Huh, an interesting concept. I wouldn't be surprised if, for certain products, HN hits are higher-quality hits than the average (higher conversion rate, possibly higher engagement rate after sign-up).

Of course, this is the sort of thing you need to be measuring. If that's not the case, you absolutely shouldn't be spending your money and, more importantly, your time on vanity upvotes and hits that don't result in a tangible benefit.

As an aside, I'd love to see a blog post from a generous individual willing to share how HN referrals as a cohort tend to perform compared to other traffic sources for their product/service.