i have several (4-5) reciprocal backlinks. but when i go to google.com and type link:mysite.com, google only shows 1 of them. i have these backlinks for almost 1 month. what does it take to have your backlinks considered by google? btw, does cms matter? i use joomla.
Using the link: modifier search in Google also gives me much lower results than checking in Google's Webmaster Tools or a link reviewing website. For my site with 500+ confirmed backlinks, the Google link: search only shows 5 or six sites. Checking a competitor with 2000+ backlinks, the Google link: check only shows 9 sites. I'd suggest setting up and confirming your websites on the Google webmaster tools site to see what Google themselves is reporting for your site. Also keep in mind the Google can take a week or more to report new links. For my pagerank 1 sites, it runs about 2 weeks.
http://seopro.com.au/free-seo-tools/link-checker/ that shows u the real # of backlinks u have, however it's not perfectly accurate Checking google that way is very inaccurate. Look it up from yahoo
Google doesn't show all the number of backlinks, but it still counts them. Don't get too concerned about it. If your ranking is good, there's nothing to worry about.
Yeah i am also more concern with the Good rankings. If you have good rankings then just keep it up. Make sure you're doing the right way. Just do regular update and maintain the good quality of your site.
You'll actually be happy that Google isn't showing all of your links, it helps keep your competition from leeching sources from you. Worry about your content, keep your site fresh. That should be your main focus. There's nothing worse than getting to the top of the SERP, with a million backlinks, only to have the content of your site be outdated.
I agree, there are lots of third party backlink checker tools, some are better then others, none really give the entire picture, yahoo site explorer is preety solid for giving you a good clue on whats going on.