What do backlinks in Google Webmaster Tools really mean?

[djbaxter]

I think there's a tendency to assume that if a backlink shows up in your Google Webmaster Central account it means that Google sees this as a link that's adding to PageRank and search ranking.

Apparently, this is not the case.

In a thread about search engine spam and whether it's really true that nothing a competitor can do can hurt you, Google's John Mu had this to say:

I don't believe I've seen a site that was clearly in a bad position only because of third-party activity (such as getting links from bad websites). Theoretically, it's probably possible (which is the reason for the "almost"), but in practice, we have a lot of safeguards that help our algorithms to evaluate sites in useful ways. Our algorithms are pretty complex, it takes more than a handful of bad links to sway their opinion of a website. Even if Webmaster Tools shows a million links, then that's not going to change things if those links are all ignored for ranking purposes.
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I interpret that to mean that a backlink listed in Webmaster Tools means only that Google is aware of the link, not that the link has any value to the ranking of your page.

 

[Saabs]

OIC
how about those links appearing on third party backlink checker tools?

 

[djbaxter]

Any method of checking backlinks can only tell you whether those backlinks exist. It can't tell ypu what yhe search engines do with those links.

 

[kidsko]

I actually read through a PDF which was trying to show that basically if you have a PR5 they count it as you having 500 or so backlinks due to the quality. Now I'm not saying thats exactly true, however yes they do weigh things but how they do I'm not too sure I've actually found the answer for it during my whole time on forums. If you know anything I'd appreciate you sharing.

 

[djbaxter]

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I actually read through a PDF which was trying to show that basically if you have a PR5 they count it as you having 500 or so backlinks due to the quality

That's a claim without any real substance. The only ones who know for certain what any link is "worth" in ranking are the owners of the algorithms making that determination, and I can assure you that it is based on a lot more than just PR. To begin with, the value of a link for any specific search also depends on whether the link contains the search term or something close as anchor text and whether the search term or something similar appears on both your page and the page linking to you.

Remember the "Google Bomb" exploits? If not, do a search for "miserable failure"...

 

[kidsko]

I actually do remember Google Bomb because I tried it and what a horrid way to make backlinks. The worst part is someone actually spent a lot of time doing that and I have no idea if that ever paid off. I imagine it worked for the first 20 people and the group of people who actually wrote a program to automate it.

However yes you are right when it comes to the algorithm, but this is like the quest for the Holy Grail in a sense as your never going to get it.

The question I am more so looking to get is what does the community of people who work for Google pride when it comes to SEO and links and such. Its those people who give away the clues, but no matter how much you gather from those clues, its like your in a murder mystery game - no one's going to tell you.

 

[djbaxter]

Not only that but even if you could figure it all out today in 6 monthsmuch of what you just figfured out would be out of date. Search is an ever evolving field.