Google Opens up Backlinks but not to Everyone
During the recent google dance not only we suffered the usual (i. e. disappearance of entire sites together with jumping PR) but also it stopped displaying backlinks in any comprehencible manner. I switched to Yahoo! Site Explorer to see my backlinks!
But now, hurray! The announcement comes from the babe-swamped heart of Googleplex - you can actually see your backlinks and we always knew about them, just did not want to show them to you. Here we go.
Very nice you think. At last you’ll be able again like in good old times see who links to you and who links to your competition and refine your linking strategy.
No, no no. Not so fast, buddy! It’s OK for you to see your backlinks but don’t evn think of trying to get more intelligence on your rival. We’ll show to the world the usual crap and only you will be able to see the true picture, but only about your own site - says Google.
Effectively, hiding backlinks from the public by de-facto disabling link: operator option in their search whilst at the same time giving only registered webmasters see a bit of their backlinks via Google Webmaster Tools interface they provide all big cats who can afford professional SEO monitoring with a huge and unfair advantage over those small guys who struggle to lift their Web 2.0 estate off the ground.
In contrast Yahoo opens their Site Explorer API to everyone thus allowing the commoners at least to see who links whom 
tags: google webmaster tools, lzzr, seo, web 2.0, yahoo, yahoo! site explorer, backlink, backlinks, estate, google, google dance, linking strategy
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