Yahoo Site Explorer Gone – What’s Next Alternative?

When I run my Market Samurai this morning, I was notified on the Shut Down of Yahoo Site Explorer. It was stated in Yahoo Search Blog that Yahoo Site Explorer will not be available from 21 November 2011.

Yahoo Site Explorer Shut Down Implication

I know a lot of people would love to check their competitor’s backlinks (top 10 sites on Google front page) first before they do their own backlinking campaign for their sites. Some people might wonder why would you want to do that? Well, let me just run through briefly on why people love to do that.

First, you get a rough idea of what types of backlinks the top ranking sites build to push their sites to the front page of Google. Second, you know the strength of those backlinks. Third, you can even look at their anchored text and see how many anchored text they focus on. Then, you will know how much effort and type of backlinking strategies you need to beat them down.

“If you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles”. Art of War by Sun Tzu (孙子兵法)

So, if you would like to win the SEO game, you will need to do your proper keyword research and competition analysis before you implement your SEO strategy. This is a common practice for SEO marketing.

I don’t know about you but certainly I know lots of people doing SEO and people love to do the competition analysis certainly are affected. So, now if you would like to analyze the backlinks of your competitors, you can’t use Yahoo Site Explorer anymore.

What about your own websites? Well, it does not really affect your own site because you still can use Google Webmaster Tools or Bing Webmaster Tools as suggested by Yahoo Search Blog (I haven’t tried it yet) to monitor your own sites.

Yahoo Site Explorer Alternative

Service such as Open Site Explorer by SEOMOZ will allow you to check limited information. If you would like to access full information, you have to subscribe to their Pro Membership. Similarly, Majestic SEO also has its restriction for free members.

I come across 2 sites, which is free but the amount of data might not be as comprehensive as Yahoo Site Explorer. Having said that, it will at least provide you with basic ideas of the backlinking detail.

1. Blekko

Blekko is another search engine, just like Google. I found it when I am using SEO Spy Glass. It is very straight forward to use and so far I think it does a good job.

Step 1: Just type any URL (your URL or your competitor’s) and hit search.

Step 2: Click the SEO as shown in the pointer below.

Step 3: Click the Inbound link under URL SEO on the right hand side and you will get to see the backlinks and anchored text.

If you do not intend to store these data in an excel spreadsheet, this is a great tool. However, if you are analytical fanatic, who loves to manipulate loads of data, you can try the following tool.

2. Link Diagnosis

Link Diagnosis is similar to Blekko, but it allows you to export the data into a csv format for data processing purpose. You might need to download the Firefox plugin and /or sign in to get the full data.

Step 1: Again, just key in your site or the site your would like to analyze and then hit start.

Step 2: Wait for a few seconds or minutes (depending on the sites you inquire). When it is done, you will be able to look at the backlinks and anchor text data.

Step 3: Start analyzing the backlink data or export the data for your own reference or processing purpose if you wish.

Hopefully, this 2 tools will give you a rough idea of your competition analysis.

Your Voice

Do you do any SEO competition analysis? If so, what do you plan to do after the decommission of Yahoo Site Explorer? Keen to hear your thoughts. Leave me a comment below to share your view. If you know any other great tools feel free to throw in to the comments.

To Your Success,
Ming Jong Tey