means they've climbed the mountain very easily, when in reality they haven't.

I'm sure there are plenty of other things I'm overlooking that all come into play. Your best bet is to make sure you're using the correct anchor text every time and just keep on going.

John

Yes Zeus, I am selecting keywords carefully and using my keywords for anchor text. Also the sites rank high and are dofollow.

I guess I will have to assume I have credit for these links and they are just not showing up as mRamses mentioned. Hopefully they will soon.

Which one do you use for checking backlinks?

I recommend the following:

Backlinks Checker Tool - Backlink Watch

Site Explorer - Yahoo! Site Explorer