Link Baiting

[stugster]

I'd be interesting to hear some of the experts on here and what they think about link baiting?

I recently read an article here: Link Bait

And although I knew what link baiting was, it provides a clear and informative insight into why you're doing it and how to go about doing it using different methods.

Thoughts?

 

[Tim Barlow]

It's a terrible name that does the SEM industry no favours.

Is it not really just online PR? (overly simplisitic, I know)

 

[stuarty]

I'm with Tim 100% - linkbaiting is a ridiculously misleading metaphor that labels what SEMs were been doing for years before it was coined. Unfortunately we have to use it in our service line because clients ask for it. At the end of the day it's just online PR.

It was coined in 2005 by Nick Wilson in his article "The Art of Linkbaiting".

This must have been a godsend for the SEO subscription websites. All of sudden they had a new buzzword that they could "mystify up" and spin to the masses in order to attract new subscribers. I refer to these sites as the "SEO Brat Pack"*

* I hereby claim credit for the metaphor "SEO Brat Pack" from this moment in time

I think I'll write an article challenging every SEO guru in America and see how it performs as "linkbait"

 

[dotsno]

This must have been a godsend for the SEO subscription websites. All of sudden they had a new buzzword that they could "mystify up" and spin to the masses in order to attract new subscribers.

Seems to me that the phrase "link bait" is a lot more simple, honest and straight-forward than the broader "search engine marketing", something that SEO and SEM folk seem very keen to "mystify up".

Link bait is what it says on the tin - posting stuff that attracts links. It calls on something that we can all understand; fishing. You bait your hook, chuck it into the pond and wait for a fish to bite. Same with link bait. You write something tasty and interesting that people simply flock to and want to comment on and link to.

It's not rocket science, nor is SEO or SEM, and link baiters don't seem to ever make out that it's rocket science - link baiting involves, usually, writing an article, creating a video, or some other media presentation that is valuable, useful, interesting and which begs to be bookmarked and distributed.

A lot of SEO is about providing great content and taking an approach that is directed at humans rather than search engines, but a lot of SEO "gurus" do stuff that they wouldn't bother with if it didn't make any apparent difference to search engines (obviously?) despite the fact that doing that thing may make a site more useful to humans - link bait relies on stuff actually being of use to humans and interesting to people.

I'd say link bait is a far more valuable contribution to the web than much of what traditional SEO and SEM folk get up to.

And, no, I don't sell link bait services, nor SEO nor SEM services

 

[peteark]

I started a link baiting mechanism on my site 2 years ago, was slow to get off the ground now it is a fantastic tool.

Designing a good quality link baiting mechanism that offers both parties value and produces on theme links is certainly a challenge.

I often read all you need to do is add good quality content to your website to promote link baiting, makes me chuckle...........

 

[stuarty]

I often read all you need to do is add good quality content to your website to promote link baiting, makes me chuckle...........

Me too!

You never read stuff like "create as a big verbal fight online, invent some gossip about Matt Cutts or do a video of your girlfriend writhing around semi naked pretending to have sex with a cuddly toy"

Now THAT'S link bait or is it linkbait...don't get me started on optimising for two terms that mean the same thing :001_tt2:

 

[dotsno]

Designing a good quality link baiting mechanism that offers both parties value and produces on theme links is certainly a challenge. I often read all you need to do is add good quality content to your website to promote link baiting, makes me chuckle...........

I'd say content is the core.. after all, that's what is being linked to, though yes celebrity gossip, shoe-throwing, moronic scandals and 'good old-fashioned pure entertainment' can clearly win over 'quality' - much like some of the biggest stories in tabloid newspapers are certainly not quality but still get quite a lot of attention and vastly increase sales.

Having linkbait without any of the associated mechanisms is definitely pretty much like going fishing with fantastic bait but only a piece of string and no hook, but let's not hype up linkbait as a mystic art any more than marketing or business is a mystic art - while it's definitely a big challenge to produce and get right, and something for which learning through experience over time counts a lot, the point is the concept is fairly simple to explain and understand... the execution is definitely challenging, yes.

