LinkBaiting Techniques
Linkbaiting or link baiting is something we all do as webmasters! It’s as simple as that. Whether we try to just create good useful content or delve deeper into trying to “bait” others into linking to our posts and pages, it’s all what I would call link baiting, and a good thing, as links =more traffic=you earn extra money online with your blog! Writing content that covers a topic so well that others want to share what you’ve written, well I think you’ll have to agree, we love it when it happens. Which is why getting completely “natural” backlinks was my first, and best, way to build backlinks in my offsite seo post.
There are, of course, many more ways to try to elicit backlinks from your readers, (some, somewhat unethical, shall we say) and hence the bad rep some people give to the term linkbaiting.
I’m not writing this post to debate the ethics of linkbaiting, I feel it’s something we all do anyway, and there are always those that may cross your ethical line in their efforts to succeed. I feel anyone who continually pushes most people’s ethical limits will ultimately fail at this, as your principles are pretty much out in the open for all to see.
Although the methods you use to try to get people to link back to your site are only limited by your imagination, I will give you some ideas here to start the wheels turning.
- Create the best content-Make your content the best, most complete, out there! Do this and your comment section will start loading up with track-backs as your content gets linked to. Make your content “useful”, tell people how to do something, answer their questions, entertain them, improve their lives in some way. Use video, audio, and images in your content. Try to produce content that is unique, provocative, useful, worthy of attention, and provokes discussion, and provides real value to your readers. Turn out the very best content you’re capable of consistently, and you may find those incoming links you crave!
- Be first to break a story-Not easy to do, but very effective in getting backlinks to your site. Stay “on top” of what’s going on in your niche, read newspapers and magazines, and write about breaking news in your niche. Give your readers the “scoop” on something.
- Include lists in your content-Something like this post huh? Anyway, content with a good list of valuable resources tends to get linked to a lot. Make your list the most complete, or the best out there, set your list apart, and hopefully above the others available online.
- Provide a useful tool or software-Come up with a useful tool and you will have returning traffic as well as links. I will trade an outgoing link in a minute for a useful tool I can put on my site for the benifit of my readers, as I did here on this page about weight loss (the BMI.)
- Give away free stuff!-Ebooks, software, useful tools, etc. Everyone loves free stuff! (Note to self-get a free page of stuff put up on CashBlog!) Give away stuff for free and people will come over to get it, and give the link to friends so they can too!
- Design something-A theme for Wordpress blogs for instance! Not only can you have a link from each and every theme in use, you can also get a flood of links back from recommendations. I haven’t done this yet, but I’m beginning to think about it more and more! Even though I don’t have many programming skills there are ways to accomplish this and, who knows you just might see a CashBlog Theme at some point in time!
- Contests, tests, quizzes, awards, a feeling of belonging-Give people a reason to come back (to see if they won that big grand prize!) Give them a way to vote on something, create a feeling of belonging in your readers. Let them know you value their opinion. Invite feedback. Include them! Create a community!
- Expose, attacks, rants, shock-I’m not big into this, but it’s used quite successfully by many in blogsphere. Expose someone for what they really are (like an IM guru?) Tell everyone your take on them. Go off! Tell it the way it is! You can of course use shocking language, pictures, video, etc. Be prepared for all kinds of reactions, and you might want to get your home address and phone number off your blog first! lol Using this tactic, a thick skin may also be a necessity.
- Be funny, crazy, or cool-If you are really different in some way, and it catches on, you could become a linkbait master! Try to stand out from the crowd, be unique, be different, be funny, crazy or cool!
- Create fear-Again not one of my favorites, but can be effective nonetheless! Fear is a strong motivator (swine flu scare comes to mind) you can use people’s fears to your advantage. Perhaps give them a solution to what they fear? Now that I think about it my site Natural Remedies And Cures plays on peoples fears, but also gives them solutions as well.
- Make your titles very linkbait friendly!-Very important! Spend some time choosing your title, not only from a seo perspective but from a linkbaiting perspective as well. Grab your perspective readers attention, make her/him want to read your content. You will also find a very linkbait friendly title used in the anchor text of incoming links more often.
Conclusion
Linkbaiting is something we as webmasters do on a day to day basis (whether we realize it or not) and naturally occurring links are some of the best you’ll get, and can come in quickly (can you say hundreds in a day!) So don’t just linkbait by accident, try to link bait on purpose and enjoy the benefit (extra traffic and of course extra money for you) of all those naturally occurring backlinks!
