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Linkbait: what it is, tips & tricks

By Roy Huiskes

1. What is linkbait?

what is linkbait? According to Darren Rowse of Problogger.net, the term “linkbait” stands for a variety of practices, which are all searching for a way to generate incoming links to a website or blog from other sites. Linkbait is content on a website which is specifically aimed at an audience that is willing to link thru.

Rand Fishkin of SEOmoz – a large American SEO Company – distinguishes two types of linkbait:

1. The first is to create content with the aim to launch it through a platform which sees value in the content.
2. The second concerns the collection of links by controversy.

Is linkbait Viral Marketing?
Opinions differ about the question if linkbait is a form of viral marketing. According to Rand Fishkin linkbait combines the practice of Viral Marketing with popular technical trends.
According to Todd Mali Coat of Stuntdubl link baiting is not the same as viral marketing, because the goal is different. The purpose of linkbait is link building, while viral marketing is designed to generate exposure and branding. Of course this goes together often.

Where does linkbait come from?
The article that the concept of linkbait probably be the first called in is written by Nick Wilson and dates from 2005.

The term “bait” ( “aas” in Dutch) is already used in a textbook on copywriting from 1933, the “Robert Collier Letter Book”:

Hundreds of books have doubtless been written about the fine art of fishing, but the whole idea is contained in that one sentence: “What bait will they bite on?” Thousands of articles have been written about the way to use [sales] letters to bring you what you want, but the meat of them all can be compressed into two sentences: “What is the bait that will tempt your reader? How can you tie up that thing you have to offer with that bait?

Where can you find linkbait?
Linkbait is often placed on so-called social media sites. These are sites where you can post links to news articles. If enough people vote for the message, the article floats upwards and it will be more in the picture.

• Social news sites like Digg, eKudos or NuJij
• Social bookmarking sites like Del.icio.us, Tagmos or watvindenwijover.nl
• Meme trackers like Techmeme or Blognicient

Of course, the linkbait can also be found on the site that has placed the linkbait on other blogs. Like the previously mentioned SEOmoz, they brought out a SEO quiz, which was publicized through the RSS readers of SEOmoz.  Subsequently, many bloggers wrote about this quiz and the linkbait showed to be successful. Currently, the quiz has returned more than 1,500 backlinks.

Is linkbait good or bad?
Linkbait as a concept has a negative tone for some and linkbait actions may come close to spam sometimes. For others it is a consequence of good quality content. Matt Cutts, someone who often acts as spokesman for Google, reports on his blog that he does welcomes linkbait.

The goal of linkbait
The main goal of linkbait is obviously gaining backlinks. A way to achieve this is to relate your subject to the needs of linkerati, for example, people who often express their opinions online.  Linkbait does not have to correspond 100% to your product, but in a way that it seems justified. Linkbait is the way to save huge amounts of  money on link authority. For a small amount  of money you can  use linkbait to realize link building. Most linkbait is not mend to obtain links from experts and authorities, but rather to speak with people with a certain interest in the topic and to get references from them.

1.1 linkbait Types

It is important to distinguish the possible hooks. A hook is a sort of perspective on which you would trigger your people to link to your site. There are several articles that deal with this and the possible hooks are:

News Hook

• Make sure you are the first who brings the news
• A compilation of news
• Unmask fraud or serious errors

Contentious Hook

• Enter a recalcitrant opinion in your niche. If the majority likes something, explain why you do not like it.
• ” Make posts as “Why <enter name> is wrong about ….”

Attacking Hook

• Like the contentious hook, only sharper!

Shocking Hook

• Try to shock through language
• Extreme views
• Contentious / tantalizing images or videos

Reference Hook

• A comprehensive list of blogs in your niche (assuming links  generate incoming links)
• A “How to” based on your niche (also eg .. Tips, Tutorials, etc.)
• Or rather a “how not to”
• A compilation of news articles on a particular theme (with analysis)

Tools Hook

• A practical, useful or just a funny tool for your niche

Humour Hook

• Look at flickr or elsewhere for a bizarre picture of your subject
• Post “10 things I hate …”
• ” Post “You are a <fill in> if you …”

Quiz Hook

• A quiz or test is always good, especially if the design is good

Contest Hook

• Organize a contest in which people can participate
• Care for funny, good prices that are worthwhile

Award Hook

• At the beginning and end of each year in the blog circuit a lot of awards are granted; make your own. You get the links of the nominees anyway.

