tedster - 6:11 am on Aug 2, 2009 (gmt 0)

As I said above, I'm basically brainstorming -- and trying to encourage the sharing of ideas here.

So no, that wasn't a prescription for fixing an existing yo-yo. It's more like a way to avoid ever getting into a yo-yo. If you're already popping between page #1 and page #5, from what I've seen your recent backlink profile is not showing natural diversity and balance. The growth has probably quite "lumpy" and unnatural, compared to what's statistically expected.

I did say to attract backlinks "more than" building them, but I didn't say "instead of" building them. It's not all one thing and none of the other. And even more, "attracting" backlinks is not just a passive waiting game. It takes proactive publicity, marketing and networking. And it takes many intelligent actions within a site or family of sites to make effective use of the link juice that's generated.

So the "prescription" that I'm brainstorming is a way to balance the backlink profile, rather than throw it into even more unbalance or an even greater lack of diversity. Take up some new activities that are also, in the end, aimed at getting links.

Many backlink programs I've seen are like a dog that knows just a few tricks. Diversifying those actions (learning more "tricks") is a big help. And ultimately, if your online business is essentially weak and not very link-worthy - well, then you definitely need to work on that.

[edited by: tedster at 7:17 am (utc) on Aug. 2, 2009]