WHY do you do..? is more important than WHAT do you do..?
Makes sense? I can bet you could put same techniques and get totally different results when it comes to sales and traffic, because different people are doing the work. Understanding why exactly those people are trying to achieve with his article, links etc.
Understanding the whole process will get you the clearer picture of what needs to be done and more important how it is needs to be done.
Just my 2 cents
Dominik