List Hook

• top 5, top 10 top 20, etc. lists work well. They are quick to scan, concise, look neat, are easily able to link to and they give a good overview. Moreover, they are convincing – Number results!

Awareness Hook

• Use the name of a greatness to raise your story ” For example, use the title “Why Bush is right with his vision …” Then explain your vision on the basis of  Bush’s vision.

Design Hook

• For example, a theme or template for Wordpress

Huff and bluster Hook

• A well-written document that sets something passionately gives a thrill to people. If you write a rant, know that people will react both positive and negative.

Research & Statistics Hook

• Examination of a useful and popular topic
• Show statistics in which many people are interested

Give something away Hook

• Giving gifts may cause a buzz. For example, Oprah, it yielded a huge buzz when she gave away free cars a few years ago.

Many of the above Hooks should be useful and / or ‘cool’:

Usability
The more your site content is useful, the faster it will be passed through. Examples of usability are:

• Show how you do something
• The transmission of knowledge
• Improve their lives
• Be better at something

Cool factor
If something is not immediately “usable” make it “cool”!

2. Advantages and Disadvantages

2.1 Benefits of linkbait:

Linkbait is relatively easy to spread. It is usually quick to imagine, but it takes a little longer to implement.

Linkbait provides immediate and direct traffic
The most rapid advantage of an incoming link is the direct traffic that the link brings you. This first traffic growth can lead to some consequences:

• Increased income (earnings) to a commercial site
• New subscribers (RSS and / or newsletter)
• New loyal readers (thru bookmarks)
• Secondary traffic (After you received a link from a site, you’ll see a secondary round from links from others, who are coming out of the first links and have their own sites. In their turn, they send traffic and so on.)

Linkbait is a search engine booster
A long-term benefit of incoming links (after the first ‘avalanche’ of traffic) is that these links will ensure that your search engine rankings will increase.

Even though there are many factors that contribute to the ranking of a web page, the number of links that refer to it remains one of the most important ranking factors.
Most linkbait techniques are very good for SEO, because the links are not reciprocal and because the links usually contain a good link text. It also concerns links which not have been purchased but are obtained in a natural manner. Links which are obtained by linkbait are often related to the topic of your site, so that the link will be more valuable.

2.2 Disadvantages of linkbait:

Permissible time
Some types of linkbait can be time consuming, such as the news hook and the reference hook.

Damage to reputation
Some types of linkbait can affect the reputation (This is where Search Engine Reputation Management looks around the corner), for example in the controversial hook, or the attack hook.

3. How To’s

3.1 Content & Presentation:

Make good titles and make a good formulation
A good presentation is important. Build the presentation in a way that people can identify and connect with it. Think about human emotions and develop a sense of empathy.

Another point in determining your title and URL is the fact that this is probably the anchor texts of backlinks. Here you want to fill in relevant keywords as much as possible

Brainstorm on good content
A good tool is the roadmap of SEOmoz:

• Write up everything, no censorship, how bizarre or stupid it may seem.
• If you have clear ideas, is it a good thing to make an overview and to determine the concept (the form) of each idea and content (subject). So what is the concept of the proposed linkbait (tool, widget, top ten list, how to, blog post, etc.) versus the subject (content) of the proposed linkbait (eg Wiki, iPod, PPC ads, pigs, etc .).
• Evaluate the content. Ignore your concept list, and look critically at your content list. Are they labour intensive, Do they cost a lot of time, should it wait or is it a relevant piece of news? Are there any ideas you really want to write about? Are there ideas that you can store, and expand later?
• Mix and match. Once you’ve added priorities to the content list, mix and match them with the draft list. No story / content should have been kept to the original format like you had brainstormed it. Is your story something for Digg?
• What concepts are doing well?: top ten, how to … the best .., etc. By linking the best subjects to the best concepts you will achieve the best effect.

Content structure
The most of what you write is excessive, because much of what you write should be shorten.
By creating an ordered lists with facts an incomplete story may seem well researched, even though it is not. Eg.

if you make a list of “101 Ways to xx” people will give you a few ideas and feedback, but will anyone ever make “383 Ways to xx”?

Quote / related content
Quote investigations, stimulate further reading, and link to related content from your sources. It makes your story well researched and associates your work with other well-known names or brands in your field. You can also consider to quote a couple of persons from who you want to receive links.

