The Background: In recent months there has been a lot of discussion about whether links are good or bad for the internet. Much of it centered around Experiments in Delinkification by Nicholas Carr. While that article was arguably a conversation starter designed to generate attention and sales for his book The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains, he did kick off a debate in the non SEO world about the value of links.

Why Should I Care: As SEO's getting links is still one of the core elements of improving a websites ranking in the search engines. While we have done a good job at getting links from the blogosphere and Linkerati, we don't do as good a job getting links from reporters, media outlets, and trusted information resources.

How Can I Use This: As SEO's we tend to focus on the hot new linking technique like top 10 lists or Infographics for their quick hit value, while the links from trusted websites remain elusive. In my opinion if we understand why the more trusted parts of the web, are looking to link, and create content designed to attract their attention and fill the vacuum, they will be more likely to link to us.

I sent this one hot because he had me at: "That’s a lot to hang on the humble link, which — in today’s Flash-addled, widget-laden, real-time-streaming environment — seems more like an anchor of stability than a force for subversion"

Well said.

I submitted part 1 and 2 a few days ago

http://sphinn.com/story/157957