Search Engine Optimization is not a numbers game anymore….it’s now a game of quality and relevancy.

I see it all the time: Ranking #2 for a particular term is a website with over 2,000 backlinks. Who’s #1? A modest website with a little under 20 external links pointing to it.

How could this be?

Upon further review, often times you will find that “#2″ has gone out and collected links from anywhere and anyone (links pages, unrelated blogs, etc.).

Site “#1″ probably put in 1/10th of actual labor in attracting their links but they got them from the right places (related partners, relevant market & sub-markets, syndicated content).

So think twice about what your link building campaign is really all about. You don’t want to find yourself running in place.