Internet Marketing with Josh SpauldingMaking Money through Ethical Internet Marketing.

7 Link Bait Ideas – You need some Link Bait

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Something I should have added in my part of the Blog Improvement Meme was the fact that I lack alot of good link bait.

Until I started blogging a few months ago, I didn’t even really think of it as “link baiting.” Of course the idea of creating content that people love to link to is obvious, but it was (and I suppose still is) something that was really in the back of my head. I mean, I just write when someone comes to me. I like to think it’s all worthy of a link or two, but the fact is, most of it isn’t the type of stuff people just EAT UP.

The truth is, true link bait really takes thought, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be difficult. I’ve created several pieces, not all on this blog, that turned out to be good link bait, but it wasn’t even intentional. I guess what I’m trying to say is if you can create the occasional link bait unintentionally, you can probably multiply that by actually trying to create link bait. I think I’m talking to myself more than I am to you It’s one of those things I know I should be doing, but I guess I need to talk myself into it lol

Here are 5 good link bait ideas for you (and I) to pondor

1. The Top 100 Best [niche] Blogs or sites: The best recent example of this is Mark’s Top 100 Make Money Blogs over at 45n5.com That was a simple list that received, and still receives, loads of links to his blog (like the link I just gave him) and to add on, they’ve created widgets for those who are on the list to add to their blog. I’m on there, but probably won’t add my widget until I climb the latter a bit more.

2. Top Ten Reasons Why [something]: We see this one all the time and these lists always seem to find their way around the blogosphere.

3. Create controversy: You probably saw a good example of that when I did my John Chow Review. That actually wasn’t intended to be link bait, but it ended being so. People love to spread controversy both online and off.

4. Participate in others link bait: This could be memes, or as Heather did, Viral Linking Tests. Be very careful with these though, as “link schemes” are clearly bad in Google’s eyes.

5. Just provide solid advice: We should be doing this anyway, but if you can really provide good, solid, in-depth information on a hot topic, as Dev did in this post on building Google keyword variations there are more chances of others linking to you.

6. Create a widget, WP plugin, free software etc.: This one is self-explanatory. If you’re a developer, you have an advantage!! If you have the knowledge to create a good WP Plugin like Lucia’s Linky Love that I have linked to several times for example, but you haven’t, you’re missing out on loads of exposure.

7. Contests: There are thousands of different contest ideas. You don’t even have to offer money. You can offer products that you have rights to, services, physical products etc. Contests always get lots of exposure and if you get only 1 new, regular reader, it may be worth it. Chances are you’ll get many more than just 1 though.

That’s it, I’m sure there are loads of other link baiting ideas, but there are a few off the top of my head. Now I’m off to take my own advice and come up with a good one.