What is link bait?
'Link bait' is the term invented by Nick Wilson in 2005 for techniques specifically designed to attract natural links to a webpage for search engine optimization (SEO). It includes a spectrum of possibilities including a complete article on a webpage, a list within an article, an image, a comment on a blog, a video, a quiz, a free program or an EBook. If you surf the net, you will have doubtless noticed the beguiling temptations that come your way clearly designed to encourage a link from you. Good bait has the potential to go viral as your masterpiece proliferates around the internet.
It has been argued that baiting strategies were in existence before it was given a name. Certainly, optimizers were aware that good quality content could attract links. In retrospect, the term was introduced at an opportune time. The importance of links was well known but optimisers were beginning to question the value of the once popular reciprocal linking and links that were not natural.
Link bait is unique and interesting content that other sites will naturally want to link to. The great bonus is that you do not have to ask or beg for the links but just set the bait and let it do its work.
Why is link bait important?
Off-page optimization (linking from other websites) has a greater influence on positioning on search engine results pages (SERPs) than the content of a webpage (on-page optimization). The search engines are judged by their ability to provide quality links for a search. Websites accumulating links from other websites voluntarily will be considered to have authority and their pages will move up the SERPs. Link baiting is an ethical means to lure those incoming links.
Why should webmasters or bloggers place a link to your website?
They do it for their benefit and not yours. The link will send their visitors and their link juice from their website to yours. The benefit for them is that if they have good outgoing links that are regularly updated, it will act as link bait for their website.
How to create effective link bait.
A great title that is keyword rich is the starting point for link bait. Deliver what you advertise in the title. There is a good chance that the title will be included in the anchor text within the acquired link adding to its benefit.
The five classic link baiting hooks are:
1. News - be the first to publish interesting news.
2. Controversy.
3. Attacks - this needs extreme care. There is a fine line between the acceptable and the unacceptable.
4. Resource -such as a video, complimentary EBook or quiz.
5. Humour - we all like a good laugh.
Link bait is not easy to produce and it takes considerable time and effort. You may spend more time producing a little link bait than on an entire article but the rewards are potentially greater. The bait must be recognized to be unique in your niche if it is to be effective so that it is challenging and great fun to produce. Content that informs, inspires, educates or entertains has the best chance of attracting those coveted links. It must have value for the targeted audience.
Link bait needs to hook readers instantly, and that means finding a format that grabs their attention. Formatting, such as the inclusion of technical terms, will depend on the targeted audience. Lists and guides are always good options because knowledge is highly sought after, but other factors such as humour, controversy or contradiction of widely held opinions will also help to give your content a vital edge.
Think about your niche and provide quality information in a succinct way. If you have a good article, consider creating a numbered list of bullet points at the top of the article. Numbered lists make great link bait. The title of the list may be picked up by the search engines, particularly if it can be included in the page title or Meta Description tag. Searchers are looking for a list of solutions to a problem. You can expand on the list in the subsequent text.
If you have expertise in your niche you may find a list of ways you assisted a client that could interest others. Success is likely if you can ignite emotion, whether it be astonishment or laughter. Get people fired up about something and the ball will start rolling.
A great deal of SEO is trial and error. What works in one situation may not be effective in another. It may have worked last year but not this year.
There is a difference between viral marketing and link bait. The objective of the former is exposure and branding whereas for link baiting it is links!
Link baiting has officially been with us for six years and will become more popular. The search engines are producing increasingly sophisticated means to find, eliminate and on occasion penalize unnatural links. Google's Panda update, introduced in 2011, is one example.
Some have argued that link bait is bad for the Web claiming that it lowers quality, increases web volume and makes it more difficult to find useful information and that it is getting near completion of its life-cycle. The author takes the view that great effort is essential so that it enhances the web and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
Finally, creating great link bait that brings in those precious links is incredibly gratifying.
David Viniker MD FRCOG has 30 years experience with computer applications for medical education and he has applied the principles of evidence based practice to SEO: He is a doctor trained to practice evidence based medicine. David has published compelling and easily verifiable evidence that HomePage PageRank is the top factor in the Google positioning algorithm and that Google provides a boosting adjustment to HomePages that are competing for a keyword. He has developed a new, essential keyword tool - http://www.KeywordSEOPro.com which calculates keyword difficulty based on HomePage PageRank. Visit his website for further details. His website http://www.firstwebsitedesign.com provides valuable information for beginners and intermediates in website design and search engine optimization.
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