Creating successful link bait can help in improving search engine rankings, brand image and overall sales. It involves employing various techniques such as careful planning, creative skill and plain hard work.
Here are a few tips to help you get started.
Be sure to link out first
Make sure that you offer connections and references to other websites. By giving your visitors connections to other relevant online services, you get to help a website who may in turn link back to you, thus improving your quality of backlinks.
Present unique information in list form
Using lists make great link bait. Presenting unique information in list form with titles like, ‘7 Ways to Make Money from your Blog’, or ’10 Reasons Why Small Businesses Need a Website’, can help in generating links.
Ensure that your headline can be re-tweeted
Since many blogs and websites now allow visitors to post a micro URL onto their Twitter account, it has become vital for your headline to be an instant attention grabber. This allows your headline to be re-tweeted by a user or service that has thousands (or even millions) of followers.
Create great content that can be linked
Creating strong and exclusive content that can captivate the attention of your readers is critical for those wishing for great links. Your exclusive content is the reason people link back to you.
Release breaking news
If you have a scoop on something that could be newsworthy, Google News may pick up your article or blog, which will in turn will help you achieve high traffic levels. But be sure that all news reported is within legal and ethical limits.
Include a touch of humor
Adding a touch of humor can be a great way to build up links. Appealing to your readers’ sense of humor without being crass or rude can get you a lot of genuine links.
Discover a fan base
Discovering a loyal fan base that subscribes to your blog posts is a great way to gain links. Check out the first few pages of Digg and Sphinn to see some examples.
Submit to niche social media sites
Apart from Digg, Reddit and StumbleUpon, search for other niche social media sites as well. Submitting to such niche sites, increases the chances of your blog or article spreading and getting links.
Make use of contests
Contests are also a great way to gain a lot of links. If the prize is really worth it, people will link to your contest and let everyone know about it.
Guarantee evergreen content
Ensure that your content stays fresh. To generate links over a considerable period of time make sure that your content has the right balance between relevance and long-term usefulness.
