The concept of linkbait has been around a lot longer than the newly adopted title. Basically, linkbait is any type of content that “baits” other people to link to your site. Just like in fishing, the correct bait must be used to catch the biggest fish. So, our goal is to catch the biggest “fish” or best links! There are many different strategies that people use to attract others to link to them. Some linkbait strategies have been used so much that they are less effective, whereas other strategies offer long lasting quality linkbait.
Choosing the correct linkbait is vital to catching the biggest “fish”
Make sure that the content is useful, original, and satisfying to the needs of your readers or viewers. You can spend days writing an informative article about the nutritional facts of pretzels, but, if that information is a complete duplicate of something else online, there will be little motivation for others to link to it because it is not unique or original.
Target the people you know would be willing to link to what you have to offer. It would make no sense for a seamstress to target someone with a site about pitbull aggression. It is common sense. Target the people that you want to get a link from, and make the linkbait relevant to them and their customers. Creating content that is relevant and helpful to both their and your readers will benefit both sites.
Create lasting linkbait. Let’s say that you have a promotional giveaway for your business. Well, that’s great! You could probably get a few links from people promoting your company. This short term linkbait is not ideal if you are looking for lasting results (which most people are looking for). Content that is only relevant for a few weeks or months is near as effective as something that will be useful for many years.
When you take time to acquire meaningful links from trustworthy sites, you will see positive, long lasting results. Because the Google algorithms change, you need to make your links able to stand the test of time. The best links are the ones that are still relevant for years after the link is acquired.