Decoration of linkbait
Make use of good design for your linkbait and / or use photographs of relevant sites as Istockphoto.

Use good titles
According to SEOBook good linkbait always starts with a good title! What works well is to express an opinion, so be partisan. Show opinions as facts. Linkbait is about emotional reactions, as expressed in comments and quotes. Be precise with your titles. For example do not use completed numbers but use exact numbers. Write your titles with the intention to distribute them widely. Put the focus on writing something that provokes emotional reactions and put the focus less on the keyword-targeted (SEO) writing.

Given the fact that social media sites do have a voting mechanism that does not require people to read the article, the title is enormously more important than the actual content of your linkbait.

See for example 10 title formulas Copy Blogger:

• Who would also <fill in>?
• The secret of <fill in>?
• This method helps <fill in> in <fill in>.
• Less well-known ways to <fill in>.
• Save you once and for all from <problem>
• Here is a quick way to <solution problem>
• Now you can <something wishful> <good condition>.
• <Do something> as <first class example>.
• Make a <or> Create a <fill in> where you can be proud of.
• What everyone should know about <fill in>

Be biased / partisan
You may want to display your idea polarized, so it attracts and / or divests a special group. If other people are arguing about what your intention is, you’ll get good quality links.

Make people talk
It is good to write in a way that the reader likes to pass it true, like newspaper stoke up discussions.

Choose smart topics or think out of the box
Choosing the right subject that many people are interested in just works better. Try to relate news from outside your niche to your site, in a creative way. If your niche is saturated, try a subject from a different niche.

Valuation of your content
On the web your content will be valued in the following ways:

• It is attention worthy, based on a general topic and credibility and authority related
• People want to subscribe, it is worth to re-visit or to add a feed.
• It is advisable, thru a link, instant message or email.

History
Look in your existing statistics, what has worked out and what not. Use Yahoo! Site Explorer to see how many backlinks your individual pages have.

Syndicate
Write articles of good quality at other sites. This is good for credibility, link popularity and it generates traffic.

3.2 Release

Make it simple to pass your page / content thru

For example use plug-ins for Digg, REDITS, eKudos, NuJij.nl etc.
Put the content code on your site, so that another can display the content on his / her site (such as YouTube or like in cartoons or quizzes)

Release timing

Think about the best time and location of the launch. For example, if friends and acquaintances are present. It is also good to ensure that you come online at the beginning of a day at sites such as Digg. Many people are surfing through this site and it is handy if you top.

Make yourself known
A few short tips as a summary of the mentioned words above

• Create accounts on social media sites / social news sites
• Digg your own post
• Send emails to relevant blogs
• Let a friend or yourself post your best ideas on the sites with the most authority and relevant social news
• Please note that your story has a good title and that it is easy to vote on
• Please note that your story will be spread at an appropriate time

If you won’t do it quickly after you’ve put it on your site, it’s likely that someone else will spread it under a dumb title or stupid content

Beg by friends / acquaintances
Let your friends and acquaintances help you by email and instant messaging, but do not post the direct URL of a voting location in your instant messenger (referrer is recognized and potentially seen as spam). Also make use of network features that sites like del.icio.us and ekudos offer.

Be careful here: do not compel your friends to vote, but let them decide.

Ask for feedback
Ask for feedback from people who may be interested in your idea and are willing to improve or to help you with marketen.

Pitching
Build up a good relationship with the market, before you put your linkbait on the market Make sure you know relevant bloggers and media sources who may be interested in your linkbait, so you will be quickly followed with the linkbait you launched.

Launching a new site
If you want to launch a new site, you could do linkbait in this way:

• Ask for favours from people you’ve helped in the past
• Unite community ideas with your idea
• Spread your ideas, for example, if you’ve formed a new partnership, you will have a threefold advantage:

1. Interview partners through a different channel
2. Announce the launch
3. Add the linkbait to the site at a later date

Take in mind that the Web is selfish
People find themselves important. Many bloggers search several times a day for links to their blog on Technorati or Google Blog Search. Making an appeal to certain people, caught in humour, is a simple way to collect links. Digg has often stories about Digg or Digg users. People believe (and spread) stories that reinforce their worldview earlier.

