Backlinks vs Content

What is more important: backlinks or content?


  • Total voters
    221
You can rank high with only a few hundred words of content and with many backlinks. But you can't with shitload of content and only a few backlinks :)
 


There is a reason why Godaddy.com ranks #1 for "domain registration". It isn't because they post super-awesome posts to their website on a daily basis.

There is a reason why dell.com ranks #1 for "computer". It isn't because they post super-awesome posts to their website on a daily basis.

The ponit i'm trying to make is that there are hundreds of websites out there with a limited amount of content that is specifically related to the products they sell and the primary way they are ranking for such keywords is that they have thousands of backlinks.

Put up a decent website (any decent website will have SOME content on it) and then build backlinks.

EDIT: Content is useful for helping your website rank for longtail keywords. However, to get started and rank well for a specific keyword you are targeting, you don't have to have a ton of content surrounding it to be effective.
 
backlinks will help you rank better on search engines and your content will help keep visitors on your site.
 
backlinks will help you rank better on search engines and your content will help keep visitors on your site.

I wouldn't say that, as long as you build links you will improve your SERP, this will lead to more visitors even if your content is crap.

I would say it really depend of the way you monetize your website
 
Let's look at what you are asking here.........

POLL:
What is more important: back links or content?


This question is really NOT specific enough to give you a definitive answer to.

Are you asking which is more important for SERP only, 1 time sales, or repeat customers?

Long term or short term? (Short term projects can be worth while.)


mrfg86...What do you guys think is more important: backlinks or content? I'm new to IM and I just want to know what I should focus at! I would like to know, if you had an amount of money, in which of the two options would you invest more?
Based on this question and ASSUMING that you want to get to making a profit as quickly as possible I will toss you my .02 worth here.


40% on content/copy writing and 60% on back links. (Though I voted CONTENT in your poll since I do more IM than AM. )



As was stated above by another respondent, without knowing what your marketing strategy is it is VERY difficult to answer you with any amount of reasonable accuracy.



I'll give you this to think about. When I first started in outside sales they use to constantly say, "It's your ATTITUDE not your aptitude that determines your ALTITUDE in life!!"

Pretty "peppy" little phrase huh? Well, I QUICKLY learned that if your "APTITUDE" does not increase as you gain that ALTITUDE attained from your ATTITUDE you will FALL!! Lulz

How does that apply here, if you are in a short term project or just looking for a quick ranking that doesn't last long, then you can focus mainly and only on the back links.

If you are in it for the long haul then you can use the back links to get ranked, but you had BETTER have something of interest or at least UNIQUE on your site for the traffic.



Oh, and in addition to your back linking efforts for your SERP, make sure that you have a robots.txt file in your site's directory. You can follow that link or Google it. (I know this should be a given. LOL)



Peace Out!!



P.S. Now maybe that NAG about me not having posted in a while will disappear!! Lulz
 
Links are more important, I have had sites with 2 articles that rank #1 for decent keywords, all thanks to a shit load of links. Your content needs to be themed to your keywords though(obviously).
 
I'll go with backlinks. It makes them go to your site.
While content lets them stay in to your site.
So if you have lots of money go with backlinks, will definitely help you but still save something for your content.
 
visitors and potential customers couldn't care less about how many backlinks you have, they're there 'cause of your content. get something they want, and your links will grow naturally anyway.
 
I vote for content.

But just content is not enough. It must be unique and relevant content.

In competitive niches, there is not much content that you can create which is unique and relevant enough (is there anything about "hotels in New York" that you know, that other people want to know and that nobody else wrote about?).
Then you will need backlinks.
 
Backlinks to rank. Content if you ever hope to scale or create something sustainable.

Content without backlinks is useless. Backlinks without content, however, is still worth something.
 
i vote for content. if you have unique content that cant be found anywhere else on the web or if your content has very small competition, then the backlinks will come.

i would say 40% backlinks and 60% content.

what good are backlinks if your readers will not stay?
 
Both are important imo. Having said that, traffic is useless if you can't convert...and that's where content comes in.

I tend to create solid unique content first that entices people to click my affiliate links...and only then start going into overdrive building backlinks. The added benefit is, the better your content, the more natural links you will get from visitors. That's not only cheaper, but also requires less work.