How To Create Linkbait

Filed Under Articles, SEO |

It’s not easy to create linkbait that gets hundreds of one way natural links. If you set out to create a linkbait post, there are certain approaches you can use to as a starting point. Sometimes it takes trial and error but you just need a single linkbait to be successful to get that jumpstart in traffic.

The best part about creating linkbaits is that it doesn’t even have to be a long post. It could be just 2 or 3 paragraphs or just a Top 10 list that makes people respond to it, link to it and blog about it.

Linkbait Hooks

There are 5 main types of linkbait hooks that make people want to link to or vote for your article.

Humour Linkbait
This is the easiest approach because it can be used for images, a “Top 10 List”, a “How To” article and just about anything else you can think of. You can get away with saying pretty much anything under the humour guise.
Resource Linkbait
Create a list of useful resources such as 33 SEO Tips For Bloggers or a how-to article such as How To Profit From PLR Articles that people will link to for reference. It can also be a list of your favourite posts in your niche that you recommend to readers. Your links out to these various posts will also get blog owners to check out your post about them.
Contrary Linkbait
When everyone is singing praises about the latest big thing in your niche such as a widget that promises traffic, be the one voice that says the widget is crap and doomed to failure. Sometimes, you can even be right, as is what happened with Agloco - the once most talked-about money making programme that is now offically dead.
Attack Linkbait
You need to have very thick skin to carry out an attack because you’re likely to meet an equal and opposite response as did Techcrunch when it called people who wrote for paid review sites “pathetic” and got what no doubt was intended - several hundred comments and links.
News Linkbait
This has the highest level of difficulty since it calls for a genuine scoop. You are the first person to post about something and as a result, everyone follows your lead and links to your story. You could also expose something to be a fraud for example, some one ran a scam blog contest.

Linkbait Formats

Effective linkbait comes with a certain format. Your linkbait post may already contain potentially explosive content but you can do more to make sure that it creates even more impact.

Write a killer headline that not only attracts readers but compels them to click on it and read your article.

Make your idea extreme so you will get more reactions and as a result, more links.

Make your linkbait look comprehensive by including research, statistics, further reading resources. Link out to related resources from within your content to add credibility. It makes your story look well researched and associates your work with other trusted names or brands in your niche.

Dress up your linkbait using quality design and relevant images - as they say, a picture speaks a thousand words not to mention that it makes your post visually more attractive to read.

If you can’t think of anything original, don’t worry. Hardly anything on the internet is original so don’t be too hard on yourself. Take something you found that you like, mash it up and give it your own spin to create your very own linkbait.

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Comments

3 Responses to “How To Create Linkbait”

Work from Home Guru on March 15th, 2008 7:27 am

Loved the post! If you can write great linkbait, you can make money online. It is the best way to build traffic, your brand and pretty much anything else, so I love it. I have found that sometimes the best linkbait comes by accident, when you are writing naturally, maybe you are in a strange mood that day or something. But this article had some great tips so thank you very much.
Stan on March 16th, 2008 10:45 pm

Under resources, giving something away for free also works great as a linkbait.
Craig Dewe on March 19th, 2008 11:34 pm

Good information here. For those that want help with the content, the best guide I’ve read (for free) comes from Dean Hunt. A real expert in buzz marketing, his free guide is available at http://www.webtrafficorgasm.com.

Along with things covered here, it it talks about using negativity, images, and standing out from the crowd. Plus gives some example case studies of articles he’s engineered for buzz and digg success.

Before you give up your email address, you can check out his blog http://www.deanhunt.com to know this guy is for real.

Don’t forget April Fools is a great day for linkbait stunts as well