Linkbaiting Can Be Fun And Very Rewarding
by Jeff Alderson
Linkbaiting has gained a shady reputation in some arenas, but the simple fact is this set of practices can really increase a site's incoming traffic. It all falls on what kinds of methods are employed to gain incoming links during a linkbaiting campaign. The practice itself can actually be rather fun, rewarding and very much legitimate.
Despite some bad reports, linkbaiting is actually one of the best ways to promote a website and its content. The only marked difference involved in linkbaiting over regular site building is that much of the content added or created for a campaign is designed with the idea of gaining incoming links at the forefront.
The biggest key to working linkbaiting to one's advantage is to come up with the right content to do so. Technorati, Digg.com and del.icio.us are several sites that publishers often turn to in order to take the pulse on what is popular and what is not. Writing about trends or focusing in on them can be a fantastic way to tailor content. The trick is making sure that the site's actual focus isn't lost in trend chasing.
Another effective, and perhaps less pointed way, to have some fun with linkbaiting is to simple do what comes naturally. Add content to your site in the manner you see fit. Just make sure it's solid, relevant and appealing to readers. What a lot of blog owners do is create informative lists, run statistics, add contests and even write very strong opinion pieces on the topics they focus on. Controversy, rants and gripes tend to gain incoming links rather well, too.
Sometimes creating good content isn't enough to generate links. This is where a little self-promotion can come in handy. Consider sending e-mails to similar (and more popular) sites' owners asking for input on particular pieces. This tactic can result in some great advice and perhaps a link or two, as well.
Sites that involve social tagging or even popularity ranks can be wonderful tools to use, as well. Places such as Digg.com can have a huge impact on incoming traffic and links if a story is picked up. Some publishers create their own "Diggs" to take advantage of the supercharge of traffic this site can provide, but a lot of people find this too self promoting.
The concept involved with linkbaiting is to create incoming links - nothing more and nothing less. The idea is to increase traffic, income potential and possibly even page ranking, too.
While the term "linkbaiting" could benefit from a public relations campaign, the practice itself isn't bad and it can create wonderful results. Should the effort be handled carefully with integrity and reputation in mind, it can be fun and very rewarding.
It can be very rewarding to watch incoming links for a site continue to rise. This shouldn't be the only focus though. Just make sure the content created is useful, or the linkbait can turn out to be a big flop for future traffic. Relevancy, usefulness and quality should always be a top concern when trying to gain traffic from linkbaiting efforts.
Author Jeff Alderson develops newbie-friendly search engine marketing tools. He is an expert on maximizing traffic and sales. Jeff suggests using Ad Word Analyzer to uncover website keywords for your website. Don't reprint this exact article. Instead, reprint a free unique content version of this same article.
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