64 replies to this topic

[qwerty]

This post was split from here:


The problem is that since people started using the term "link bait," it's come to mean something that exists just to get attention -- an act of buzz marketing -- in many people's minds.

I think it's fair to say that "link bait" is not a term that was created to refer to high-quality content that draws people in over an extended period of time. Rather, it's something intended to get a lot of attention quickly. If it lasts, great, but that's not bait anymore. It's become a real resource, even if it was created to garner a lot of attention right away.

Digg?

Edited by Debra, 23 July 2006 - 11:24 PM.

[Scottie]

You know, you can just purchase linkbait in the quantity you require.

Why be original? It was only a matter of time before someone made a marketable product out of it.

[Debra]

Cute picture Scottie!

The problem is that since people started using the term "link bait," it's come to mean something that exists just to get attention -- an act of buzz marketing -- in many people's minds.

Agree! People use this term in a lot of different ways and it adds to the confusion! To me, "link bait" is something created to use as an incentive to secure links. I guess I would think of it that way as all I do is link - but for a lot of other people it's more of an awareness builder. I think it's funny that people think it's the next link coming when the concept has been around for a long time (think Marketleap tools!)

I think it's fair to say that "link bait" is not a term that was created to refer to high-quality content that draws people in over an extended period of time. Rather, it's something intended to get a lot of attention quickly. If it lasts, great, but that's not bait anymore. It's become a real resource, even if it was created to garner a lot of attention right away

lol - Sounds like a press release to me!

What is everyone else's definition of link bait and how would you use it?

[St0n3y]

What is link bait? A great site that serves it's audience well.

[Debra]

What is link bait? A great site that serves it's audience well.

I just call that a well thought out and run business!

[qwerty]

The thing is, the word "bait" connotes trickery or entrapment. I don't know if that was the meaning intended to be carried by the term, but that's what it means to me. Bait is put in a trap, or on a fishing hook. Or a car dealer will advertise a great sale, but it'll turn out to be a bait and switch.

I can't think of a single use of the word "bait" that indicates that the target of the bait is going to get what they're looking for. As such, "linkbait" is either a poorly-chosen name, or it means a way to grab links that, even if they're deserved, aren't deserved for the right reasons. In other words, if you want a site to become a fad, linkbait may be a useful tool. If you want a site to become an authority, there's no need for bait of any kind.

Rand Fishkin has indicated that linkbait can be something very useful. In my opinion, it doesn't make sense to use the word bait to describe something useful. That's not bait; it's a goal itself.

[Debra]

In my opinion, it doesn't make sense to use the word bait to describe something useful. That's not bait; it's a goal itself

Agree, but the other thing here is the flamboyancy of the term itself attracts attention which was it's purpose at the outset. It’s far less sexy to say “link promotions” than “link bait” even though, in essence, they are the same.

[qwerty]

I just don't find "bait" sexy. I think "WOM" or "buzz marketing" are a bit more exciting, and don't carry any of the negative connotations that come with "bait". WOM isn't exactly relevant to the web, but I suppose you could say that an online buzz marketing campaign is a bit like word of mouth in that linking is similar to telling your friends about something you find interesting.

[Michael Martinez]

"Word of Mouth" or "Buzz Marketing" can be forms of viral marketing. Link Bait marketing (designing content intended to draw lots of attention quickly) is not viral.

Rand Fishkin is the chief guru and advocate for Link Bait marketing. I think he still considers it to be a form of viral marketing, although that is a completely incorrect identification. Link Bait has to be something new, or something innovative, or something done so well as compared to what has come before that people just feel compelled to say something about it on their Web sites or in their email.

MySpace may be a fair example of a blend between Link Bait marketing and true viral marketing. In viral marketing, you actually take the promotional material and pass it along. It's like handing out a brochure at a store and people pass it along to their friends, who in turn pass it on again, and so forth. Electronically, it can happen when you put a promotional article in a newsletter and your readers forward that article to their friends, who in turn forward it on, etc.

With MySpace, people signed up, linked to their friends' old sites, and then told their friends to sign up for the service so they could include them in their MySpace "friends" section. As more people's friends became MySpace users, their MySpace accounts became more active, and it just sort of fed on itself.

But it wasn't true viral marketing because nothing was passed along. Simply passing on a URL is not viral marketing.

[glengara]

With the apparent imminent demise of link buying/exchanging, IMO we'll be hearing a lot more about "link bait"

Shame about the negative connotations, but it does give the kernel of the requirement, some specific reason that attracts links.

