Written on January 19th, 2007 at 06:01 am by Darren Rowse
What is Linkbait?
Over at the YPN blog Rand (a guest poster) writes a useful post on Leveraging Linkbait. Nice to see some exploration of the topic on an official Yahoo blog. For more on linkbait you might also like to read my mini-series on the topic:
- Introduction to Linkbaiting
- Motivations for Linkbaiting - Why Links are Good for Your Blog
- 20 Linkbaiting Techniques
Rand also links to another few relevant articles:
- Linkbaiting or Link Baiting? - SEO Book
- Linkbaiting for Fun & Profit - Search Engine Journal
- The Art of Linkbaiting - Performancing
- Just What is Link Bait Anyway - High Rankings Forum
And a few more from Google
- SEO Advice: linkbait and linkbaiting - Matt Cutts
- What is Linkbaiting? - Modern Life is Rubbish
- Linkbaiting, How Hard is it? - ISEdb
That should keep you busy for the weekend :-)
Interested to hear your definition of it too!
29 Responses to “What is Linkbait?”
Maki
January 19th, 2007 7:18 am
Thanks for the link, Darren. I’ve read all of your posts on linkbait and have to say they were totally helpful, especially the post on ‘20 linkbaiting techniques.’ I’ve was thinking about this topic myself, and wrote an article on ‘freebaiting’.
It’s somewhat similar to linkbaits but I think freebaits (or the giving of free stuff to attract links/traffic) have a more sustained long-term effect for bloggers or webmasters who want lots of consistent traffic and incoming links.
If anyone’s interested, here’s the post on my blog:
Want Traffic & Backlinks? Try Freebaiting.
Paul Drago
January 19th, 2007 9:36 am
You should mention that Rand is a pro link baiter himself.
bobangus.com » Linkbaiting and Freebaiting
January 19th, 2007 9:37 am
[...] What is Linkbait? [...]
Bob Angus
January 19th, 2007 9:53 am
I am going to use all of these resources to boost my linkbaiting efforts. My favorite of the “20 Linkbaiting Techniques” is the list - of which the post itself is a perfect example.
Rand is definitely a pro. Way back in another list of his, he recommends only making a linkbait post once every 20 posts. What do others recommend for a rate of linkbait?
The concept of freebaiting makes me a little squeamish. Much like advertisers questioning lead quality from incentive-based affiliates, I was initially skeptical that freebaiting would just drive traffic, but not readers. However, it is too easy to throw the baby out with the bath water here – as it is with incentive affiliates too. If you do it in such a way that you provide real value with your free offer, then you can grow regular readers of your blog, not just deliver a traffic boost.
Nicholas
January 19th, 2007 10:15 am
This should keep me busy for the month of January! thanks Darren!
God Bless!
Link Bait alone won’t do it. You need Link Ninjas. - Jim Boykin’s Internet Marketing Blog
January 19th, 2007 1:27 pm
[...] Problogger tonight also gives us some nice links to more link bait articles [...]
Today’s Lesson: Linkbait at Baron VC
January 19th, 2007 3:07 pm
[...] What is Linkbait? [...]
Paul J.
January 19th, 2007 3:14 pm
Linkbaiting seems functional but it deals with a little bit of effort. Then again, is anything in the blogosphere all that simple? That being said, bloggers should learn to utilize everything at their disposal.
James Brunskill
January 22nd, 2007 10:25 am
3. Relevant links in comments are actively encouraged.
To linkbait or to link bait? - My discussion of the word linkbait itself…
I hope it is relevant :)
SearchAnyway PPC - Online Search Marketing Guide for Webmasters
January 24th, 2007 1:29 am
Linkbait vs Link Ninja…
We previously covered how linking your competition in blog posts is beneficial for both your reputation and your traffic. Essentially, this tactic is part of the larger viral strategy of linkbaiting, a method that’s used to increase both traffic and…..
Linkbaiting: Vote Yes or No This Week Only | Copyblogger
January 25th, 2007 6:58 am
[...] However, not only has the term not gone away, it’s gaining strength. For example, we have this and this and this and this, and also this and this thus far in the first 24 days of 2007. [...]