 

[stuarty]

Seems to me that the phrase "link bait" is a lot more simple, honest and straight-forward than the broader "search engine marketing", something that SEO and SEM folk seem very keen to "mystify up".

what traditional SEO and SEM folk get up to

Was this aimed at all SEO/SEMs in general or just the one's on here?

Reason I ask is I've just come off the phone with someone who saw this post. The impression was that you're implying "search engine marketing" is dishonest and we as SEMs "get up to" things.

We provide traditional marketing services and we don't "get up to" things.

Equally, I know the other SEO/SEMs on this forum are all decent upfront honest reputable business folk who provide traditional services and I'm sure they don't get up to things either.

You also label link bait as a lot more "honest". This is interesting, since the the very definition of the word bait means to trap. So link bait = link trap surely?

Like Tim says the term does no favours.

Here's an example of an "honest" link bait method that subscription sites are using to get more email addresses or subscribers.

Create a controversial article on your site.(Fishermen know that a smelly bait attracts more fish) Seed it out to a few chums or social networking sites to get links. Create a stir. When visitors arrive at the site they get a huge javascript popup in their face that "suggests" they have to subscribe to read the article - so unwittingly they subscribe. Next thing you know - you're bombarded with spam email.

Not a very honest way of getting subscribers IMO and I wouldn't say this is a more valuable contribution to the web than traditional SEM.

People use the web to shop so when SEM works for a purchaser and a seller it's a win win. This is a valuable contribution to the web.

 

[dotsno]

Was this aimed at all SEO/SEMs in general or just the one's on here? Reason I ask is I've just come off the phone with someone who saw this post. The impression was that you're implying "search engine marketing" is dishonest and we as SEMs "get up to" things.

It certainly was not my intention to imply that search engine marketing is dishonest, nor to diss the reputation of any individuals here - hey I've only just joined, I know very little about most of the folk here and I'm not here to upset the apple cart! I find and hire SEM and SEO folk for my clients and fully acknowledge how important it is to get right and that you provide valuable and no doubt very honest and reputable services.

You also label link bait as a lot more "honest".

I didn't label link bait as a lot more honest.

What I said was "the phrase 'link bait' is a lot more simple, honest and straight-forward". By that I mean it's an easy concept to understand directly from the name, though I'd argue that 'respectable' link bait is not a 'bad' trap as the landing page should be of value to the person reading it. It's no more a trap than some of the tactics flowers use to attract bees, which benefits both the flower and the bee in the end. Sorry to keep referring to the natural world in my examples!

But, no, I didn't say link baiting was more "honest" than SEO/SEM in general, I said the phrase was an honest and simple description of what's going on.

Here's an example of an "honest" link bait method that subscription sites are using to get more email addresses or subscribers. Create a controversial article on your site.(Fishermen know that a smelly bait attracts more fish) Seed it out to a few chums or social networking sites to get links. Create a stir. When visitors arrive at the site they get a huge javascript popup in their face that "suggests" they have to subscribe to read the article - so unwittingly they subscribe. Next thing you know - you're bombarded with spam email.

Perhaps we have a different view on what 'link bait' actually means and you see it as a full process that includes what happens on the site after a visitor arrives, whereas I see it purely as the method to get the person to the site. In my world, your example confuses link bait with a subscription trap, and then makes this subscription trap a spam email list. I am happy to admit that you may have a view of link bait that includes the disreputable and dishonest practices that go on when someone lands at a site.

However, what the site does when you get there is up to the honesty of the site - no matter how much white-hat SEO or SEM you do that's honest and all above board, you could find your work used for exactly the same thing; driving traffic to a site that then traps people into subscribing. Link bait is not in itself dishonest, but what happens when people get there may be, and that's true of any method of getting people to a site, even the most honest of very honest SEO/SEM.

