What kind of links matter most?

As a newbie to seo is it better to try and get links from one big site or get many links from smaller sites?

Its better to have more and more links gradually. Build them to as many relevant venues as possible to get better results in your SEO.

Interesting question.

I would actually say get the link from the big one. Often times stories from popular blogs get tossed around and reposted several times over by smaller blogs (and maybe even some bigger).

This happens a ton with press releases. News sites are like teenage girls, once one has a crush on you - they all do.

I would tend to agree with Anthillz. I have seen that happen many times to articles in big sites that get replicated/quoted in smaller sites.

I think that is more profitable to get links from good amount of small web sites

To get the link from the most relevant site is far better to get the link from other non-relevant site.

Hi. I'm new, too. How fast is TOO fast, when it comes to link building?

It really depends, like for example in directory submission, when you choose to submit it for free, they'll review it first for months not just like the paid ones. You can build lots of links in just 24hrs, as long as you have already enough resources like targeted sites and keywords to use.

Mokey I believe that fast is about 5-6 months.

1 way from authority sites and some relevant web sites
e.g. if your website is about web design, then you will find some web design websites to link with you... the reason for that is reader most likely will click on your link rather than something else.