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Popularity: 8% [?]
If you can create good content whether its helpful, breaking a new story or other if you can push it with the social networking tools available online you can generate a great deal of traffic which results in incoming links from just one article or blog post. It’s the promoting the content once its written that so many people ignore.
Hi Khaled, Thanks for the tip
)
Some interesting link bait techniques. How would I go about doing guest post, most people never reply.
Thanks
Hi Jerry,
Great post on linkbaiting techniques. This is a part of SEO that is often times over looked. The really successful bloggers all used this method when they were getting started. That is how they got so many followers. They offered good information and lots of. In one respect it is harder to do now because there are so many other blogs out there. But it is also easier because there are so many more people looking for information now. I think over 1 billion online users or maybe more.
If you can offer good content and then do some basic self-promotion you can definitely get people interested in what you have to say.
Keep posting. I always learn so much when I read you.
Thanks
Andy at network marketing leads’s last blog post..Network Marketing Lead Prospecting Requires Planning
Hi Ainsley, I’m up for a guest post, I’ll try to email you.
Thanks Andy,
Yeah, I’m going to make sure all my posts on the main blog page anyway, is of a good length and full of good info. I want to see where I can take CashBlog as far as quality, and readership go. If I want to write something else, rant, random thoughts, or whatever I’ve started a page called fittingly Random Thoughts where I’ll put those kind of posts. Anyways thanks for stopping by, and for your thoughtful comment, as always ;o)
Jerry, have you used any of these techniques successfully yourself? It is indeed a great list but I have found it harder to actually do than they are to explain. Maybe you would care to tell us more about one of them that has been successful to your in your business? Thank you.
Mikael’s last blog post..Google Keyword Competition: How to Do Competitive Keywords Analysis
Hi Mikael,
I really haven’t worried about traffic much to tell you the truth. I’ve just been trying to learn what I need to know to make a go of this IM thing. I have more or less, inadvertently (like a lot of us) put numbers 1,3,5,9, and 11 into practice and gained some links for my efforts. There is a lot of linkbaiting going on all the time though, Grizz comes to mind when he got all over Ken Evoy and his Site Build It, calling it a scam, etc. Also check out Blogger Unleashed as he tends to use a lot of shall we say colorful language, that may shock a few people. So anyway, like I said we all (webmasters) use linkbaiting techniques whether we realize it or not, and I for one am going to start trying to use those techniques on purpose for a change!
Fundamentally I understand and agree with your post, but lack of broad exposure regardless of the content is still the single largest barrier most will face. Falls into the build it and they will come category. A follow up on driving greater exposure would be great. Good stuff Jerry. Thank you.
That’s what linkbaiting is all about Brad, getting other webmasters to link to your content, which will move you up in the serps and bring more search engine traffic and in turn more links-the snowball effect. Of course if you only have a few visitors it could take some time but I think consistency and time will work in your favor.
Thanks for stopping by Brad, and you’re welcome!
Great linkbait tips Jerry. This post got my wheels a spinning. I think I have some ideas I can build on using the information in your post. In some niches linkbait is easier then others, but this is something I really want to try.
Excellent comment Bill, Linkbaiting, is something we webmasters tend to do accidentally, so why not do it on purpose? And you make a very good point Bill, some niches (the less competitive ones) linkbaiting could be relatively easy to accomplish, while the more competitive niches (the MMO niche for instance) linkbaiting could prove more difficult, but getting links to our content is always a good thing, and I really love it when I get someone’s wheels turning.
Hi,
Very useful post.I never heard about the LinkBaiting.I think that try to get more one way link.It can get by forum posting or blog posting.Thanks for the sharing.
john’s last blog post..2 Often Overlooked Factors with Sunshine Coast Web Hosting
Great post thank you for sharing, it’s very helpful!
Hi Jerry, I guess you adding a “Link to this post” button underneath your post could make it easier for readers to link to your post especially if its funny or informative or clever or..you get the drift. Hehe
P.S.
Nice to address you as Jerry instead of “admin”.
Heck, linking to one of my posts is easy anyway, Terry, but thanks for the tip. Yeah I guess “Jerry” is better than “admin” gives my blog a much more personal touch! Thanks for your comments Terry.
After reading your article now I know the link baiting techniques, thanks !
john’s last blog post..Forum Support bisnis di internet
Thanks for some excellent suggestions. Before I post I ask myself: “Will anyone find this post helpful or interesting?”. I think if you follow your first suggestion “Create the Best Content” the backlinks will come.
