Link baiting; a fairly new concept in the Internet world that has caught on and exploded as a successful way to generate and maintain traffic to a website. Link bait, generally anything that is interesting or catchy enough to grab people’s attention, can be extremely effective and bring long-lasting results if done successfully. The goal is to drive traffic through back links to your website, thus increasing traffic. Simple enough, right?
Well some of us are still unclear of how, and if, this concept really works. It is based on the idea of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and Internet marketing, including social media. We want to make sure the information we put out there and post for our audience is interesting enough for them to not only click on and read, but to make them visit again for future information. Ultimately, we want loyal “followers” in order to generate visits to your website or blog. People who find your information or “posts” intriguing will likely keep a watch on you in cyber space. You are not making a sale or trying to convince your audience to use your company or purchase your product. SEO and social media is the process of building a relationship and providing information that is useful so that when it is time to make that decision, you are first on a potential customer’s mind.
With link baiting, you are increasing the likelihood that those viewing your posts will visit your website. You want to create a flood of natural one-way links to your site as well as direct traffic.The key is finding highly creative, catchy, and out-of-the-box topics that grab attention and makes viewers want to share it, repost it, link it, etc…in order to create a chain reaction on the web.
We have a few suggestions on how to successfully “link bait” your audience:
- Reporting breaking news in your industry is always a must. If you cant be the first with it, research further. There is always more to the story than most know. By emphasizing on detail and digging deeper, you could uncover something that others may have missed and become “the first” with your story.
- People want to be educated and always strive to know more. Provide your audience with interesting facts or trivia knowledge in, or outside, your industry. Be a little “out there,” it is a sure bet to grab ones interest and maintain it. Providing a source of valuable information, including odd and random facts, will surely attract a loyal follower.
- You must be careful with this one: choose a controversial subject. Nothing stimulates people more than a little disagreement or a topic that others are timid to touch on. Putting something out there that will cause a little stir is sure to be noticed. Be tasteful and unbiased, this allows for conversations to generate and the audience to get involved.
- Interviewing and reporting on prominent people in your industry, even locally, is an attention grabber as well. Be the one to discover answers to the qeustions everyone is dying to ask.
- Dont be afraid to use some humor. Link websites that have content that are amusing, bringing lightheartedness to topics within your indsutry. Everyone loves a good laugh, or even a smile, throughout the day. This will bring awareness to your sites and establish a “down to earth” sense to the relationship your are buliding through your posts.
These are just a few suggestions in order to succesfully link bait to drive the traffic, directly and indirectly, that will provide results. This “buzz word” is becoming a neccesity in order to use the internet to its full advantage for your business. Use all the resources that are available to you in order to excel in this Internet-driven market.
