"Links to your Site" in Google Webmaster Tools

[pkKumar]

In GWT, i am confused about what Links to Your Site actually shows, by name it shows the sites who links to you and total no of links from that site.
I have some links from one of my other site where there is one link per page for the site. Now, for the total links from this site, gwt is showing way more than the no of actual pages on the site.

[Robert Charlton]

Possibly, you have canonicalization problems on that site, and each link is counted more than once.

[ZydoSEO]

I agree with Robert. Your linking site likely has canonicalization issues. Perhaps every page on your site can be referenced both with and without the www.

[lucy24]

:: detour to gwt ::

Y'know, I think they may be cleaning up this area as we speak. I checked a couple of specific sites that have had with/without "index.html" and similar issues in the past, and their Pages Linked count now shows the correct number. That is, they're no longer counting each link twice.

Another format you'll find (assuming your preferred name is with-www) is:

{linking page}
Via this intermediate link:
http://example.com/

Sometimes "this intermediate link" means "this intermediate figment of google's imagination" but here it means exactly what it should: The originating site has your name in the wrong form, so google arrives at your site after a single redirect. This in turn means that the link isn't listed on the without-www side of gwt (I checked), even though that's the form the link really uses.

[pkKumar]

Perhaps every page on your site can be referenced both with and without the www

Is it bad thing for me, if Yes then how to avoid this.

[pkKumar]

:: detour to gwt ::

what does that mean ?

[g1smd]

-> Looks at www report and non-www report in Google WebmasterTools.

[ZydoSEO]

You need to choose either www or non-www as your canonical ("preferred") form of URLs for your site and 301 redirect all non-canonical page requests to the canonical form. You also need to consider whether to show or hide default document names (index.html, index.php, default.asp, etc) when referencing folders w/ default documents as well as whether to show or hide the trailing slash when referencing folders w/ default documents. All of these and more (eg. query string parameters) can create canonicalization issues and lead to split page rank and duplicate content.

[lucy24]

You also need to consider whether to show or hide default document names (index.html, index.php, default.asp, etc) when referencing folders w/ default documents as well as whether to show or hide the trailing slash when referencing folders w/ default documents.

For a given definition of "need to consider" ?

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

Just curious, did your site have a mobile version pkKumar? My site has had a mobile version for a couple of years without problem but, as of this week, the Google preview is showing the desktop version where mobile used to be. Nothing has changed on my site and I'm seeing the same thing you are.

Check the total number of "not selected" pages in GWT, mine just spiked by a factor of 2x the number of pages on my site. Excuse me while I go remove the mobile version.

[pkKumar]

Just curious, did your site have a mobile version pkKumar?

No i don't have a mobile version currently, i think my problem may be canonical issue but why it is occurring i have no idea, i am linking the site in www form, moreover i have set domain with www as prefers domain.
Wait i have not set my preferred domain when i submit the site to gwt. I did the same after some time may be after 2 months.