You’re wise in more ways than just choosing your next travel destination, Jim! Thanks for stopping by.
I’ld go with the “lists” idea, i did a piece on the top10 movie quotes. it would seem that everybody likes it.
bob@Brighton Yoga´s last blog ..Elephant Yoga
Nice Bob,
Come back and give me the link to that post and I’ll add it here!
Hi,
Very nice post.
Thanks for the sharing the information.
Lucky@Webinar services´s last blog ..Video Web Cam Chat – A New Era Of Communication For Businesses
You betcha Lucky.
I would have to say that my number one way of link baiting would be by contests and giveaways. People always like to talk on their blogs about any contests they find them so having a contest of your own will get links back to your blog.
Yeah Tyler, giving your visitors a feeling of belonging, and involvement, is a good thing! People want and need to be a part of what’s going on. Thanks for you’re contribution to the discussion I appreciate it!
I also agree that building a community (even just on a blog) is a powerful asset. There are a lot of blogs with not particularly great content, but they have managed to develop some sort of community on their blog. So, I’d imagine building a community with great content would bring untold rewards.
@Jerry: I will add some points here:
Making someone popular. People often love to talk about their site/blog etc. being recommended by others
I have seen that many people create GOOD content but fail to promote their linkbaits. I believe one has to start with a decent readership. I have seen totally different responses for contests created on blogs with different readership (though prize money was same).
Good points John,
Link baiting is not going to work if nobody sees it! Promoting your blog (and of course your link bait) should take up the lions share of your time. It’s all about building backlinks and getting traffic! (if your goal is to work from home-and earn extra money online anyway)
Yeah David,
Having return visitors is always a plus, no matter why. If it’s because of the helpful info you share, well that’s what blogging is all about isn’t it? Thanks for your input too, David, wow I’m getting some really good comments here, and I really appreciate it! Keywords in comments-it’s a good thing!
Give something for free, true man, look at how many links people have to ‘nofollow free’ pluging page or commentluv/keywordluv page. They gave away something useful for free and are enjoying a HUGE PR.
Yeah Jeet, I too love the free stuff!
Running a good linkbait is not that easy. You need some real good ingredients like nearly perfect content. It’s also not bad if you already have a small community to help starting a linkbait. For example: a working cummunity at digg.com can help you making your linkbait really big! Just try it…
I don’t know Pluto,
I’ve had some of my content linked to as have most webmasters I would suppose, To get hundreds or thousands of links I guess you would have to have something special.
Link bait is an excellent type of link building because the potential for other bloggers/webmasters to pick up your content and link back to you is exponential.
George@Furniture Cowboy Blog´s last blog ..5 Simple Ways to Freshen Up Your Living Room
I agree George, link baited links gotta be some of the best you’re going to get, completely white-hat, and as “natural” as they come!
this one is great. it will help me a lot.much useful for me.very well written.
Thanks Sabby.
It depends on your niche, but in my particular niche I find competitions are very useful linkbaiting tools. It pays to be prepared though and know where you are going to promote your comp beforehand.
Good point Ste-free, some niches would be good candidates, while others may not be.
hey lets have a link exchange jer… i like reading your blog. it makes sense to me…
bloghauz´s last blog ..3 STEPS TO MAKE MONEY FROM YOUR BLOG
it sounds really great. its useful and helpful as well. thanks for sharing.
wow,its really a nice and thanks for such an innovative idea and really like it as a web master.
No problem Purva, thanks for stopping by.
Excellent post.
If you’re thinking of making a full-time income from your blog then yes you’ll have to stay ahead of others and keep researching for new stuff in your niche and surprise yourself by finding things or tricks you didn’t know before and share it others. Your readers will love you for that. Sort of what we do with our full-time jobs
try to stay ahead of our colleagues in order to get a better appraisal next time.
Jerry, theme is quite a good idea and I back you for it
Hi,
Link building or link baiting is something that we all want to get for our blogs and websites. But the right approach in this regard plays a a vital role.
the points that you have mentioned are valid up to every extent and giving away quality content is the best practice to gain organic backlinks.
Good points Ken, the Internet is always in motion and changing, so it behooves you to stay abreast of any changes, and even take advantage if an opportunity presents itself.
Yes I would agree Ravi. Link baiting is something we should all think about as we write online, posts, articles, or anything for that matter.
thanks for this informative article about link baiting techniques.
You’re welcome Karl.
Hey this is a chill looking blog, I was just looking for this last night. Glad I finally found what I needed.