What is Link Bait?
Link bait refers to content designed to attract editorial links from other websites. The concept is simple: if a piece of content is engaging, informative, or valuable, other websites are more likely to link to it, which boosts the authority and credibility of the linked page (and the overall website) in the eyes of search engines.
Common examples of link bait include infographics, whitepapers, research studies, comprehensive guides, stats-based articles, and free/ helpful tools or resources.
Link Bait Ideas & Best Practices
Go with Visual Content
Visual content naturally attracts more attention and links than purely text-based content. Visuals make content easier to digest and more engaging, whether it’s an infographic, a detailed chart, or even a well-designed image. People are often drawn to share content that looks impressive, which helps link-building. Even if the content is text-heavy, integrating appealing visuals or simply enhancing the design can help increase its appeal. The key is ensuring your content looks great, even if it’s not purely visual.
Create Ultimate Guides
Ultimate guides are comprehensive resources that cover a topic in depth. These comprehensive guides serve as a go-to reference for readers and become valuable assets that others want to link to. The goal is to create the most detailed, useful, and authoritative content on a subject, pulling in various information in one place. This type of content can take the shape of a detailed tutorial, a resource list, or an in-depth analysis; this type of content requires effort but can generate significant backlinks as it becomes a trusted reference in its niche.
Data-Driven Content
Data-driven content is one of the most effective forms of link bait, as people love linking to reliable data, stats-based articles, and studies because they add credibility to their own content. By conducting surveys, case studies, or compiling existing data into a digestible format, you provide a valuable resource that others will want to cite. Even a simple analysis of trends or an industry report can serve as powerful link bait if it offers unique insights backed by data.
Ego Bait
Ego bait involves creating content that appeals to the egos of influential people in your industry. For example, this could be a list of top influencers featuring expert opinions or conducting interviews with industry leaders. By highlighting and acknowledging the work of these individuals, they’re more likely to share or link back to the content. Ego bait works because it builds a sense of recognition, which people naturally appreciate, especially if they feel it boosts their own reputation.
Timely Content
Publishing content that’s tied to current trends, news, or events can be a quick way to attract valuable backlinks. Timely content taps into the current conversation happening in your industry and positions your content as relevant and fresh (which also aligns with Google’s guidelines and ranking factors, as they always aim to rank the most relevant and helpful content). However, this form of content may not always be evergreen, so it should be balanced with other types of content for long-term value.
