Question about backlinks

I've used Yahoo Site Explorer and also Backlink Checker to check my blog's backlinks. I've noticed that very few of my internal links appear in these reports. Is that normal, or shouldn't all of them appear?

Also, in Backlink Checker, I see that some of my backlinks are "do not follow". Why would some bloggers choose to not follow the links from people who comment on their site? Wouldn't they want others to follow the comments they post?

And how do I check my site to see if it is set to "do follow" or "do not follow"? Thanks.

Rich

Hey Rich,

There is a Firefox Add-on to highlight & color-code nofollow/dofollow links on a page while you're surfing: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5687

By default, blog comments are set to nofollow. You have to install a plugin to make them "dofollow". Many people just don't (and don't know to do that) and some choose not to as it leaks PageRank from the post page with so many outbound links.

It takes time for your backlinks to appear in Yahoo Site Explorer. I'm not sure how long, or how often they update. If you know they're there, just keep getting backlinks. They'll appear in the database in a future update ;)

I can shed a bit of light on how long it takes Yahoo Site Explorer to find your backlinks. Last weekend, I did a my first backlinking for a new site, some blog and forum commenting, and those links are showing in YSE today.

Wade

For that addon which is which? Is red nofollow or dofollow? :) You'd think I could figure it out but it seems to switch depending on what site I'm on.

Red is nofollow, blue is dofollow. I just found that plug-in for FireFox myself, HUGE time saver.

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By default, blog comments are set to nofollow. You have to install a plugin to make them "dofollow". Many people just don't (and don't know to do that) and some choose not to as it leaks PageRank from the post page with so many outbound links.

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Also having the blog set as nofollow cuts down on the spam. I decided to change mine to "dofollow" since I was actively seeking dofollow blogs and leaving comments. Didn't seem fair to me not to allow them the same link love back if they decided the wanted to comment on mine. I woke up today to quite a few more spam comments than normal, so I can see how some wouldn't want to bother turning it on.

I have do follow plug in installed and get a lot of spam comments.
I also have comment luv installed so I am getting lots of comments that are not of value.
Originally I wanted do follow and comment luv for the SSWT members to have a blog to comment on to get backlinks. I may deactivate do follow plug in from semiologic and leave comment luv.
Thanks for the plug in Lynn, I will go try it. I also love the webmaster tools plug in so I can see CSS for any site. I have been using it to help me get Thesis looking right on my blog at clayfranklin.com
It looks great in firefox and then when I saw it in explorer it looked aweful so I changed to one side column widget.