Link bait (or “linkbait”) refers to content created to attract the attention of potential readers or viewers, often sensational or provocative, to generate a large number of clicks or visits. In the SEO world, link building is regarded as one of the most challenging tasks for improving the ranking of a website. There needs to be more than just optimizing inbound and outbound links for Google to appreciate your business on search engines.
Therefore, understanding what is link bait and how it works will help your business gain many backlinks from another website. Now let’s focus on what link bait is and its examples.
What Is Link Bait?
Linkbait is a strategy to boost a website’s visibility on search engines and attract more visitors. It involves creating attention-grabbing and shareable content that encourages people to click on a link to the site. he goal is to increase the website’s traffic and search engine ranking. For example, with an effective off-page SEO strategy, the search engine algorithm will increase your rank from top 10 to top 1 effortlessly. By creating exciting and buzz-worthy content, you can attract more customers and keep them returning for another time.
Linkbait is not limited to 1 or 2 backlinks pointing to your website. These types of content can help your business gain hundreds of backlinks. Therefore, it plays a vital role in improving the ranking of your business on the digital platform nowadays.
What Is The Purpose Of Using Linkbaits?
Nowadays, many off-page services help businesses plan an effective linkbait strategy for generating more traffic and authority. Ultimately, link bait assists you in ranking better on Google and increasing organic traffic to your website. This technique aims to generate a large number of backlinks and increase user traffic by creating valuable and highly shareable content. Keep reading to see in detail the purposes of using link bait:
- Increase traffic to the page: Pages with more backlinks tend to rank higher and receive more traffic since backlinks are one of Google’s top three ranking criteria. If you develop link bait regarding a topic people are searching for, the links it draws will drive more traffic to the page itself.
- Enhance the ranking of pages in terms of organic search: You may use internal links to share some of the “authority” that your link bait draws to other pages on your website. This can enhance the pages’ organic search rankings.
Understanding that these links serve a greater purpose beyond just helping the recipient’s website rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) is essential. They also help boost your website’s overall authority by sharing PageRank from your linkbait content. This results in your page ranking for more competitive phrases, thereby improving the visibility and credibility of your website.
9 Effective Link Bait Examples
The best way to deeply understand link bait is to learn how it works and why it is successful through some examples. We have offered ten compelling linkbait examples for readers to practice their knowledge about this term:
1. ‘How A Car Engine Works?’ – Animagraffs
- Backlinks: 2100
- Referring domain: 400
There are three key factors that make this type of content successful. Firstly, it is evergreen content optimized for search and always relevant to readers. This type of content, like “How a car engine works,” can stay popular for a long time because it provides valuable information.
Secondly, it follows a unique format that provides quick learning using moving visuals and text without audio or waiting time. This format is called Animagraffs. Finally, the content is well-designed with eye-catching graphics, supporting illustrations, and easy-to-understand text. This attracts people of all ages and levels of interest and intelligence.
2. ‘Perceptions of Perfection’ Visuals – Superdrug
- Backlinks: 1700
- Referring domain: 548
This visually striking content compares how designers from various countries and cultures view the concept of perfection, revealing the unrealistic expectations and societal norms imposed on women. The idea is simple but impactful – designers from different countries were asked to photoshop the same starting photo to show what they consider “perfection.” The results are fascinating and shed light on the unrealistic expectations and stereotypes placed on women.
It’s no surprise that this content has been a hit among worldwide publications, from national and international newspapers to lifestyle magazines and blogs. It’s relatable, thought-provoking, and visually appealing, making it a talking point for many. This is a must-read if you’re looking for a lesson on cultural differences.”
3. ‘Trillion Dollar Club’ Study – Comparisun
- Backlinks: 3000
- Referring domain: 847
Have you ever wondered who will become the world’s first trillionaire? A recent study aimed to find out just that by projecting the net worth of the world’s wealthiest billionaires. This study caught the attention of many publishers eager to use its insights to create articles that would be both informative and interesting to their readers.
It’s incredible how a simple data study can become so popular and be linked to 847 domains. The study sparked some controversy, too, by highlighting the accelerated earnings of Jeff Bezos during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s no wonder this study continues to attract new backlinks even today – it’s a perfect example of how a data-driven piece of content can always remain relevant and be used as a source of information by journalists.
4. ‘Colour Palette Generator’ Tool – Canva
- Backlinks: 930
- Referring domain: 434
Have you ever needed to grab a color palette from a photo but didn’t want to spend time and money on a tool like Photoshop? Canva recognized this need and created a simple and effective solution for people like you.
That’s why it’s earned links from 434 domains. People appreciate a tool that helps solve their problems and adds value, and they want to share it with their audience by mentioning and linking to it in their content. You are on the path to success when you provide real value to your audience.
5. ‘Disney+ Dream Job’ – Reviews.org’s
- Backlinks: 2100
- Referring domain: 803
A competition disguised as a dream job – that’s the secret behind this piece of content’s massive success. With over two thousand backlinks, this is a shining example of intelligent and effective link bait.
The competition was a paid job to watch Disney+ all day simply. This relatable concept sparked conversations and made it a hot topic among many. Who wouldn’t love to get paid for binge-watching movies, after all?
This shows presents a great idea it in a way that catches the attention of the press. It’s a perfect case study for creating a buzz-worthy piece of content.
6. “Why You’re Procrastinating?” – Boss As Service
- Backlinks: 201
- Referring domains: 52
Have you ever found yourself in a circumstance that you know you should be working on something important, but you just can’t seem to get started? If so, you’re not alone! Procrastination is a common trouble that affects many of us. And that’s precisely why we decided to tackle this subject in our latest project.
