Posted by on December 13th, 2011 View Comments
Posted in Link Bait, Link Building Overview, Social Media |
Link Baiting. People have mixed feelings about it – especially as it is used for a variety of purposes and is used in a variety of ways, both good and bad. Still, link baiting is slowly becoming an overused tactic.
What Are Link Baits Anyway?
Before starting, we answer the question – why does link baiting get hated on anyway, and why the negative connotation on this tactic. It’s important to understand that the tactic, in its most fundamental definition, can refer to any content that is created to attract plenty of links. Looking at this fundamental definition – it does not connote any negativity or positivity—just yet.
What makes a link bait positive or negative is how it used and how the technique is classified. Like a powerful artifact from fantasy films, link baits can either be used for the side of good or evil; it all depends on who uses it. A link bait can be an excellent piece of content that took a number of weeks or months to create or compile, or can be something posted right away, attempting to be something shocking, outrageous, and downright bad. These are the basic extremes of link baiting.
Aside from these two types of link bait, there is a third type, which is a non-link bait. This is a type of content that is called a link bait, but is apparently not as outstanding as the first two types. This third type is usually incorrectly termed as link baits, and is satisfactory at best – and even while comparing it to negative link baits, this type of link bait is the worst.
Why? Because it pretends to be a link bait and seems like one, but it isn’t at all, hence does not provide or produce the desired results of that are generally generated by link baits.
So, Which Is an Excellent Link Bait?
Now that we have the third version (or the pseudo-link bait out of the way), the question is, what makes excellent link bait? Well, most people usually condemn negative link baiting – but people continue to glorify quite a number of distasteful things and content. At the same time, we commend the practice of positive link baiting, but positive content sometimes fails to take off and generate interest.
So, what makes a link bait excellent is not its negativity or positivity. It’s more of how the content is responded to. So, even if we do complain about a negative link bait—those people who get angry about it and respond to it basically link to it, making the link an excellent one in its own right, because it has achieved its goal. People may get angry over a piece of content, may find it disgusting and anything similar – but they will continue to share it, feeding the system.
Positive link baits, on the other hand are of course, better. But that’s only when they generate the desired links. You’ll know a good link bait when you see one, because it’s insightful, inspired, creative and well-thought of. However, the thing is, both positive and negative link baits can get the same amount of attention.
Who Gets to Judge Excellent From Not?
In the end, it’s up to us readers and linkers to choose and decide what’s actually good or not, and this comes in the form of distinguishing the good from the bad. If the content is simply common and mediocre, it’s not a link bait at all. It is just content. If the content is derogatory, insulting, inflammatory and the like – then it’s negative and it’s not worth sharing at all.
And if that piece of content is well thought of, creative, inspiring and the like – well, you know what to do 
.
