Link Baiting

Link baiting is simply getting more and more inbound links with a twist. Rather than hunting out links link baiting brings the links to you through unique and popular site content. Matt Cutts defines link bait as anything “interesting enough to catch people’s attention, and that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.”. Link baiting involves production of link worthy content, video or images, which in turn generates massive amount of one-way inbound links.

Link baiting has been long time regarded as black hat technique, but if it’s interesting information or fun, it doesn’t have to have negative connotations. Content can be both: white-hat as well as interesting enough to generate buzz. Floating information or ideas that people talk about is a sure-shot method to generate links.

You don't have to be a big brand or have a lot of money to create link bait. Many people have created link bait on purpose and many have created link bait without even knowing it. For search marketers, the techniques, if handled properly in an ethical manner, can be quite helpful in producing good quality one way links.

How Does Link Bait Work?

Link Baiting is just like fishing. You send out bait (content) in the pond (the internet) and patiently wait for a bite (linkback). The article is the bait, and the link is the catch. A properly created page can capture huge links on its own with little to no effort from you.

The Hooks

Before any real ‘fishing’ can take place you need a link baiting hooks and they come in all shape and sizes:

• News Hook
• Resource Hooks
• Contrary Hook
• Attack Hook
• Humor Hooks

1. News Hooks

For this to work you almost exclusively have to break the ice on the matter, that means to you have to be the first to break the news. Whether it’s the latest gadget or the latest Britney Spears goof, you have to be the first and the news should be big enough to generate enough curiosity.

2. Resource Hooks

Resource hook is more of an informational page. Do some research and build a great, unique and remarkable article in a field on which you’re an expert. It’s important you know what you’re talking about or else you’ll get trolled.

3. Contrary Hooks

Contrary hooks are when you contradict someone else’s statement. It should be about someone prominent in the industry and it should be controversial.

4. Attack Hooks

Attack hooks are next level of contrary hooks where you launch personal attacks on people taking the debunking of theories to the next level.

5. Humor Hooks

This is the easiest type of link bait, just blog about a funny video or story and you can get some major exposure. But it isn’t as easy as it looks, the niche is really crowded and that means you really need to have something truly funny on your hands and a lot of luck.

10 great Examples of Link Baiting:

Rhea Drysdale - SEO Dream Team
Mixed Markets Top 10 Reasons Why This List Will Be Popular on Digg
SEOmoz Top 100 Digg Users Control 56% of Digg’s HomePage Content
The AfterEllen.com Hot 100 List
SEOmoz’s Web 2.0 Awards
Lifehacker Top 10 iPhone applications
Performancing 10 Articles All Bloggers Should Read (at least once)
Engadget Blu-ray vs HD DVD: State of the Division
2decides 2008 Presidential Election Candidates on the Issues
SingleGrain 301 Useless Facts


Related Links on Link Bait:

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/05/28/golden-rules-of-linkbaiting-principles-strategies-and-effective-rules/

25 Free Link Building Tips

25 Great Ways to Get Free One Way Backlinks for Your Website

1. Write articles and submit in niche article directories with a link back to your website in the resource section.
2. Write informative articles so that other sites reprint and publish it on their sites with your link in the resource.
3. Participate in forums and create a signature link that points to your website.
4. Comments on other blogs with a link back to your website.
5. Do viral marketing for your website.
6. Participate in yahoo answers and put a link to your website in the signature.
7. Participate in Google Groups.
8. Write news worthy press releases and publish in Online PR sites.
9. Submit your site to free web directories.
10. Create a blog and do the postings regularly. The most important thing is post great content which attracts visitors and gets you link.
11. Review a product or company and if your remarks are positive, email the company and ask to feature your remark in their press section.
12. Add a link for “bookmark this site” on your site.
13. Create a freebie product like ebooks, whitepapers, free and original tools etc. to give away.
14. Hold a competition or opinion poll for the Top 10, 50 or 100 (you can decide the number) websites in your niche. Post the result and watch lots of the sites giving you a link back to say what their position was.
15. Submit relevant and informative videos to video sharing sites like YouTube and Metacafe with lot of substance. Don’t forget to include a link in the description and within the actual video.
16. Create pages on places like Squidoo, Hubpages etc. and put links to your website.
17. Place free classified ads on relevant online classified sites.
18. Conduct an open survey and publish the results. Also make sure you let people know about it.
19. Try to get listed in Google’s News search but make sure that your site contains unique and quality content.
20. If your company is fairly good and reputed one, create a page about it in the Wikipedia.
21. Submit a story to Digg or del.icio.us that links back to an article on your website.
22. Publish RSS feeds for your content.
23. Review related websites on Alexa.
24. Swap some links (but make sure don’t over do it) with relevant partners.
25. Start networking and creating a positive buzz to attract traffic.