Link Building and Defensible Traffic

Rod’s last post about the evolution of SEO got me thinking about the evolution of link building as it pertains to Internet marketing. I like to use the term Internet marketing, as opposed to SEO, to describe what I do because the work entails so much more than a focus on search engines implies. Back before the search engines held so much sway, the true way bring steady, new traffic to a site was to build backlinks that acted as true conduits for click-throughs.

The value of a link

As a person delves into the world of Internet marketing, it becomes easy to focus on the search engine results pages (SERPS) for traffic, thinking of links as a kind of currency to achieve rankings. We lose sight of the underlying value of building relationships and having a link placed in the midst of a steady stream of interested users. There are quite a few tools out there to help you determine the value of a link, usually focusing on things like anchor text, number of other links on the page, number of backlinks to the page, etc. While these things can be important, they are focusing on the secondary effect of ranking in the SERPS, when, in fact, you should first take a look at the first-order effect on your direct traffic and bottom line (that people will follow the link to your page and buy something).

Search Engine Rankings

One great thing about focusing on acquiring quality links from a first-order value perspective is that, quite often, these same links are some of the best in terms of the second-order ranking value. It is a subtle change, but focusing on the first order, direct value in determining link targets usually makes a dramatic difference in the amount of time it takes a site to become profitable. As links are acquired, quality traffic instantly starts trickling into the site, even before the rankings are achieved. Most importantly, it creates a much more solid foundation for the underlying business as you are automatically creating diversified streams of traffic.

Defensible Traffic

Matt McGee had an excellent post about the need for defensible traffic.  In it, he describes the plight of a small business owner who had to lay off employees after a Google algorithm update dropped traffic by more than 50%. He concludes by saying:

It’s time to think in terms of “defensible traffic,” about having a variety of traffic sources so you can survive the whims of any one traffic source, such as an algo change, or the introduction of “quality score” into PPC, or whatever else might come next. Social media, developing a loyal blog readership, or using newsletters to grow your business those are all examples of creating defensible traffic.

Whatever you do, don’t rely just on Google. A business plan that relies on free traffic from an outside source you don’t control is no business plan at all. Spread your eggs around. Changes will come — you can be sure of that. Question is: Are you prepared? Are you diversified?

As Matt points out, defensible traffic is about diversifying traffic sources. This means organic search, pay-per-click, social media, etc. as well as, traditional media and advertising, and email marketing. Matt is right on the money with this thought, and if I can add one more to the list while getting back to my original thought, we should also focus on getting links that actually bring us quality traffic.

While search engine optimization (SEO) is a great thing to work on, don’t forget to step back and focus on the real job at hand, internet marketing.