New software from the Maidenhead-based company, expected to become available in June, can be used to identify who is linking to your site. This would be valuable for any site concerned about unauthorised deep linking.
A German court recently invoked copyright and database regulations to prevent a recruitment web site from linking to rival StepStone’s on-line job advertisements, the practice known as deep linking, where the link goes beyond the target site’s home page.
Such linking can upset the target site. It means that the internet user bypasses the home page of the target site. The home page can act as a site’s shop-front, usually with its most prominent branding. Often, a site’s advertising revenue is calculated according to traffic hitting the home page.
LinkGuard estimates that there are over 2 billion pages and 100 billion hyperlinks on the internet and it says that until now, nobody has attempted to map them. LinkGuard claims that less than 20% of all internet pages are accurately indexed, with new pages taking up to six months to be recognised by search engines. It also hopes to offer a means of identifying broken hyperlinks, saying that these affect over 25% of all web pages.