"link_count" column in Crawl Diagnostics report

[GlennFerrell]

On the Crawl Diagnostics report, does "link_count" represent external (links to this URL), internal, both, or what ?

[Mike.Goracke]

Hi Glen,

It looks like those numbers represent the number of hyperlinks (internal and external) on that specific page.

I was able to validate this by looking at the link_count column of 100+ and verifying the same numbers on my Too Many On-Page Links report on the SEOmoz Crawl Diagnostics.

Hope this helps.

Mike

[GeorgeDavis]

It refers to the number of followed links on the page pointing to other pages on your site or other sites.

Source: Using MozBar to compare numbers.

[GlennFerrell]

If these are on-page links, then I have another question...

I had originally assumed that if the page showed up in Crawl Diagnostics, it must actually exist (as opposed to being a URL in a backlink somewhere) but there are several URLs showing "link_count" of 40+ that, when you go to the URL, it goes directly to a 404 page. (However, the "http_status_code" in the diagnostics report is showing 200.)

Any theories that could help me understand this ?

Tx, Glenn

[Mike.Goracke]

Are we talking about your gfwebsoft website that you have listed in your profile?

Using Screaming Frog, the only 404 status code I am seeing is from the homepage, contact, costs, about, testimonials, and services pages that are pointing to your facebook page.

Do you have specific URLs you can share that are 404ing?

Mike

[GlennFerrell]

No Mike. This is a client's site. An example of these URLs is: http://www.teamflexo.com/home/contact_us.asp, which shows a link count of 43.

Good thought tho, I'll take a look at this on Screaming Frog.

[GlennFerrell]

Mike - Yep. Screaming Frog also shows a 200 Status Code. So I have to assume the page exists -- altho not sure why I'm directed to a 404 page...

So basically, I think you and George answered my original question: "link_count" represents links on a page pointing to other internal and external pages.

I would appreciate any thoughts on why I'm ending up on a 404 page tho...

[GeorgeDavis]

Could you give an example of a URL that goes to a 404.

Edit: NM I see above.

[Mike.Goracke]

The site is returning a custom 404 page. That is why SEOmoz and Screaming Frog are returning a 200.

You need to define that page to return a 404 or fix the page.

This article will hopefully shed some light on your situation.

Mike

[GlennFerrell]

OK. I think I get it

For the URL in question, the "link_count", Title and Meta Description exactly match the custom 404 page, so it looks like there is no page for this URL. The reason it was picked up in the crawl is because a link to this exists in the "referrer" page.

If I get them to correct the referrer page, this should be good.

(First day using SEOMoz Pro)

Thanks much for your help !

[Mike.Goracke]

Rock and roll!

Glad you got it all figured out Glenn.

Mike