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Abstract
In this article I describe how link bait content differs from other types of content, explain why you need it, and describe how you (or at least I) create it.
Introduction
While everyone talks about the importance of content in general, different types of content serve different purposes.
As an extreme example, a well researched article about why and how the United States transitioned from a purely private banking system to one anchored by a “European style” central bank after the 1907 financial crisis is a drastically different type of article from one that reports the scores of last night basketball games.
While both provide information some find interesting and useful, they’re fundamentally different.
Why does link bait content matter?
Backlinks have mattered in the world of SEO since the introduction of and almost immediate dominance of Google. They still matter in today’s world of AI overviews and summaries.
And while the core idea that backlinks matter has not changed, the specifics about how backlinks increase search rankings (and now increase the odds of your webpages being referenced within AI overviews) has.
In summary, to earn backlinks to your website, you need some content that is worth linking to.
And to increase the odds of your webpages being referenced in AI overviews, it needs to satisfy what Google calls informational intent. It needs to help people learn something, or it needs to entertain them. Both work.
Building topically relevant links is hard. We make it easy.What is link bait content?
Link bait content is, simply put, content that satisfies what is described above so well that people link to it.
Link authority goes beyond the page being linked to
A key concept here is that the authority passed by a link is not limited to the webpage being linked to. The authority passed by the link extends to the site.
For that reason, the backlink strategy for your website needs to include link bait content.
I see far too many people requesting links to home pages and landing pages, and in summary, don’t do that.
While it may seem counter intuitive, backlinks from other sites should be to your link bait pages, and they in turn should internally link to your landing pages.
To understand what Google tells us to do, read this post: You do NOT want backlinks to your landing pages.
Brief descriptions of content types
The list below is by no means comprehensive, and is provided to illustrate the idea that there are different types of content which fulfil different purposes.
Building topically relevant links is hard. We make it easy.Topic cluster (pillar and snippet) posts
Topic clusters is a common method of establishing website authority for a certain topic.
There is generally one very in depth well researched article on a main topic (the pillar post), and multiple shorter more focused articles each of which is about one aspect of the overall topic (the snippet posts).
The pillar links “down” to the snippets, and the snippets link “up” to the pillar.
For example, if you’re writing about ski equipment, you might have one well researched post comparing various brands in a general sense, and a number of smaller shorter posts each of which focused on one item of gear (boots for example).
Topic clusters are good for readers, search engine robots, and AI engines. The links between them signal to all three that the posts are related.
And, for what it’s worth, pillar posts can be link bait, but not all pillar posts are.
The image below shows a representation of topic clusters. Credit for the image belongs (quite obviously) to HubSpot and was taken from a blog post they initially published in 2017. Having said that, topic clusters are still relevant to SEO.
Brand information pages
These are pages that directly talk about the brand; home pages, about pages, contact us pages, landing pages, etc.
If you’re writing for a brand that is widely known, such as Coke, Nike, Ford, etc., people will link to your brand pages. If you’re not, the odds of anyone doing so is slim to none.
Landing pages
Landing pages are sometimes called conversion pages, as their purpose is to turn a website visitor into a lead. That is generally done by presenting visitors with a form.
Link bait
Link bait content is specifically produced to earn links.
Building topically relevant links is hard. We make it easy.Brief descriptions of types of link bait content
There are different types of link bait content and for the most part the only two things they have in common is they’re intended to be interesting and useful, and creating them takes effort.
Studies, statistics, and original research
The key idea here is originality. The example I used earlier about the US implementing a central banks after the 1907 financial crisis is not a good link bait idea unless you see some aspect of it that others missed. But as this topic has been covered extensively over the past 100 plus years, that’s unlikely.
But there is still no end of opportunity in terms of link bait content, but you need to be willing to possibly survey large populations of people, pull statistics from existing sources, etc., and then to look at whatever data you collect in interesting ways.
This is one of the more labor intensive ways to create link bait content.
Interactive tools
Mortgage calculators, website analyzers, word origins, etc.
And weirdly in the AI dominated world we’re moving into, these have become easier as you can write a “wrapper” around an AI service and have it do the heavy lifting.
Quizzes and games
We’ve all spent some time on such webpages. Are there any that make sense for your website and your business?
Controversial perspectives
This is my personal favorite, and to return to a prior example of the formation of a central bank in the USA, if you find some LEGITIMATELY controversial take on this, it can work.
I capitalize legitimately as online fake outrage is far too common these days, and while it may attract attention, if you’re in the business of selling anything other than ads, you want website visitors who convert, not just argue.
But, if you see a perspective on a topic that people knowledgeable of the topic see as interesting and worthy of discussion, by all means, use it.
Building topically relevant links is hard. We make it easy.What makes link bait content different from other content
In short, people WANT to link to it. Because it’s good. Because it’s worth referencing.
However, it’s generally not enough to just publish it. You also need to draw people’s attention to it. Sharing on social media, email outreach, participating in link exchange communities, etc.
But link bait content has to be much better than the usual crap content we’ve all used to seeing. Link bait content causes people to pause, take a good look at it, and in some cases, to link to it.
In closing
This is where I quote my inner Nike. Just do it.
The first step in earning links to your website is to have some webpages worth linking to.
Building topically relevant links is hard. We make it easy.