tedster - 11:38 pm on Apr 17, 2010 (gmt 0)

I have found Google WebmasterTools but I am not sure I want to use it.

Your misgivings about allowing Google to connect all your sites are shared by others. The positives are that you will get data on how Google sees the verified site that is not available any other way. Here are some key areas beyond the backlinks bounty:

1. Google's data on IMPRESSIONS for the website in the search results, not just clicks.
   
   
2. The "Fetch as googlebot" tool is the best way to know if your server has been hacked. Today's hackers often cloak their parasite links for only Google to see, and there's an epidemic of that.
   
   
3. You get an authenticated communications channel between your site and Google.
   
   
4. Google's own Site Performance metrics for your website, which are now at least a small part of the algorithm. Since those numbers come from toolbar data, you're not going to see them any other way.