Involvement in a community is important to identify others with your linkbait
published his’ Search Engine Ranking Factors’, he collected feedback from dozens of prominent members of the SEO world. Many of them are active community members which have helped disseminate the article.

Asking for feedback can provide that others get involved and make it their own. And it is a good way to try out your own ideas.

Keep your linkbait manageable
Launch your story on an important channel in a way that your message or your offer can change, depending on the feedback you get. If you do not have a large channel to your launch your idea, try to give a popular channel as Tech Crunch’s exclusive rights to your story.

Try to get a lot of confidence and attention of the market before you launch your message.

Think in advance about reflection: Do you want to make your message easily wrong interpretable (as much buzz) or make it clear, depending on the importance of your message and brand strategy.

Make general landing pages. Don’t throw away links where you have the right to on having them. For example, authors who don’t have official pages of their book on their site, receive less links and give them away to top online booksellers.

Don’t compete with yourself
Be careful with the naming of your linkbait ideas. SEObook.com has a tool called “SEO for Firefox.”. The page where this tool is located almost outranks the homepage for the term “SEO”.

Roadmap for high competition in a blog post

Create a new and fresh point of view, ask your self:

• Is there a way to turn the story?
• In what other way can the story be told?
• What impact has this story on my niche?

Be quick
Bloggers in Australia have an advantage of the time difference with Europe / America. Just try to respond as quickly as possible. This applies especially to the news hook of course.

Be controversial or funny
Whether it’s funny or controversial, both can ensure that your story is booming.

Use striking images
Do not use the standard images which are usually used by the subject, but create a new, more targeted picture  which is specified to the case.

Promote your post / content and send your link to other ‘key’ bloggers,
Hold on to the following:

• Look after themselves whether they have already written on the subject in the past.
• Do not be offended if you do not get a response
• Be sure your link is relevant and useful, be selective
• Send a personal message
• Maybe you’re not the only one who sends tip
• Introduce yourself
• Keep it short and informative
• Give something away, such as the use of an image
• Original content is the best

Monetizing: how you earn money with link building
Put no ads until you have some authority, in an entirely new site, Too many ads quickly loaded means no authority and no authority means no income.

If links are profitable, link for conversions from your content
If you’re planning to sell ads directly, it may make sense to place a couple fake ads in the sponsored section. If a company has repurchased, more will follow because they see that their competitors also do it.

Put AdSense as the standard method if you do not want to deal with ad sales. Mix the ad colours with those of your own content and place ads in your content area, so they seem to form part of your content. Think about everything what may effect your click trough rate. View the ads after you’ve written a page. Make sure that your page is about the topics that the ads refer to or make more target pages that better reflect that kind of ads

Analyze the ad click trough rate per page and see what keywords deliver the ad clicks. Turn on channels to test different formats / sections of your site on income. Let your site grow to where the most income comes from. The deeper you dive into a topic, the more specified traffic you will get, but don’t forget to build your site authority if you make a big site.

4 Examples

Below are some examples, categorized to “hook”:

Research and Statistics hook

• For how many of the global warming are you responsible? Make for example a calculator, or let visitors compare with an average in their own city or country. Make sure that this tool is easily and quickly to fill in and that the numbers are clearly interpretable.
• What’s in a McDonalds French Fry that you do not find in a real potato?
• How well are those recommended shares in the spam mails doing? Can you really get to earn that much?

Humour hook

• Bush gives an argument about global warming is good for seals, polar bears fall through the thin ice. You can make a great cartoon of it. For example, especially if you pull on, for example Blog Action Day, this can be fun linkbait.
• You can also send through a hoax to do linkbait. An example is http://www.stillfree.com/. In the video vandals are spraying graffiti on Air Force One.

Tool hook

• How many pesticides have you eaten today? Here is a calculator again which is used to be filled in so that a summary can be made in addition to the potential effects there are.

News hook

• Some time ago, the search engine Sekko was established. Sekko became fairly large attention, because they were very ambitious about the fact that they wanted to compete the search engine Google away.
• After a few days was announced that Sekko only was a copy of Google in a new jacket.

List hook

• Now Rita Verdonk is a big topic, you can make a nice list with all typical and characteristic rulings of Rita Verdonk, such as “I’m not left, I’m not right – I’m straightforward.”

About Roy Huiskes

Roy Huiskes is an online marketing consultant and works on customers like: KPN, AEGON Bank and Conrad electronics

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