For years SEOs have relied on Yahoo’s Site Explorer for gathering competitor link data. Unfortunately, Yahoo shuttered that tool today marking the end of an era in search marketing.
While both Google and Bing provide linking data through their respective Webmaster Tools, they only allow users access to data for their own sites.
Google does return results for “link:” searches but those results are partial at best. So what options does a competitive link researcher have left?
SEOmoz: Open Site Explorer (Linkscape API)
I’ve been one of the most vocal critics of SEOmoz over the years, but the worst thing I can say about their Open Site Explorer tool is that they weren’t very original when naming it.
Dubbed “the search engine for links,” OSE provides essentially the same functionality as Yahoo’s site explorer as well and attempts to assign value scores based on proprietary metrics.
SEOmoz’s index is smaller and not as fresh as Majestic SEO’s data set, but I’ve found it useful in helping to identify authoritative links and the interface is much more intuitive than Majestic’s (although that’s not setting the bar very high).
At $99 per month (PRO) to $499 a month (PRO Elite), SEOmoz’s base price falls directly between Majestic’s Silver and Gold level plans and offers unlimited reports and up to 10,000 links. PRO members also get access to the rest of SEOmoz’s suite of tools but frankly I wish they would focus more of their efforts on OSE as opposed to their other less valuable tools.
Put simply, access to OSE was the only reason we’d remained an SEOmoz PRO member this long.
Majestic SEO
Majestic SEO offers a variety of pricing levels starting at roughly $48 per month (£ 29.99/mo) and going all the way up to nearly $400 per month (£ 250.00/mo). Depending on how many competitors you research on a monthly basis, you’ll probably be able to get by with the Silver level package which costs about half what an SEOmoz PRO membership will run you. However, the Silver level does limit you to 60 searches and 5M links per month.
As mentioned earlier, Majestic SEO’s index is MUCH larger than SEOmoz’s and much fresher as well. However, the interface is surprisingly bad (it makes one long for a simple excel spreadsheet) but the data is incredibly valuable. Thanks to the larger index, it’s much easier to spot competitors that are using questionable linking tactics such as automated linking, web 2.0 link spam or just relying on low quality sites.
Raven Tools’ Research Central
Strictly speaking, Raven Tools doesn’t offer any of their own linking data.
Instead, they’ve developed a tool that provides access to SEOmoz’s OSE/Linkscape data, Majestic SEO’s data and even data from SEM Rush!
The tool, called Research Central (RC) was released last week and comes at a perfect time considering Yahoo Site Explorer’s demise. Essentially RC mashes the data from SEOmoz (smaller but more authoritative index) & Majestic (larger and much fresher index) and spits it out in several reports, which integrate with the rest of Raven Tools’ services such as keyword and link tracking.
The $99 per month base price ($249 for an agency account) gives you access to all of Raven Tools (which we at Direct Match used on a daily basis even before RC’s release) and unlimited reports within Research Central.
Bang for your Buck
SEO Tool Comparison: Competitive Link Research
With Yahoo Site Explorer pushing up daisies, you’re going to be forced to shell out some cash for competitive link research tools. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get the most bang for your buck!
Since both SEOmoz and MajesticSEO provide valuable data, it only makes sense to use Raven Tools to gain access to BOTH data sets as well as their plethora of other valuable tools such as automated reporting, rank tracking, Google Analytics and AdSense integration and real-time social media monitoring.
Free Trial
If you’re not already a Raven Tools user, you can sign up for a free (no credit card required) 30-day trial here.
HOLY CRAP! That there was an affiliate link! Obviously this internet marketing company is trying to dupe me so they can make ZOMGillions of dollars. Well either that or they actually use the product on a daily basis and know that if you’re in this business it will save you time and money. Definitely one of the two though.
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Image Source: FlickrNote: This post contains an affiliate link to Raven Tools. We’re happy to put our reputation on the line by recommending them and you can thank us later.