Not going to be easy for those whose content doesn't cut it.....

[qwerty]

Simply passing on a URL is not viral marketing.

I disagree. I don't think viral marketing absolutely requires that it be emailed from person to person rather than linked to (on a web page or in an email). I'd certainly say the Subservient Chicken site was a viral campaign, and despite the apparent fact that it didn't increase sales, BK has created a number of similar sites in an effort to build buzz among a certain demographic.

A viral campaign is one that is spread on its own, exponentially. People tell each other about it. As such, link bait can be viral, especially if it gets to Digg or del.icio.us/popular. I don't see any reason to make the definition of "viral" so specific that it requires that the thing being marketed be the thing being spread.

[Debra]

I'd certainly say the Subservient Chicken site was a viral campaign, and despite the apparent fact that it didn't increase sales, BK has created a number of similar sites in an effort to build buzz among a certain demographic.

Yep you're right, the chicken gig was a viral campaign, NOT a link bait program and yet several people, when writing on 'link bait' use it as an example of a successful bait program. It wasn't.

IMO, with 'link bait' the 'link' part is how you promote the 'bait' portion. What makes 'link baiting' different from viral marketing is the demographic it targets. Link bait has one, viral doesn't.

What people are referring to as 'link bait' has been around for ever. Just take a look at the Marketleap tool and you'll see a wonderful example of a promotional tool created to build brand and drive links from a targeted market segment. Or the High Rankings® Advisor and this (and most other) forums.

With the apparent imminent demise of link buying/exchanging, IMO we'll be hearing a lot more about "link bait

I think we're hearing the term 'link bait' because many people in this industry suffer from herd mentality, not because either of these linking tactics are in a downward spiral. And I don't say that to be harsh or flippant, but rather to drive home the idea that regardless of what you call it, looking for hooks to promote your products is not a new concept.

[Michael Martinez]

I disagree. I don't think viral marketing absolutely requires that it be emailed from person to person rather than linked to (on a web page or in an email). I'd certainly say the Subservient Chicken site was a viral campaign, and despite the apparent fact that it didn't increase sales, BK has created a number of similar sites in an effort to build buzz among a certain demographic.

It depends, I suppose, on how much of a purist one chooses to be. The original proposed meaning for viral marketing would not include simply passing on a URL.

A viral campaign is one that is spread on its own, exponentially. People tell each other about it. As such, link bait can be viral, especially if it gets to Digg or del.icio.us/popular. I don't see any reason to make the definition of "viral" so specific that it requires that the thing being marketed be the thing being spread.

Link Bait, by definition, is not viral because it is Web content. Web content, by definition, is not passed on from person to person (if it were, there would be no reason for anyone to visit Web sites).

HTML-based email has almost bridged the gap between (static) Web content and viral marketing. People could, theoretically, design some very complex HTML emails and send them out to friends as sort of "sales brochures", asking the friends to pass them on.

That's similar to what some phishing/spoofing schemes do now with their fake warnings.

[Michael Martinez]

IMO, with 'link bait'  the 'link' part is how you promote the 'bait' portion.  What makes 'link baiting' different from viral marketing is the demographic it targets.  Link bait has one, viral doesn't. 

I like that.

What people are referring to as 'link bait' has been around for ever.  Just take a look at the Marketleap tool and you'll see a wonderful example of a promotional tool created to build brand and drive links from a targeted market segment.  Or the High Rankings® Advisor and this (and most other) forums. 
I think we're hearing the term 'link bait' because many people in this industry suffer from herd mentality, not because either of these linking tactics are in a downward spiral.   And I don't say that to be harsh or flippant, but rather to drive home the idea that regardless of what you call it, looking for hooks to promote your products is not a new concept.

It's not easy to design whizzbang content that will capture people's attention enough to compel them to link to it, but that is what Link Baiting attempts to formulize. By making the process somewhat predictable (it cannot be wholy formulaic because then you lose the sense of uniqueness it needs), you can customize your content projects by client and help each one stand out in its niche.

That is, of course, what Rand Fishkin does with his Link Baiting. I think he is more vocal about pursuing (and defining) that strategy, but other people have certainly been doing very similar things for their clients for years.

Whether Link Baiting becomes a new sub-industry remains to be seen. But I wouldn't be surprised to see it happen.

[glengara]

*..not because either of these linking tactics are in a downward spiral.*

Not quite sure what you mean by this D, from what I'm reading/seeing the writing seems to be on the wall for them, thus the renewed interest in link bait...