Linkbait of linkbuilding? Alles over linklove. - chapter42
January 26th, 2007 8:50 pm
[...] In Nederland weet men nog amper wat linkbait is en wat voor enorme voordelen het kan hebben, terwijl in Amerika de eerste stemmen opgaan om gewoon met reguliere linkbuilding bezig te blijven in plaats van linkbait. Hele discussies worden op alle blogs, magazine’s en fora gevoerd. Nou vraag je jezelf af: wat zijn dan nou de voor- en nadelen van linkbait en linkbuilding? Wat is linkbuilding? Linkbuilding is vrij simpel; het vergaren van goede links voor je website om je ranking in de zoekmachines te verbeteren. Wat zijn dan goede links? Goede links zijn links waarbij er een keyword in de anchor tekst staan. De anchor tekst is de daadwerkelijke tekst van een link. Google en andere zoekmachines hechten veel waarde aan de linktekst. In Nederland is het niet gebruikelijk dat men in een tekst linkt, met uitzondering van de blogosphere. De waarschijnlijkheid dat een blogger naar je linkt is stukken groter dan dat je een link krijgt van een autoriteit. [...]
D-Blogged » Blog Archive » The Ultimate Guide to Linkbaiting Resources
February 10th, 2007 4:34 pm
[...] What is Linkbait? (Problogger) [...]
Apakah “linkbait”
February 18th, 2007 12:49 pm
[...] What is Linkbait [...]
Baza artykułów dotyczących zagadnień linkbaitingu
February 21st, 2007 11:09 am
[...] What is Linkbait [...]
Sure-Fire Techniques for Linkbaiting » Make Money Online with a 13-Year Old
April 14th, 2007 12:53 pm
[...] What is LinkBait? 20 LinkBait Techniques [...]
Dewitts Media Link Building Techniques - The Secret Hand Book Written By Tyler Dewitt - Webmaster Forum
May 29th, 2007 12:00 pm
[...] Media, and Blogs (Top Rank Blogs) Link Baiting Resources * Link Baiting (Search Engine Journal) * What is LinkBait? (problogger, very good blogger) * Link Baiting (Eric Ward) * Text Link Brokers Link Bait * Link Baiting (Andy Hagans) * Use Link [...]
Make Money Online with a 13-year old » Blog Archive » Sure-Fire Techniques for Linkbaiting
July 22nd, 2007 10:35 pm
[...] What is LinkBait? 20 LinkBait Techniques [...]
angie
September 25th, 2007 6:20 am
Very useful links, Darren!
Thank you!
s_jenkins
November 14th, 2007 3:59 pm
linkbaiting, as the term suggest is basically fishing for links online, with the hope of generating interest and using good content as ‘bait.’
do you think that good content is the best ‘bait’ or do you think that images should also accompany linkbaiting strategies?
s_jenkins
November 14th, 2007 5:41 pm
…i was also wondering google penalizes for the term ‘linkbaiting.’ can someone please enlighten me on this one?
PiticStyle
November 21st, 2007 1:15 pm
Thank you! Very usefull!
WealthCreator
December 22nd, 2007 2:10 pm
Very useful article and links, thanks!!!
Make Money Online with Homebizseo
April 15th, 2008 6:12 pm
Great post on link baiting. Backlinks are the #1 factor in improving SEO. In the tough internet world of “make money online” linkbaiting is very important. Building backlinks should be the primary focus. SERP can equal millions.
Ruel
May 12th, 2008 4:01 am
Geeee!
I’m just confused about this Linkbait. is that just like backlinks?
hmmm, by the way. Thanks for the Link, now I can read more about this Linkbait thing.
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Web-architekt
July 9th, 2008 2:50 am
link building will only help to maintain your PR which is not SEO - good page copy and code is highly better and you will get certainly get recognised for implementing this element into any design.
Worth Protection Security
July 27th, 2008 10:24 am
If I could do one thing better, it would be getting better at link baiting. Controversial topics seems to be a good way to start, but sometimes it is hard if you try to please too many people and not hurt feelings.
JamesT
October 15th, 2008 2:32 pm
Interesting post. But you would have thought someone could have come up with a better term. Linkbaiting seems dirty and not something you want to be involved in. I get from the articles on the subject that it is not really a bad thing, but it just sounds bad.
James
Lisa S.
June 18th, 2009 12:30 am
It was an interesting post. You seem very knowledgeable in your field. Thanks for the info!
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