The KeyWord

Linkbait

The subject of linkbait or Linkbaiting has come up in conversation so much in the past month I thought it would be a great topic for The KeyWord this month. Linkbaiting is the practice of creating online content that attracts other internet users to backlink to your website by passing the link around. Linkbait can be passed around via blogs, forums, posting on sites

Like Digg and del.icio.us, as well as social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and Twitter. The key is creating something that is interesting enough that active participants in the blogosphere will pay enough attention to it and pass it on to their network of friends and contacts. These backlinks not only drive interested visitors to your website, but also show the search engines your site is a relevant contributor to the internet, which helps your search rankings.

So what makes good linkbait? The answer to this question could be very broad, but the short answer is, good linkbait is news, information gossip, humor, insight and bulletins that are of interest to those who you are trying to reach. For example, if your business sells ongoing education for DBAs and computer programmers, posting information useful to that group on your site in the form of top ten lists and whitepapers would provide good linkbait to distribute throughout the online communities, groups, blogs and forums relevant to DBAs and computer programmers. 

The process of identifying the right channels for distributing your linkbait also takes time and careful attention to develop. To behave as an active contributor in an online social network it is important to continuously contribute, not just attempt to sell your brand at every turn. Time and care must be given to build your network of friends, in finding and/or building groups to help spread the word and spread the word, of others in your networks as well. The distribution piece of a linkbait strategy forms an overlap between SEO and social media, and not only creates an opportunity, but also potential for a lot of wasted time if handled haphazardly.