untangling_the_web

DID: 4046925
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Here's an interesting twist on link searching, that is, finding sites that link to a
specific address. This search, which works with Yahoo and (to a lesser extent)
Windows Live Search, finds pages that link to a specific domain or domains but
not to another specific domain or domains. An example would help. Let's say I
start by finding the sites that link to the Iranian Ministry of Defense. Here is the query
I would use:
[Iinkdomain:mod.ir]
In Yahoo this query returns 545 hits. Now, suppose I want to see which sites link to
both the Iranian MOD and the Iranian Electronics Industries. I can do that easily with
this query:
[Iinkdomain:mod.ir linkdomain:ieimil.com]
However, I see lots of sites that also link to the ever-present CIA World Factbook,
which, while a wonderful resource, isn't want lwant, I would really like to see the
sites that link to both the Iranian MOD and lEI sites but not to the CIA Factbook. Can
I do this? Sure:
[Iinkdomain:mod.ir linkdomain:ieimil.com -linkdomain:cia.gov]
While this technique has obvious applicability for search engine optimization ("who is
linking to my competitors but not linking to me?"), I think it is worth knowing about
because you may come up with some creative ways to use it. Just as an interesting
example, try these two queries in both Live Search and Yahoo. It's interesting to see
what drops from the results' list on the second query.
[Iinkdomain:cia.gov linkdomain:nsa.gov]
[Iinkdomain:cia.gov linkdomain:nsa.gov -linkdomain:fbLgov]
I believe you will consistently find that Yahoo! provides more results than Live
Search for the linkdomain: searches. However, the results will vary, so it's worth
using both search engines. Google does not offer a linkdomain: search, and its link:
search has been hobbled.
Yahoo Search
Windows Live Search
http://search.yahoo.com/
http://www.live.com/
Tip 10: Look Beyond Search Engines and the Web
Search engines and directories index only a tiny portion of the Internet. With some
notable exceptions, they are basically designed to index web pages. A vast amount
of data is stored, for example, in online databases, many of which are free and open
to the public. They often contain information useful to researchers-phone
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