Link Velocity - Advanced SEO Concept?

[Kurt]

I wrote a couple of posts on the old Warrior forum about a year ago. Recently, there's been a few discussions about how fast we should build links, so I thought this would be a good time to restart the conversation...

Instead of re-writing, I'm just posting a couple of posts I made on the old forum:

I really doubt posting 10 articles will get you 10,000 links.

To be honest, posting 10 articles a day isn't very intensive linking, so I don't think you have much to worry about.

Here's a little known SEO topic that gets little, if any, discussion called "link velocity".

Link velocity is the speed at which links are created and appears to be a very important factor in Google's ranking.

Many people think that if you build links too fast, Google will see that as "artificial". However, if a site gets major publicity in all forms of media, like TV, it's very likely a page can build links very quickly, in a natural way.

What happens with most people is that they build a links at first, then stop. Google then lowers their rank and people assume it is because they built their links too fast.

The link velocity theory also fits this scenario: It isn't that Google punished the site for "unnatural links", but rather their link velocity decreased after a short period of time.

If a page is getting a lot of links fast, it could be that the page is legitimately "hot". However, once the link velocity really slows down, it is an indication that page isn't so hot.

Where the links come from are also likely a factor. Are they all blog posts? All from directories? etc...

The point is, if you are going to get a bunch of links quickly, you will probably need to keep up the pace for a while (a couple of months). If not, your link velocity will decline and that could impact your rankings.

The consequences are the same for both link velocity and "unnatural links", so it is hard to say either are the direct cause and effect. However, the concept of link velocity is a very important one, and one that's been ignored by many (if not all) SEO "experts".

IMO, your goal should be to get as many links as you can, as fast as you can, for as long as you can, keeping in mind the concept of link velocity.

The Warrior Forum - How fast to build links?

Here's a different theory, and it's just a theory...There's a concept called "link velocity" and it concerns how fast a site gains links.

The faster you gain links, the higher you rank. It's possible Google sees a site that's getting links quickly as a site that's "hot", and you get rewarded. Gaining links very quickly can often be "natural" and a sign of popularity.

Then, your site quits getting links, or gets them much slower and your ranking drops accordingly.

This could be mistaken for the infamous "sandbox", but it's more of a glass half full/half empty point of view. Your site isn't being penalized, instead it is no longer being rewarded for having high link velocity.

One more time, link velocity is just a theory...But it is something to think about. We talk all the time about getting links "naturally". But what is natural? Isn't it natural for some sites to get exposure on national TV, then get flooded with traffic and links in a short time? Or written up in a major magazine or newspaper? Wouldn't links gained from these events be "natural"?

With everything considered, my advice is to get links as fast as you can, assuming you can maintain that pace for a period of time.

You also need to get links from a wide variety of sources. This is why Dave's LinkVana is so good, it's a perfect compliment to many of the other linking strategies and helps to blend those other strategies to make them look more "natural".

Whether valid or not, you should at least consider the theory of link velocity.

If you don't accept link velocity, there's work arounds...Create additional resources like Squidoos, Hubs, remotely hosted blogs, articles, etc, and build link campaigns to those sites, in turn pointing them back at your own sites.

You can increase your links, traffic and reach this way without worrying about if you're getting links to your original site too fast or too slow.


The Warrior Forum - Link Building - How Fast is Too Fast?

While I'm not saying link velocity is a reality, it is a concept that some very advanced SEOers believe in, and it should at least be considered and discussed, as the concept of link velocity could explain much of what happens at Google.

[BrightLife]

I think all speculations about Google´s methods run short. I have read so much about this that I came to one conclusion: Only Google knows how to see one´s site.

[terryd]

That makes perfect sense to me and highly feasible.

No doubt I'll go read something else on another thread that has another theory and again it will make sense to me and be highly feasible!

Why can't SEO be paint by numbers..........

[bgmacaw]

Originally Posted by terryd

Why can't SEO be paint by numbers..........

Cargo Cult

The inception of cargo cults often is defined as being based on a flawed model of causation, being the confusion between the logical concepts of necessary condition and sufficient condition when aiming to obtain a certain result. Based on this definition, the term "cargo cult" also is used in business and science to refer to a particular type of fallacy whereby ill-considered effort and ceremony take place but go unrewarded due to flawed models of causation

[dburk]

Originally Posted by bgmacaw

Cargo Cult

Hi bgmacaw,

Astute observation!

[Jon Steel]

hey - this is a really great post.

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