Google: We Did Not Remove The Link Command/Operator

Feb 12, 2016 - 7:52 am 10 by

Chalkboard9 Google 1900px

Last night, Bill Hartzer spotted that the link operator, i.e. [link:www.seroundtable.com] no longer returns results. Well, he is right, for some domains but for others, it does seem to work.

Google Link No Results

But for sites like [link:searchengineland.com] it does work:

Google Link Yes Results

In short, it works for yahoo.com, msn.com, twitter.com, facebook.com, homedepot.com and many others. It does not work for google.com, youtube.com, hotmail.com and many others.

Google did remove the link operator details from their search operators help page a couple weeks ago.

But Google's Gary Illyes said on Twitter this morning that the link operator has not been removed:

I did email press at Google yesterday but have not heard back on the long answer, when I do, I'll share those details at Search Engine Land.

Forum discussion at Twitter.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Follow

Search Video Recaps

 
Google Core Update Rumbling, Manual Actions FAQs, Core Web Vitals Updates, AI, Bing, Ads & More - YouTube
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: March 18, 2024

Mar 18, 2024 - 4:00 pm
Google Updates

Google Urges Patience As The March 2024 Core Update Continues To Rollout

Mar 18, 2024 - 7:51 am
Google

Official: Google Replaces Perspective Filter With Forums Filter

Mar 18, 2024 - 7:41 am
Google Maps

Google Business Profiles Now Offers Additional Review After Appeal Is Denied

Mar 18, 2024 - 7:31 am
Google Maps

EU Searchers Complaining About Google Maps Features Changes Related To DMA

Mar 18, 2024 - 7:21 am
Google

Google Showing Fewer Sitelinks Within Search

Mar 18, 2024 - 7:11 am
Previous Story: Google AdWords Revises Automated Bidding Workflow