Adam I think you're might be missing Aaron's point. I don't think he's saying that the only thing you need to do to be successful is get links. That statement is meant more to say that links are going to have the largest effect on where a single page or all the pages of a site rank.
And that is true. Not everything is meant to be taken as a literal definition.
You don't have to like it, but you can have the world's greatest site in terms of quality content, conversions, etc, etc. If you don't have any links pointing at to the site your pages will only rank at best for uncompetitive phrases.
People who believe that links are important aren't idiots. One day the situation might change, but right now search engines place the highest weight when it comes to determining their results on links.
You're looking at a quote and taking it as literal when it's not meant to be.
Many SEOs (at least the good ones) will tell you that things like usable web design and great copy and a content that people actually want and a solid business model and many other things is more important than seeking traffic for traffic's sake.
And most would also tell you that seo is only one aspect of marketing and not marketing in whole.
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This forum is always slaging off people who do SEO work cos they assume that all people who do SEO are money grabbing idiots, but they arent and I am often quite offended by the comments made on this forum, though lack of people understanding we are not all the same.
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I agree with John's quote. I think a lot of the time the advice on this forum is build a good site and if you have anything to do with seo you're a money grubbing idiot. I think that does a disservice to most people reading.
I agree that some SEOs are money grubbing idiots. I think the same is true of every industry that exists. That doesn't make any of those industries evil.
I agree that a successful site and business is a synthesis of a lot of things. None are perhaps specifically necessary in the sense that you can still have a successful site if the design is bad or if the code is garbage. Do too many things wrong and you won't be a success and the more you do right the better your chances will be for success.
But that doesn't make seo bad and it doesn't make the people who practice seo bad. SEO is one part of a puzzle that doesn't really need every piece to be complete. You could ignore search engines completely and still end up with a great site with lots of traffic and a lot of cash in your wallet. You can also add seo as one component to all the other components that go into making your site.
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Code is design as well as SEO
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I agree that they're all mixed, but that doesn't mean seo as a standalone industry is going to go away. If it did it would also have to mean that design and development as standalone industries would be going away too.
Most people aren't going to become expert designers, coders, SEOs. Some people will, others will try. Most people will pick one they do best and work with other people who've chosen the other two.
