Online success is really a numbers game. The more people you get coming to your site the more chance there is that one of those visitors will take an action that will lead to a profit to you. Most tactics to increase the number of visitors to your site are a simple matter of continued toil on your part: forum posting; blog posting; directory submissions etc. They will all result in a gradual build up of traffic, but they can all be a bit time consuming and…well…boring.
Link baiting doesn’t quite fit into that category of blog promotion, because it can be quick and very effective. But it does come with it’s consequences. It’s the process of writing content that is designed to promote an immediate response and bring in a large number of unsolicited links very quickly. There are a number of ways of doing this.
Method One: Superlative Content
You should probably be aiming for this anyway. This type of link baiting is relying on your content being so good that others just have to link to it. Now, you would hope every post you make falls into that category, but realistically it will not. Also being realistic you are as likely to get your content plagiarized as you are to get a link back.
Method Two: Humor and Wit
People like to laugh, and if you write a post that would make a beefeater break down into a thigh slapping fit of uncontrollable laughter then you are going to get links back from all over the internet. Humor is much harder to outright steal, or at least to do it in such a way as they can deny stealing it.
Method Three: Controversy and Argument
This is the most effective way of Link baiting. If you write something that is going to get an emotional reaction from people it will create links for you very quickly indeed. People will be fuming over your ignorance, audacity or stupidity, but at the same time they will be advertising your site, even if it is for the ‘outrageous’ article you posted. Controversy comes with a big negative of course and that is that the new readers you get are not going to be in a buying mood when they arrive to your website. Then again, some people will actually support the controversial post and these may turn out to be the most loyal readers you ever acquire.
So is Link-baiting for you and your blog? It will depend on the tone and nature of your blog. If you are posting a very factual medical blog then you are not going to do your credibility much good by posting a section of a stand up comedians opening act. If you have a light-hearted niche then strong controversial political statements are also not going to go down well. What you ca and can’t get away with is really going to be entirely up to you and your blog. Just put yourself in the shoes of your average reader before you indulge in a little link baiting and think about whether it is going to be the type of post that will drive you away or make you more loyal.
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hi there!
xxoxo
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Thanks a lot for your website
I have to say I concur with the majority of what is being said here. I’m gonna have to have to grab the feed so I can keep tabs. on what?s going on around here.
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