Why no google link count but see links at other SE

no link count from google but link count from other SE

[Birde]

My client shows no inbound links based on the query link:www.xxx.com. The client has a small number of links as seen in linkcount queries at MSN, AV, Lycos, etc. Many of the links are obscure, small sites but several are relevant and few are from reputable, relevant sites like -
[pbs.org...]

They have 77 pages in the Google index so I don't think they are doing anything illegal

I have not seen this before, any insights?

[Mohamed_E]

Welcome to WebmasterWorld, Birde!

The Google link: command only shows backlinks with a PR of 4 or better, also it only shows backlinks to pages with a PR of 4 or better.

Let me add that the links from low PR pages do count towards your PR, it is just that the link: command does not display them. Very confusing, I know :(

[Birde]

Thanks for the reply - sorry for the delay in getting back. A few of the links were from PR4 pages (e.g. the PBS.org pages) Also, when I did a link count on April 11 it showed the PR4 pages but now those pages do not show (link count 0) although they still exist.

It seems there is more going on here.

[HagenArnold]

Birde,
Google had an update of their entire index around the 10 of April. When the update is over each month the Pagerank of each page is adjusted based on Googles new tweeked algorithm. As such, it is possible that PR4 pages on April 11th were no longer PR4 pages on April 21st when you placed your post.
So I would not worry about the existing links they are still there. Your client just needs more links from PR 5 pages or higher.

cheers,
Hagen