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So, you keep hearing about link baiting and are wondering what it is. Link baiting is just like it sounds…you’re “baiting” other web sites for links back to you. What this means is, you use either really good and unique content or a creative way to get other web sites to link back to your site. You are essentially “baiting” them…just like putting bait (like a worm) on a fish hook and waiting for the fish to bite.

Now a lot of people know the benefits of having more links pointing to your web site, but in case you don’t I’ll give you a couple of good reasons. The foremost reason being search engine optimization. Incoming links provide better “authority” for your site in the eyes of search engines. Also, the more links you have to your site, obviously the more exposure your site will have and the more visitors you’ll get.

I must admit that I personally don’t like the term “link baiting” because of what it implies. It has implications of tricking sites into linking to your site. For the most part, this isn’t or shouldn’t be the case. When you create quality content, sites will want to link to your site. Blogs and news sites are probably the biggest link baiters just because of how they are constantly updated with new content to link to.

Sometimes your site can be baited by sites such as digg, StumbleUpon, or Del.icio.us by users who really enjoy your content. It could also be baited in an online forum, another blog or maybe even a news channel. When you get “baited” by one of these sites, it could increase your exposure ten-fold.

So, you now have an idea of what link baiting is and you want to “try” it for yourself. First off, I have to say when I give you these ideas, THEY’RE NOT link baiting ideas but ideas to help you link bait. You can’t force someone to link to you (without paying of course :-P) but your goal is to make people want to link to your site. The term link baiting is also deceiving because you have to understand, everything you do to make your site better should essentially be to also link bait. What I mean is, when you look over the ideas, everything you see is just good marketing advice. So without further ado, here is the list:

• Give people some information you know. Maybe make a list or a how-to on something. You know they say “information is power”? Imagine giving away free power!
• Break some news! This could be pretty tough unless you ARE the news or you sit at home all day listening to a scanner.
• Media. Release a cool picture…maybe something funny or amazing. A video of something (there’s a reason YouTube is so popular). Maybe publish a new joke or make an mp3 of something good.
• Why do you criticise? To create a buzz and discussion of course! A little constructive criticism never hurt anyone.
• Can you program? Design a tool, application, widget or plugin and give it away! If you help people out, they won’t mind giving you free publicity (or your web site).
• Testing 1-2-3. Do you have a cool online test or quiz that people can take? A popular quiz is the kind that “categorizes” people at the end of the quiz. People always like to know what kind of “category” their personas fit into.
• Do you have enough knowledge to fill an ebook? Then definitely get to work! An ebook is a great way to inform people and have them come back to your site or refer other people to your site to download the ebook.
• Please contest it! A contest is a great way to drive people to your site, after-all who doesn’t like to win something? You can have a cash or prize contest, just make sure you follow local, state or provincial laws ;-).
• Scout’s honour. Can you offer community, volunteer or good-will help? Get to it! People need it!
• Give away awards. Although the web seems “polluted” with web awards, I’m sure you can still be creative and come up with a new worthy award.
• Do you know someone important? It doesn’t have to be someone everyone knows, but maybe someone you know has valuable information to share. You can do an in-depth interview.
• Event planner. Can you plan or organize an event that people would like to attend? You may even get some press coverage!
• Are you crazier than me? I doubt it, but see if you can prove it online somehow…it’s guaranteed to get results based on ridiculousness (is that even a word?). Basically just come up with something crazy or ridiculous that will garner a lot of interest.
• Maybe you were good in school? Do some documented research or publish a documented discovery you’ve worked on. I’ll definitely be impressed ;-).

These are just some ideas, if you have any of your own, please feel free to share them! I’m sure you’ll see some of them in use on this website in the near future. Good luck and let me know what works best for you!

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