What is Link Bait?

The second person says she likes silver tuning forks.  Then they begin to talk about their favorite brand of tuning forks.

You are still several customers away from placing your order.  You figure joining one of the two discussions will be a good way to pass the time, but which conversation will you choose to enter? 

Do you interject into the discussion about the greatest rock-n-roll albums by bands without the word “the” in their name or do you add your two cents to the couple exchanging riveting tuning fork stories?

Unless you tune a piano for living, you’re probably going to interject into the conversation about the greatest rock-n-roll albums by bands without the word “the” in their name.  That conversation is interesting, unique and you don’t have to be an expert to contribute.

While the above story highlights the amount of time we waste ordering coffee, it also helps illustrate the concept behind link baiting.

Link baiting is creating content that naturally attracts free back links to your web page just like an interesting or irresistible discussion may attract outsiders to join the conversation.

And remember, one of the keys to ranking well in search engines is the quality and quantity of links pointing back to your website.

Content created for link baiting, like the conversation about the greatest rock-n-roll albums by bands without the word “the” in their name, should get people talking.  It must be interesting enough to be discussed on forums, written about in blogs, and posted on content websites like del.icio.us, Digg, or Furl. In other words, it must be worthy enough to compel people to link to it.

So the goal is to create unique, fascinating content, and post it to your website so that others can link back to it.
How does one create this fascinating content?  After all, not everyone has the advantage of being able to eavesdrop on interesting people while waiting in line for coffee.

To help answer this question, let’s examine the conversation about tuning forks.

If you owned a website that sold tuning forks you’d probably be hard pressed to write a captivating article that would be accessible to the general non-tuning-fork-using public.

However, you could captivate a wide-ranging audience if you used a hook.

There are five main types of hooks used for link baiting: resource, news, contrary, attack, and humor.

As the name implies, a resource hook is overflowing with information.  It’s a list of pertinent blogs, an illustrated timeline, or a detailed history of a subject related to your website.  You could also write a “How To” article or interview an expert in your field.

Have a nose for news? 

Be the first to break a story pertaining to your niche.  If you prefer a little investigative reporting, expose a fraud or debunk a popular idea.  An in-depth compilation of news stories, with a little bit of analysis, also makes for an effective news hook.

You may not have noticed but the internet can sometimes get a little mean.  While you don’t have to get nasty, a contrary hook is a good way to create some buzz. 

In your field of interest, find something you don’t like—whether it’s an idea, product or person—and write about why you don’t like it. 

Another suggestion for a contrary hook is disagreeing with another blogger or refuting the claims of an industry expert. 

While the contrary hook is about thoughtful disagreement, the attack hook can be a full on character assassination.   

Be careful though, while attack hooks can be therapeutic, they are generally not the way to go.  But if your timing is right, an attack hook can gain you instant credibility and improve your reputation overnight. (Also beware of writing things that can get you sued. Although Aaron Wall, a search engine optimization (SEO) expert says getting sued is a great way to get back links!)

“Take my wife please!”

Okay, that’s a real bad joke.  But as link baiting goes, humor hooks are almost a sure thing.  Try putting together a compilation of funny pictures, making silly videos, or writing some timely comedy.  Any list of funny things can be a great way to get links.

Besides the five hooks, there are a few other ideas you can employ when link baiting.

While the opportunities are rare, being the first to do something is always noteworthy.  Depending upon your subject, you could be the first to conduct a certain type of experiment or the first to perform some crazy stunt.

Creating a useful application, program or plug-in, that users can download from your site, is another example of link baiting. In this instance one can hire a programmer who creates a some kind of widget that would be useful to site visitors. Within the application a link back to one's site can be hard-coded in. Whenever someone puts the widget on their site, an instant back link to your site is created. Or put the application on your site and let people link to it.

Hosting a contest or giving away something valuable is another great way to get links leading back to your pages.

This is especially applicable for websites that sell a product or a service that’s redeemable anywhere.
A contest where people vote for a winner is especially powerful since it combines people’s self interest with their passion. 

Let’s say you own a sports site that’s hosting a contest to select the greatest left-handed pitcher of the 20th century.  The contest will not only stir passion amongst those interested in seeing their favorite southpaw win but it create back links as those fans try to drum up support for their hall of fame hurler.

Now that we have some ideas on how to write for link baiting, let’s go back to our tuning fork website. 
After just a quick brainstorming session—less time than it takes to buy a cup of coffee—you can come up with some great link bait ideas:

The goal of link bait is not necessarily to write content that’s a direct match to your product.  Instead, its aim is to get authority free links.  Sometimes that can be achieved by keeping perfectly on topic, other times you may need to stretch a little.

When writing content for link baiting, remember to keep your audience in mind.  This extends beyond the demographics of your product and/or website. 

Certainly a website dedicated to baby clothes is going to have a much different audience than a website dedicated to horror movies.  However, when link baiting you’re doing more than just selling your product, you’re selling your content. 

Therefore, create content geared towards those that are more likely to disseminate your content over the internet and eventually provide you with links. 

The following is a rough description of that type of internet user:

Beyond writing a snazzy article, there are other ways to draw links to your site.

Offer discounts or coupons to special groups or non-profits.  These organizations might reward your generosity with a link.

Use offline networking opportunities like speaking engagements, media interviews and social functions.  Conference organizers often put the names of speakers on their websites, video tape interviews are often posted on YouTube, and other websites may link back to your site after noting you attended their social event. 

Being a guest columnist or writing for another blog can generate link back.  Websites may give you a link in your by-line or at the end of your article.

Write articles for annual events like holiday shopping, ways to beat the heat, or how to cook the perfect turkey.  Journalists have to write stories on these events every year.  It’s a long shot but one of them might find your article and cite it as source. 

To improve your chances that your article will be found, bid on inexpensive, non-commercial ad words.
Regardless of which hook you choose, always write useful and original content for your website.  The more thoughtful information you have on your site the better your chances it will bait a link.

Don’t forget to send emails referring to your content utilize Web 2.0. Post your content on sites like Digg, Propeller, NewsVine, Reddit, myweb2, and StumbleUpon. Get involved with many Web 2.0 sites and cite your newly created link bait content.

Just remember that a link represents a relationship between your site and another site.  So build relationships with other bloggers and webmasters.  These personal relationships will help you get links because no matter how great your content is, you’re going to need back links to be seen in the search engines.

With a little brainstorming and a little creativity, you can come up with some great link bait ideas that are not only easy to implement but are free as well.

Link baiting will improve your rankings and help drive traffic to you website.  Unfortunately, it won’t help you order coffee. 

Copyright 2011 The Net Gazette