Methods To Succeed

life doesn't have to be a blur

Linkbait has nothing to do with fishing, (well at least nothing to do
with our scaly, water-bound friends) but lots to do with bringing people
to your website using subjects of interest, emotional or psychological
triggers and knowledge to satisfy the info hungry!

So linkbait essentially is content that is specifically written to
either educate, entertain or inflame your readership or “prospective”
readers. These articles create what’s commonly referred to a net “Buzz”,
and this “Buzz” spreads virally from site to site and take the form of
links and comments that others make about what is written on your site.
These in turn are used by search engine algorithms to rank a website.
Get a high rank, you’ll get a higher listing, then you’ll get more
traffic to your site. More traffic = more buzz = more visitors. Linkbait
creation is “Nitro Marketing” your campaign!

If you have a specific keyword phrase, search engine optimized, linkbait
can be specific, relevant, authoritative content in a niche market.
Obviously content causes heavy discussion and sometimes a good argument
on a niche subject. Either way, linkbait articles attract more people to
your website.

Ok, so your content is supposed to generate links from other websites,
yeah?. That’s the aim. So, you’ll want people to love or loath your
article/post/rant enough to write about it on their website and post a
follow-up a link back to your site and page of where that content is.
Obviously there’s more to it but basically this is the beginnings of
viral marketing. The idea is that your visitors don’t just read your
material, but that they or the webmasters who find you are either riled
up enough to rant about your post or article on their website or love it
enough so that they quote loads of it! This can become a never-ending
source of links back to your site.

So what happen with backlinks or one-way links from other sites? Well,
the search engines keep a count of how many sites link back to your
website giving you some “love” and higher listings in their search
engines! An as I’ve already said this = more traffic to your website!
And we love traffic don’t we? I’ve seen his form of viral marketing used
successfully by many but I think many people are missing out on this
easy method to boost their natural search engine listings. (Natural;
meaning you don’t pay for it!) So let’s look at some variances on the
theme here:

Controversy: As I’ve already spoken about it let’s start here. Rant and
rave on something in a constructive but polar fashion and people will
love to stop by and dispute your view. There are those who advocate
being just plain negative about something or someone but I disagree with
this strategy VERY strongly. For one thing you could potentially end up
in a libellous situation and for another thing I think that there is
enough “bitchy” talk out there. It’s unprofessional and I believe that
you’ll stand out from the crowd if you can offer a constructive
opposition to something or someone’s point of view! Besides, who trusts
someone that you know will back-stab you the minute you’re not looking!

So a good, constructive and controversial argument will always yield a
ton of attention. Writing something that’s not popular opinion gets and
keeps readers who want to air their views on your views but remember if
you have started out with cruel lies they’ll just come back and bite
you!. It’s fair to say though that this kind of approach can draw a lot
of attention but consider your circumstances. Will this “type” of
attention fit what you’re trying to communicate?

Informational: (My current chosen format!) If you provide information
that educates and informs your readership, they will always come back
and refer to it, especially if you’re writing about a niche area! In
fact, writing consistently in an informational manner in one or more
niche areas will gradually build your reputation as an expert in that
field and that’s worth it’s weight in Gold! To get yourself started
google your Niche area and start researching it. Read articles on the
subject.

Draw some of your own conclusions, (yes it requires effort!), and start
writing about it even if it’s only a line or two initially! Save those
few lines and watch as they grow into great articles the more you read
and become informed yourself! This is the way I tend to write myself.
I’ll leave a text editor open when I read articles and ask myself basic
questions as I read. The usual prefaces are Who, What, Why and When? If
something stands out in an article I’ll ask myself questions about it;
for example, “How would that help me in my circumstances? What advantage
does this give me over my competitors? Why does he do it that way? Isn’t
there a more cost effective/quicker/slicker method?”, et cetera, et
cetera.

News: Keeping up with the breaking news on the web can build up quite a
following by readers & viewers who want to know, (in a Readers Digest
version), “What’s happening?” Don’t forget, this isn’t limited to
traditional forms of journalism so no, you don’t need a degree in it to
do it! Maybe you could specialise in one area, for example – in tech
news.

There are Gazzillions, (ok, maybe not that many but quite a few!), blog
and websites out there commented like crazy in this area but for me I
love Cali over at geekbrief.tv … Shiny happy tech news!
I’m an avid follower and that’s a relationship built on Cali and her
husband’s high standards in providing an excellently formatted show that
brings me a condensed tech news bubble! So what area can you develop?
Let me know, maybe I’ll end up following you!

Resource: One of the best forms of linkbait is building a resource list.
A good list will not only be indexed and listed, but will be passed by
word of mouth and links on other sites. (You’ll find resource lists on
some of my other posts btw) This helps to build your credibility
particularly if you have a niche area! Creating a niche specific list is
an invaluable resource for people and will win you loyal followers!

Here’s one great example of a resource type of linkbait.
seopedia.org It’s a blog filled with resources that draws a
constant flow of visitors. It has so much going for it. It’s an
excellent resource link site and really interesting too! Because of this
people quote it, refer to it, use and love it.

Humour: Funny stories, pictures or videos, cartoons and jokes are always
win over hearts and minds but please avoid tacky, sordid or smutty stuff
like the plaque! There’s enough filth on the net; stand out from the
crowd and find, collate or create your own fun! People love to laugh,
(there’s enough reason to want to, if we ever needed a reason, in
today’s economic melt down!) Here’s a couple that I’ve visited:
thejokes.co.uk and cleanjoke.com

I know there are more categories, (please feel to add and contribute!!)
but even if you only remember one thing, remember this: – provide
quality content that is useful, interesting and entertaining. And if you
can stretch the old grey cells a little further remember this too:
deliver it in a professional style and manner and target it to your
audience as much as possible, making it as friendly for the search
engines as possible, and folks will find you. Of course you’ll need to
allow comments on your blog/site to allow traffic to begin to flow!

I hope you find this article interesting and informative. If you have
any comments of your own or thoughts you’d like to add; PLEASE do so!

© Michael Montgomery 2009

Permission to republish “Linkbaiting – Fishing For Visitors Not Fish!” In ANY
format; print, any digital media or storage method or online MUST be granted by the author in writing.