Recently I was explaining to someone the different levels of quality when it comes to links. He said, I think I get it; links are kind of like BMWs. There are your top of the line models with all the bells and whistles, and then there are your more accessible, middle-income targeted varieties. Absolutely I said, the only difference is BMW doesn’t make a car without an engine, and some links are exactly that.
The unfortunate fact is that powerful V8 horsepower links can be really expensive in terms of resources. And most companies simply can’t afford the time and manpower involved with getting “Z series” level links. Or they just don’t have the patience. So they invest in the “I models”, which aren’t nearly as effective. Then he asked me something that made me stop and think; he said “Ok, but is it better than a bike?…
Yeah, I guess it is.
SOME links are definitely better than NO links, but it’s never ok to try to pass off starter links as high impact links. It is ok to say that, for your budget, commitment level and resources, this is the best or the most you can afford. Granted, the muffler is falling off and it’s missing a side mirror or two, but hey…it’s better than a bike.
What brings the industry down are promises of top 10 rankings through 1000 links on pages which aren’t even cached.
There are plenty of legitimate companies whose business models are based on directory submissions, and blog networks. Is there anything wrong with that? I don’t believe there is. But what is wrong is over-promising what those links will do.
Make, Model and Merit
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all links are NOT created equal, that they are not endowed by a Creator with certain unalienable might. In fact every link is different and carries a unique value. A value which is determined by numerous factors and cannot always be determined at a glance. Links of real value cannot be generalized, or neatly mass produced.
Every day my email box and Facebook margins are filled with ads championing the latest link machine on the market. “Generate hundreds of one way links!”, “Get more Links now!” What scares me is not really the insurgence of these link factories, the capitalist market is a breeding ground for crappy products. What worries me is that people have become ingrained to want links, CRAVE links and spend money to get links without really understanding why or how they function. And whenever Chicken Little incites a panic because an acorn fell on her head, somebody winds up as Foxy Loxy’s dinner.
Not to say it’s strictly the fault of link providers either. I blame the quick-fix site owners just as much. The people who want one-and-done SEO, the webmasters who want the rankings without the work. These mentalities have created the demand for cheap and easy links. If you buy a cheap product, when the cheap product fails to work properly or breaks after a short time…can you really be all that surprised?
That doesn’t always mean that Big Brand Names = trust either. Big companies may have become very successful delivering a sub-par product. And small SEO companies may be able to tell you how to get great links, but lack the staff to do the footwork. The key to understanding the true cost of anything is education.
Before investing in any SEO service, do the research. And don’t just believe what the company tells you either. I mean after all that’s how links became so vital in the first place. Google determined that what other people say about a site’s substance and value is far more trust worthy than what a website says about themselves. Ultimate satisfaction between a client and company comes from creating and fulfilling reasonable expectations on both sides of the fence. themselves.
The difficulty in obtaining great links doesn’t have to mean that little sites can’t run with the big dogs or that businesses with small budgets are screwed. It’s ok to get a Chevy Nova and it’s ok to sell them. But it’s not ok to pretend it’s a Porsche as the seller or to expect one on a Nova budget as a buyer. In the end, the law of link quality is no different than other product; you get what you pay for.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Excellent metaphor, and one I wholeheartedly agree with.
Links are the new keywords, in a way. Way back when people thought that spamming the meta keywords tag would give them instant results, now it’s hundreds of spammy backlinks.
It’s a shame.
Andy,
Thanks! You are so right. It’s a case of a little knowledge causing a lot of damage. someone knows they need to use need keywords, so they’ll just throw them around in bulk. They know they need links so they get the fastest, cheapest ones available.