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07.16.07
Linkbait Techniques - Reel In Rankings
 By Geoff Simon
One of the fastest-growing social media tactics is linkbait, content that draws audiences to a Web site through blogs, news sites and social media portals.
Linkbait is anything that sparks discussion or controversy or is otherwise attractive to readers and is easily linked to or shared. It is designed to be read on popular online forums like Digg, Fark, Reddit and others-depending on the topic.
Linkbait content is first submitted to prominent social media sites and blog sites, and if it proves popular, it will find its way to smaller forums and gradually (or quickly) spread across the Web. The content should remain popular due to residual traffic, and that will give it a high rating among search engines.
Rand Fishkin, CEO of SEOmoz, offers seven tips for good linkbait: find the right linkbait portals, understand your audience, brainstorm effectively, build beautiful bait, create a reputation, grab their attention and don't spam bloggers.
Finding the right portal, Fishkin says, is as simple as identifying the sites you want a link from. Your linkbait audience is not just people who might want your product, service or content-it also includes those who can help your site attract the audience. Beautiful bait is content that is appealing in every way, with attractive design and graphics and quality headlines and content.
Darren Rowse at problogger.net outlines a number of effective linkbait techniques, such as offering quizzes and contests, breaking news and exclusive stories, coming up with awards and lists, using humor or pictures, doing something controversial and creating a community.
Other effective ways to link bait include podcasting news or information, interviewing a prominent figure and creating a funny or informative video.
Earlier this year, Nick Wilson of searchengineland.com said, "There are many components to good linkbait, and infinite strategies and hooks, but at the end of the day, it boils down to this one thing. Your content needs to be amazing. If you can hit that sweet spot for your audience then the links will roll in, and in, and in, and in."
Wilson says the "holy grail of linkbaiting" in 2007 will be the widget, a little piece of software that can be ported with ease. It includes plug-ins for blog software such as WordPress or Drupal. According to Wilson, some think, "Widget bait is an incredible form of link building but … most site owners might not be able to pull it off on their own but rather may need to ride on the coattails of others."
But while "widgetbait" might take some time to catch on, linkbaiting continues to grow more popular in just its third year.
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About the Author:
Geoff Simon is President and co-author of the Sky Search Placement Blog. He has over 10 years of experience with search, database and direct marketing as well as significant public relations experience. |