 

[stuarty]

Perhaps we have a different view on what 'link bait' actually means

Not at all - I have a very wide view of what it means - I use it daily and in many traditional forms. I was only providing one example of how it is a means to an end - in this case a sneaky method. There are lots of decent ways of performing link bait.

It's too easy for us professionals to come on here and use this as an SEO/SEM forum...everybody gets lost and switches off. I tend to break things down into examples like I said above so that it's easier to understand.

I always try and give examples for the lay people on the board who are not familiar with some of the strange terms that we SEO/SEMs "have" to talk about. The examples are very basic and crude but they serve a purpose.

I only pointed out the above points because it was mentioned in a phone call. Clients of ours read/lurk here pick up on the tiniest of comments and it's a never ending job sometimes explaining things to them. Me personally - I understood but thought it only fair to ask.

Bear in mind that you did close your post by saying that SEO/SEMs "get up to" stuff. You introduced yourself as having 15 years experience so folk put 2+2 together. Next thing I get a call "hey this guy says you SEO/SEMs are up to stuff. What's that all about?

Link bait - as interpretted by a few clients we've had discussions with seem to think it's a sneaky practice purely by inclusion of the word bait. Like Tim says its a terrible term does the industry no favours.

This is the problem with SEO/SEM in general - too many self professed "expert" websites (who don't actually work as SEO/SEMs) are looking for new ways of selling subscriptions. One of the things they do is spin out new new terms as the "next big thing" - link bait is one such term.

On one hand we're grateful because on the back of the euphoria we got a small boost in enquiries. On the other we're not because it actually made life more difficult..... you explain link baiting to the client and they just look at you :confused1: and say isn't that what you do for us anyway?

For the benefit of those who don't know "white hat SEO/SEM" means good above board marketing and stuff. "Black hat SEO/SEM" means stuff that is sneaky and likely to get you banned from Google

 

[dotsno]

Not at all - I have a very wide view of what it means - I use it daily and in many traditional forms. I was only providing one example of how it is a means to an end - in this case a sneaky method. There are lots of decent ways of performing link bait.

Ok, in that case then I agree 100% with what you're saying My comment was simply that "link bait" is a simple term that does what it says on the tin and can't really be mystified up, whereas "search engine optimisation" can with a few additional words and phrases be mystified up quite easily and does get mystified up by people less credible and less reputable than you, me or I dare say anyone here on this forum.

I tend to break things down into examples like I said above so that it's easier to understand. I always try and give examples for the lay people on the board who are not familiar with some of the strange terms that we SEO/SEMs "have" to talk about. The examples are very basic and crude but they serve a purpose.

Yep. And mine often include referring to the natural world of fish, bees and flowers.

Next thing I get a call "hey this guy says you SEO/SEMs are up to stuff. What's that all about?

To be fair, I think that's a good thing. You no doubt gave your client some great insights and I'm absolutely sure you were able to put their mind at rest and build even more trust. I'm sure too that you recognise there *are* loads of cowboys in the world (whether SEO, web design, block paving your driveway, replacing your boiler) and by getting clients to ask a few questions, it helps you too to raise yourself up as an expert, as a reputable service and as a guy who knows what he's doing and has experience and can deliver great work. On the client side it helps them understand and to eliminate the bad and focus on the good people.

 

[stuarty]

Nice response by the way to all the other stuff and big up respect. All to often SEO debates turn into how high people can pee. You read like the sort of guy I could easily work with.

I'm sure too that you recognise there *are* loads of cowboys in the world

Sticking with SEOs - I could not agree more. Every week there's an SEO sprouting up and ripping some client off. I wish it could be regulated and we'd see 90% of these cowboys disappear.

We've never classed ourselves as SEOs - seen too many rip offs in my time and it's far too easy for an SEO to rank and walk away. We've always been focussed on results and especially turning every pound our clients spend with us into lots more pounds. Proud to say we've done a great job in this respect.

Expert me? I don't consider myself one at all - I'm just good at remembering experiences and learning. I've got lots of years in the industry but still learn something new every day and that keeps my feet on the ground.