We can attest that the more links your website has, then more users will be able to visit your site and explore its contents. If you are selling services or products, then this will mean more potential clients. If you are just blogging for the heck of it, then it means that more people will be able to read your words. This marvel could be summed up to linkbaiting. Linkbait is a jargon used to describe practices which will lead to generating links to your site. Basically it could be divided into four criteria: usefulness, attention-grabbing, giving away stuff, and for personal enjoyment. Here are some examples,

Personal Enjoyment

A perfect example of linkbaiting using personal enjoyment is by using blogs. In blogging, we can see multiple personas of people. There are really kind people, really angry people, impatient people, and everything in between. The frequent types of link baiting methods used in personal blogging are as follows:

• Rants – oftentimes people use their blogs to rant and to complain about the system. Yet sometimes there are entries that will tug at your heart, and you will sympathize with the author, who will then portrayed as the victim. If an entry is well written, well argued, and very, very passionate, there is a huge chance that people will link the blog in their personal sites. Of course, there are multiple consequences for writing a rant: there will be people who will agree with you, and there will be those who will disagree.

• Controversy – we have stumbled upon this by accident when we have written a blog entry pertaining to the war in Iraq in a Christian website. Imagine our surprise when we received hate mail from people who thought it was irrelevant and inappropriate for the site, and those who argued with our point. These agreements and hate mails would usually create more links, as people would be linking to the site in order to explain their side.

• Picking fights – this is pretty childish, but it works. Some bloggers would pick fights with other bloggers in the hopes of making them fight back. This would cause massive reactions, since other readers would be reading the fight hungrily, while they are taking sides. For example, there was a contest by sponsored by a mobile company, and you would have to promote the mobile phone in less than 30 seconds. Our colleague was winning the competition – when another user started spreading rumor that he was cheating. Needless to say, it caused a disruption on the mobile company’s site, while having multiple links from the people involved who are sharing the story to other people they know.
• Shocking – shocking is another linkbaiting technique used by some people who thinks it is effective. An example for this is for a girl who was raised as a Catholic, with firm believes in the church, who wears nothing but long skirts and her hair is long and always neat. She would be a model student with straight As, has not given her parents any trouble, and has never experienced having a boyfriend not a lover. Now, imagine this girl would suddenly announce on her blog that she just had an abortion. It would shock people immensely, and would therefore generate more links for her. Of course, the abortion plot could just be a linkbaiting technique she used to generate more links to her site.

There are more linkbaiting methods used in blogging that makes use of personal enjoyment. However, should you decide to use these techniques, make sure you can handle the consequences, such as having many people argue with you and call you an idiot, if your passionate views would somehow prove to be wrong.

Usefulness

There are two ways of providing useful content for other users: by providing them information, and by giving them useful tools. Here are more detailed explanations:

A. Information

• Lists – this is helpful especially for those lists that are price oriented. Many people are shopping online, and these lists would help them find what they needed at the lowest possible cost. Take advantage of this, however, make your listing stand out as much as possible, so that you will get more links over your competitors.
• Research and statistics – Since there are many students in the country, having a site dedicated to research and statistics could be the best linkbaiting method, if your site is about research and statistics. This information would prove to be useful for many groups and people, therefore giving you more links.

B. Useful tools

• Tools – this is the fun, cool, and useful part of each blog. An example of this is a button that will give fun games, tiny facts, and interesting trivias. Other people could use this button on their websites. For every person who will see that cute icon on their websites, they will be redirected to your link, if they would happen to have one as well.
• Quizzes – we have observed that people are fond of answering quizzes, surveys, tests, and social interviews. Having interesting quizzes on your site that could be accessed by millions of people will generate more links for you, especially if the quiz is made creatively. After all, if it is an interesting quiz, then the people who took them will post the link on their personal sites, therefore giving you more potential audience.
• Design – an example of this would be the design layouts in eBay. There are many professional designers who charge per layout design of an eBay shop. Yet there are some who will provide this free of charge, by giving beautiful template or themes and providing information unto how to apply it to the user’s personal site. Check WordPress.com and see how effective this method is.
• A sense of belongingness – this could be described as similar to forums and chatrooms. People are social beings, and they want to have a sense of belongingness. Let them feel that they belong to a certain community. This will give you more links to your website as well.

These are the most common “useful to others” linkbaiting method found on the net these days. However, there are more that we have not discussed. When creating a “useful” linkbait, make sure that your content is actually something that other people would want to pass on to others. This is to give them knowledge, entertain them, and improve their lives at one point. You’ll notice that the links would rise dramatically if you are able to master this technique.

Attention-grabbing

Another common linkbaiting method is by attracting attention. Here are more examples:

• Be the whistle blower – if you’re the first to provide something, such as information, a new tool, or others, then you will be linked more. Remember, it’s always the first one who did something who is recognized. Who first walked on the moon? Who first taught you how to write? It is never asked who the second one is to do something, and so on. If you are the first one to do something, then you will be able to get more people to talk about you. This would also apply to breaking a story, and exposing fraud.
• Humor – perhaps the most effective linkbaiting method is using humor to entice readers. This could be in the form of comics, cartoon, simple skits, etc. If it’s funny and interesting, then you will find more and more people linking to your site.

For the attention-grabbing linkbaiting method, it is important to know that users are generally looking for the “cool factor” i.e., something new, something interesting, something funny. If it makes them curious, then you’ve got a bigger chance of being linked.

Giving away stuff

People love receiving free stuff. This could be used in the form of contests, awards, or really, giving something away out of the kindness of your heart. There will be more links to your site if you can entice users to check out the freebie you’re giving out, and the contest you are hosting. If people think they can get something for free, they’re usually interested. You can make a contest interesting by having people link other people to the website. The person who gets the most number of people linked could win your contest.

These tips are the most common linkbaiting methods found in the Internet today. All of them have certain risks, so if you would want to linkbait, then make sure that you are ready for whatever consequence there might be. If you are going to go for the personal pleasure linkbaiting methods, then you should first build your reputation, and be sure that your reputation would be able to withstand any criticism you might receive for your views.

These linkbaiting methods have all worked at one point or another. Yet what worked for us might not be the one that is best suited for your website. That said, browse through the Internet and see which linkbaiting method is most effective for you, so that you can be sure that there are no negative impact on your website should you decide to linkbait.

If you have more information about linkbaiting, please do not hesitate to contact us. We will be more than thankful if you can give us more linkbaiting techniques which could in turn help more people.

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