Eytan Seidman of Live Search responded to the recent questions on why the Live.com link command went offline. He said it was primarily due to “mass automated usage for data mining.” So they have decided to block all queries with backlink operators for the time being.
Eytan adds that they hope to bring this functionality back “in a manner that allows folks that use this functionality for real queries.” To me, this is a sign that Microsoft is working on a webmaster tools section, similar to what Google has with Webmaster Central and what Yahoo has with Site Explorer.
As we know, Google has been adding tons of features to Webmaster Central. You can view our Webmaster Central archive to see some of the latest features added, such as anchor text phrases, malware notifications and expanded link analysis tools.
Yahoo’s Site Explorer has been updating as well. View our Site Explorer archive for updates on that. In addition, Yahoo has also moved link command queries to Site Explorer to ward off those types of queries on the main search engine interface.
So now the question is how soon will we see something from Microsoft on this front? And then what toolsets will they initially launch with?
Related Topics: Microsoft: Bing SEO
Knew this was coming, should have know it was soon when the link: command stopped working. I think the same thing happened at Yahoo when they added all the authentication and feed features.
Still like GWC the best though. Mostly since they have had this feature the longest and were able to get good quality feedback from the webmasters who offered suggestions.
I’ve caught wind of MSFT doing some focus group testing with SEOs on what tools they use. Why do that unless they really are planning some kind of webmaster tools offering?
Why would they not offer webmaster tools. Thats why Google is the best. But please if they do let me know when!