Linkbait Guide

What is linkbait? Linkbait is simply placing something (a piece of content, a useful tool, a funny video or image) on your website with the goal of having people link to it. The social aspect of the web means people like sharing what they've found, whether through social bookmarking sites, they're own personal blogs, or networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. Not all of these links will be seen by the search engines, but successfully linkbait will bring in a few varieties of links that will benefit you. It also typically generate quite a bit of traffic and a general buzz about your site.

To get a grasp on what linkbait will work, spend some time looking at sites like Digg.com. The most popular items rise to the top, obviously, and while Diggers may be more sensitive to linkbait (and therefore try to bury it) you'll still get an an idea of what is becoming popular.

One technique often utilize is a simple, but funny, list. Top "best of" or "worst of" lists often get sent around. With these you can try and target a specific group. Target geeks with top gadgets, open source programs or the like. Target teenagers with "worst Britney Spears photos ever" or "worst celebrity hook-ups".

Use the knowledge you have in-house to build some good linking material. Have experts write "how to" type articles, or an interesting "the history of..." article. This is all dependent upon your site, of course. Not all ideas or strategies may work will all businesses.

Interactiviy. The static web died long ago. It's dynamic now, so give visitors something to do, and it doesn't need to be as complicated as hiring a developer to create a game. Create a poll, start a survey or upload a video.

YouTube became popular thanks to some linkbait. The number of users visiting the site skyrocketed after a clip from Saturday Night Live was uploaded. Not long after, YouTube was purchased by Google.

Linkbait can backfire. Don't attack competitors or critics, even if you think it's funny. I know of one real estate agent who decided to post pictures of other realtors, along with some hurtful language aimed at each, on his website. Needless to say it didn't go over well. Sure, he likely received more links, but the hit he took professionally wasn't worth the link juice.