“You’re going to lose your site” – do you mean, you are going to lose your Google Search ranking?

Um, yes, I figured that would be obvious. And for most people, losing their Google ranks is the equivalent to losing their site – or at least the revenue from it.

Seek links-for-traffic and forget links-for-ranking. This will encourage linking with quality resources and you’ll probably do better in Google if you don’t bother trying to game them.

And when did anyone on that panel give advice that wasn’t in line with that? I’ve been preaching traffic development for a long time. Your response above seems based on assumptions you’ve made from out of left field. I don’t recommend gaming Google… but people in the audience want to know what works in Google, so we try to find the balance between “get links for traffic… but here is how it can affect you in Google.”

“You’re going to lose your site” – do you mean, you are going to lose your Google Search ranking? I don’t see how you could lose your site. Who, exactly, will take it away – unless you are doing something actually illegal? Are there any legal restrictions preventing a site from linking to whomever they wish, from their resources box? Buying a link is not *wrong*; it is something that may be penalized by Google Search. Buying a link is like any other form of paid advertising, isn’t it? What about PPC – is that really anything more than buying a link in the search rankings??? (Am I the only one who sees a double standard here?) Banner advertising – buying a link at the top of someone’s page? None of this is (as far as I am aware, please correct me if I am wrong) ethically wrong or illegal per se, but link buying may be penalized by Google Search. Big difference, let’s not get things mixed up.

It is not necessarily required of you to build your sites in the way that Google prefers. You might lose ranking in Google Search and therefore money, but Google is not the FTC, nor are they the only reason to build links, or the ultimate arbiters of ethics, morals, web standards or taste, or the only way to get traffic or make money online. They are a corporation. They have some amazing utilities and may have targeted traffic available, but they should not be making you dance.

My link building tips? Be FTC and CAN SPAM etc compliant; Invest your energy to build quality content, your way on your own “real estate” – instead of wasting your energy trying to jump Google hoops; Seek links-for-traffic and forget links-for-ranking. This will encourage linking with quality resources and you’ll probably do better in Google if you don’t bother trying to game them. But really, forget it. While you are dancing the dance, others will be making strides in developing quality businesses that IMHO will win at the end of the day.

And I wouldn’t advise anyone to rely on Google Search rankings to pay their rent or mortgage… been there done that got clobbered woke up smelled the coffee.

That is a very bad idea. As a DMOZ editor, we HATE when an outside person emails us about getting on DMOZ or having us update a DMOZ listing.

In the internal DMOZ forum they frown upon contacting anyone outside of DMOZ. Editors are given a space to add notes to a website link, and all editors can read the notes left from the other editor. If you’re spamming the directory, they can leave a note in which others will see it and you’ll never get in with that link.

If you have 99 junk links (paid/unpaid), Google will devalue the links which will bring your website down the rankings. That is NOT a Penalty. When links are rendered useless then their effect of helping you rank is lost, and you’ll go down down down.