Make sure your backlinks have proper context
Admittedly, I'm an unhealthy eater. Maybe erratic is a better word. I'll eat an all vegetable and fruit meal one day and follow it up with a stop at In N Out.
Today, my busy schedule allowed me enough time to grab a hot dog. When I saw my options for frankfurters, they were all bunlessly laid out naked. Sure, that sentence was written purely for comical innuendo. But the point is, when I chose the size of the hot dog I wanted to eat, I did so without seeing it in a bun.
But once I put it in the bun, I realized how enormous it really was. And this was no small-Wonder-bread-off-the-shelf bun either. So this dog was huge.And it hit me: I selected the core part of my lunch without seeing it in context. And context would have changed my decision.
Make sure your backlink traffic is brought in proper context
So what does this have to do with SEO and backlinks?
Well, context is vital there too. Before Google changed the oft-misunderstood Panda algorithm, so-called "SEO" or "Online Marketing" companies gamed the search engine system by created enormous volumes of backlinks for sites looking to rank higher in search results and generate more traffic.
Of course, the traffic sucked and these companies had ridiculously high churn. Because the content and traffic had little or no matching context.
But Google's search model changes give much greater importance now to matching context. They won't give any SEO value to a hot dog that doesn't fit the referring site's bun.
Even today, I work with companies who have content distribution relationships with websites whose core audience and content doesn't mesh at all with the kinds of visitors they need to drive profitable traffic and relevant SEO value.
A confused mind doesn't buy, and a confused web visitor clicks the back button. So don't confuse your visitors with improper context (or worse, straight-up bait and switch). Instead, build relationships with companies whose websites have context congruent with your site.
Then, your visitors won't be regretting your giant hot dog (insert joke here).