Link Baiting.Need Help

bit lost on how to pull it off

[tshirtdeal]

what do you do? create the content with the hook, put it up on your site, add the link code saying to link to it...then pass out a few solid links to it and hope it gets viral?

is this how it is done? if not please explain the method to actually do it...

also, why not just create these hook articles and distribute the article, would'nt that achieve the same effect? I mean if the link bait gets so viral, then distributing them would also...no?

TIA and hoping for some help...

[cnvi]

You might be over-thinking this a bit.. just create a content rich site that folks naturally want to link to. Offer content that is hard to find or extremely unique by nature.

For example.. the company I work for owns a site that helps educate the public about the busiest airspace in the world. Because I live in that area, I have unique information to share with the world that others might not have access to. We exploited that by producing a content rich site that enjoys ad revenues well into four figures a month.

Ask yourself, "what do I know about this product or service (or information) that noone else knows?" then exploit that by providing unique information in a content rich manner that both end users and search engines can find.

Don't worry so much about what "link baiting" means. Just create an information rich site full of content and details that does not exist elsewhere on the web and the rest (links and good rankings) will come naturally over time.

But don't expect it to happen overnight.. it takes time. Those who do this work diligently success. Those who take shortcuts usually fail. Think of this as planting a seed and then waiting for it to grow.. but remember just like trees need water and food to grow, a website also needs nourishment on a regular basis (content, content, content).

[tshirtdeal]

Yes...point well taken...It almost seems (and i stated this before here) just creating a nice website with great content is all you need to do, or at least I see it that way in the future...

It seems google tried to advance things with linking, but I think the more they see what that did to the web, the more they are going away from, and now natural linking is the term, and soon they will be smart enough to get the algo to strickly tell if the links are 100% natural.....

once this occurs I think websites will be ranked more on how long people stay on pages, the site and how often they come back, with natural linking (by not doing anything, but what links the site gets with out any work towards it, such as buying them and so on)...

but anyway, what is a good way to get my site out there? Article distribution? Press releases? any other ideas?

Thanks so much for the great reply!

[martinibuster]

Link bait is many things and the strategy you pursue can take many forms. Among the common forms is to give something useful away, generate controversy, do something noteworthy, or create content that is funny.

The link bait doesn't even have to exist on your site.

[tedster]

It also helps to REALLY know your market. The better you do, the more easily you can create something that catches their attention and attracts links.

[cnvi]

what is a good way to get my site out there? Article distribution? Press releases? any other ideas?

I have found that press releases are akin to dropping a pail of water in the ocean.. they really don't do much for us. Thats just my personal experience. Unless you found a cure for cancer, your press release is not likely to be published by sites that you want to link to your site.

Article distribution is also something I have not had much success with. What we have success with is writing our own original articles which other sites then naturally want to link to.

If you don't know how to write, there are many copywriters looking for work on the web.. you can find them at big job hunting sites or search "web content" or "web copywriting" and you will find services that offer copywriting services for the web.

Relevant link exchange works when you offer a site that other webmasters want to link to. If your site is turnkey and doesn't publish significant original content that cannot be found elsewhere on the web, webmasters won't be inclined to link to your site.

[martinibuster]

Link exchange is arguably a poor way to get your site known to the general public, plus it's off-topic to this discussion which is limited to link bait.

Extreme Press release link bait ideas:

• Hire bums to wear your t-shirts or baseball caps while holding signs with your logo and passing out business cards on busy corners where your constituents may happen by. On your own, without using a press release service, create a press release including photos and send it to your local television and news offices.

• Pay bloggers to talk about your product. Then create a press release and send it off to news organizations discussing the blogvertising trend and how well it's working for you. Be sure to write an in-depth article about blogvertising, making sure to question whether it's moral for bloggers to post advertisements as a discussion (cover the pros and cons) so that newspapers can have the option of printing the article verbatim.

• Engineer a boycott of your products by a fringe group, then publicize it through a press release.

Mild Press Release Link Bait
Create a press release about your niche. Write it like a news story. Choose an angle, then discuss the pros and cons, including a quote by you. What kind of angle can you choose? The difficulties of running a web business, the joys of marketing online, etc. Things that are of interest to the public and would fit into the business, internet or lifestyle section of a newspaper.

[edited by: martinibuster at 6:11 pm (utc) on Oct. 31, 2006]

[sugarrae]

>>>I have found that press releases are akin to dropping a pail of water in the ocean

Depends on the press release. I just did one for a site recently that has resulted in 22 links - several from high quality/power sites, three on high volume message boards that sent me tons of traffic - as well as generated a lot of user feedback on the site that we then used to improve the site.

>>>Article distribution is also something I have not had much success with

Again on a case by case basis. Distributing an article to 100 directories no one goes to is much different than having an article published in a niche online magazine on your topic.

Ditto on MB's advice.

[tshirtdeal]

thanks guys and gals...

my press release idea today was simply to do a press release about my site offering a contest to the first people who answer my "tough trivia questions" about my site topic (which is New York related)

what do you think? a good buzz thing or lame?

I am willing to give away some free product for the winners, like a night out in new york (some show tickets and a dinner, maybe a hotel...

now this will be expensive for me (say 500 bucks)

but if it does what i want , I am willng...

part of me thinks it will get out to "on topic" nitche site which are frequented by my "target"

any thoughts?

Other then this, I think i will try these types of PR's solid link bait style articles, and some begging or aski9ng related sites for a free one way link or I will write an article for the site for a resource box...

how does this sound?

[cnvi]

Write it like a news story. Choose an angle, then discuss the pros and cons, including a quote by you. What kind of angle can you choose? The difficulties of running a web business, the joys of marketing online, etc. Things that are of interest to the public and would fit into the business, internet or lifestyle section of a newspaper.

Those are very good thoughts on producing press releases as linkbait. A press release can be engaging or boring to read. When you produce a press release that tells a story or appeals to the emotion, its surely going to have more appeal to publishers.

I saw a press release just last week from a job placement company that did a survey about jobs in their specific niche industry and then released the survey as a news story and I was surprised the number of news agencies that report in that specific niche industry picked up the story. They saw it as very unique news beneficial to their niche audience so you never know what is going to work until you give it a try.

Every business is different and some marketing angles are going to work better for you than others.

[graywolf]

How about this you ask people to go to a related event with home made t-shirts, buttons, stickers or any other thing with your company name or logo on it. Have someone at the event and randomly choose a winner. To get more of an online buzz ask people to post pictures of themselves on flickr, videos on youtube, on their myspace, friendster profiles, or blog wearing the item. Select an online winner as well.

[Lorel]

Find something about your topic that other people haven't written on yet, that people want answers for, something you have experienced yourself and you can share with others. They will likely link to it without your even asking. If you are the first one to write on the topic you may be the highest ranking one also as Google considers age a high ranking factor.