Link bait: sample for an affiliate marketing niche
At the time when link exchanges, article aggregation and directory submission are next to useless for building link popularity, link baiting is probably the most efficient way to get links for free.
Rand Fishkin defines link baiting as content targeting link friendly audiences.
Need a sample of a link bait? I could not resist the temptation to check this link and refer to it. And I think it is a perfect sample of a link bait.
Internet’s Biggest Affiliate Marketing Whores!
I was aware what to expect in that article, I knew the names that would be listed in that article, but I visited it and wrote this short post linking to it. The click was half subconscious.
Now I try to quietly analyze my behavior and get the algo for link baits and what drives people to visit and refer to this sort of posts. My observations? I definitely see three features characteristic of this link bait:
- The title. It’s really screaming.
- The subject – money. Those big amounts in bold get my attention spontaneously.
- The lessons to learn. While reading about those earnings I also attempt to get the idea how these guys earn so much, what techniques they use.
Summary: I am aware that link baits can be of different kinds. But as an idea you can start accumulating characteristics of these articles and posts that get to the home page of web sites similar to www.digg.com and www.del.icio.us (not necessarily in your niche).
One can write down a few characteristics of the article in question to start the log of these successful features:
- use screaming and catchy titles
- write about money
- let people learn from successful ones in their profession
Once you have a list of features and techniques (you can make notes how these posts are designed, etc) you write down from a number of link baits, try to experiment and create your own link baits. I am sure that it is possible to find the features common for most link baits. And most important: make them work for your web sites.
[tags]link baits, blogs, link popularity, seo, internet marketing, affiliate marketing, make money online, home based job, earn your living online[/tags]