Is the Google Link Operator Sample used in its index?

[Amparo]

A while ago we noticed quite a drop in the number of sites returned using the link operator (link:www.example.com) for our domain while the number for our competitors remained fairly static. Reading through the various posts I can see that this is seen to be just a sample of pages indexed by Google but I am trying to determine if Google actually use this sample and if this drop is in anyway significant.

Would anyone be able to help answer?

Thanks

[tedster]

The answer is no - there is nothing to be learned from which links Google chooses to show in the link: operator sample at any time. It will show links that don't count. It will not show links that are very strong. The number will fluctuate about once a month, and there is nothing you can infer from that.

The links shown in your Webmaster Tools account are a bit more complete, but still not in any way definitive. They also can include links that don't count, for example.

[Amparo]

Thanks Tedster,
A speedy response!
As I thought, but it was worth checking.
Oh for a look into the Google mind!

[tedster]

In this case, I hear the Google mind thinking "our algo is very dependent on backlinks and we're not going to share too much of our link data." They want to prevent reverse engineering of their algo from getting too precise.