Taking the (Link)bait

When I was in high school, there was a word I hated: social climber. I abhorred that word because it conjured up creepy crawly images of icky people that were disingenuous by nature and just, well, ick.

Now there’s a new word I detest for much the same reason: linkbait.

What’s linkbait?
Linkbait is a word in the SEO world that basically means creating something that attracts backlinks to your website, or in our world, our blog.

By definition, linkbait is not a bad thing. In fact, there’s no real derogatory inference to the word at all.  But in my mind there is. And here’s why.

Getting noticed for your own style
In the blogging world, writing a post that acts as linkbait is akin to following around the popular girl in high school so you can get noticed, too. Here’s what I think: in order to garner attention, why not do something OF YOUR OWN?  Have your own idea?  Get noticed for your own style instead of copying your friend?

I don’t mean writing about a hot topic. Bloggers do this all the time, myself included. It’s important to keep current and keep your readers informed. After all, your readers read you because they’re interested in your opinion, your writing style, and your information.

Smart ways to use linkbait
There are some good ways to utilize linkbait. One is to do your own research on a popular topic. While you’re writing about a subject that has probably been discussed ad nauseum, you have an opportunity to show how smart you are by finding a new angle.

This is what journalists do when covering popular topics. Ever watch Anderson Cooper?  By the time he hits the airwaves at 10 pm, the news of the day has already been covered. But the reason so many viewers tune in each night is because he tells the story, the same story, in a way that is compelling. In a way that hasn’t already been told. As bloggers, we have the same opportunity.

Get off the blogwagon
Unfortunately, many bloggers today are uninspired and tend to jump on what I call the blogwagon.  They write posts that are boring, or simply offer little to no new information about the topic. But it’s possible that when someone goes looking for info on the topic, readers might inadvertently fall on the boring post by virtue of the SEO and links included in the post.

And while the traffic generation might be satisfying for the blogger, you can rest assured your regular readers will be stifling their yawns as they find something, or someone, more innovative to read.

Jill Notkin blogs at The Daily Grind of a Work at Home Mom when she’s not tweeting @AlexCaseyBaby.

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