The procrastination quiz became so popular and had over 201 backlinks because of its interactiveness and engaging nature. The quiz was designed to identify and isolate your specific procrastination issue. People love taking quizzes, not only because they’re fun but because they get to learn a little bit about themselves. And that’s exactly what we offered with our procrastination quiz – a fun and informative way to understand and overcome the challenges of procrastination.
7. 90.63% of Content Gets No Traffic From Google. And How to Be in the Other 9.37% – Ahrefs
- Backlinks: 6600
- Referring domain: 2600
The success of this example is simple: it provided a striking statistic that caught the attention of everyone. The statític was simple yet impactful: 90% of content doesn’t receive any traffic from Google. This made everyone rethink their approach to SEO and the importance they give to their content creation process.
Data-backed claims have always been a winner in capturing people’s attention, and that’s what this study was all about. It was an eye-opener for many and has since become a reference point in the SEO industry.
Ultimately, if you want to make a lasting impact in your industry, consider researching and presenting the findings in a data-backed manner. The results could surprise you.
8. Why Your Brain Craves Infographic – NeoMam Studios
- Backlinks: 75300
- Referring domain: 1500
NeoMam Studios published it when infographics were popular, which was in 2013. Furthermore, the interactive style aided—many individuals had never seen anything like it.
This brand’s inventor ensured that they only utilized scientific research to back up each argument, as much of the other information was a combination of pseudo-science and opinion.
9. Emergency Stop Game – JustPark’s
- Backlinks: 6500
- Referring domain: 542
What do you think about a game that’s fun to play and generates backlinks? Well, that’s exactly what JustPark did with their innovative game. This reaction time game is more challenging than you’d think, making it shareable and linkable.
People love to challenge themselves and share their results with others, and this game elicits that emotional response. In fact, it’s so compelling that content creators just have to link to it when they write about it. It wouldn’t make sense to write about it without including a link to the game, right?
So, what’s the takeaway here? Interactive content, especially games, can make great linkbait. By creating something others want to share and link to, you can attract brand mentions and valuable links to your website.
5 Best Link Bait Practices That Succeed
1. Make The Most Of Your Link Bait
To make your content practical, create something that the reader can immediately use, such as tools, calculators, templates, checklists, or cheat sheets.
Ahrefs, for instance, offers a variety of free tools with a substantial number of backlinks. You can refer to the “Table Showing Each Free Tool’s Page Has Lots of Referring Domains and Backlinks” for more information.
2. Create A Link With A Strong Point Of View
To make your link bait valuable, give your reader something new to consider. This can be achieved by tackling a topic from a unique perspective and adding something original to the conversation.
A good example is the “rant” about bad email outreach by Ahrefs’ Chief Marketing Officer, Tim Soulo, with the title “Just deleted our outreach emails. And NO, I don’t feel sorry”. The highly opinionated post was well-received, leading to over 2,500 backlinks from 533 websites.
3. Put Emotions Into Your Link Bait
Emotional appeal can make your linkbait more effective. A classic example is the website Upworthy, which was known for its positive, uplifting stories that went viral and worked as great link bait.
To make your link bait stand out, you can appeal to various emotions, including positivity, anger, excitement, sadness, and joy.
4. Use Visuals To Enhance Your Linkbait
Visual appeal is crucial for making your linkbait and link-building strategies successful. A visually appealing link bait will engage the reader, making it easier for them to consume and remember the content. This, in turn, increases the likelihood that they will link to it.
For instance, the article “The Most Popular Beer in Every Country” by VinePair, which used a map instead of a listicle, received over 533 backlinks from 179 websites.
5. Make Your Linkbait Relevant To Current Events
News-focused content can attract big news publications and journalists. For example, Nulab’s post on remote work during COVID-19 earned 103 backlinks from 80 unique websites, including major publications such as Huffington Post, Yahoo, ZDNet, and Refinery29.
To make your content newsworthy, incorporate news elements or try newsjacking by monitoring live news and reacting with expert commentary and thought leadership pieces.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Link Bait Content?
Linkbait content is a digital marketing strategy to attract and engage potential customers to a website by providing valuable, interesting, and shareable content. This content is designed to generate backlinks and increase organic traffic, helping to improve search engine rankings and visibility.
How Do You Make Link Bait?
To create link bait, make content that is interesting, unique, and valuable to your audience. It should solve a problem or provide helpful information and be presented in an eye-catching and engaging way.
Why Is Link Bait Important?
Link bait is an essential tactic in SEO for getting others to link to your content. By providing link-worthy material, you improve the likelihood that other websites will link to yours, boosting your search engine rankings.
What Is A Bait Website?
A bait website uses misleading or false information to attract users to click on a link, often to generate advertising revenue or spread malware.
What Is An Example Of Bait Advertising?
Customers who attempt to purchase the television at the quoted price are informed that it is out of stock and are offered a more costly one for $999. Because the merchant needs a realistic quantity of the advertised television, this is most likely bait advertising.
Conclusion
Link bait is an effective way to attract organic traffic and backlinks to your website. You can discover more about combining link bait’s power with white hat link-building techniques to boost your website’s authority, credibility, and search engine rankings. The eight successful link bait examples mentioned in this blog show the various formats and tactics that can be used to increase backlinks to your websites. By learning what is link bait and applying the examples above to your content marketing strategy, you can tap into the potential of link bait and grow your online presence.
Co-Founder & General Manager @ ROI Digitally
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