martinibuster - 7:55 pm on Jul 6, 2006 (gmt 0)

I don't have a problem with link development, it's what people expect to hear. Of course, you're not developing links, you're developing backlinks. Link building is a little awkward sounding.

Link Building vs. Reputation Development
What it comes down to is, does it make a difference whether you are eating or dining? You're still stuffing your face, right? And it comes out the other end, same as anything else you put into your face. You can put a white tablecloth on it and call it reputation development, but it's still coming out on the other side we call SERPS.

Certainly, there's a difference between having sex and making love; but when it comes to building backlinks it's strictly utilitarian, there are no nuances: It's about getting enough links so that you outrank someone else. In other words, you're stuffing a face.

Reputation seems more a function of branding and how you choose to do business. Link building doesn't, imo, play a role in that- except to a limited extent on a strategic alliance page.

Link building or link development are broad terms. The nuance is in the details of how you do it. This encompasses your content, site design, and even the amount of space allocated to advertising. All of those are details highly relevant to the success of any link acquisition project.

So does the problem with the terms link building or link development perhaps have something to do with the fact that they only cover one aspect of a much larger project?