Mar
14
The first time I saw the term link baiting I thought, “This stinks. Everyone’s already telling me I need higher Page Rank, better SEO, a flashier web design, better RSS feeds, and a Wordpress blog. Now I’ve got to buy waders?” But, being the kind of gal who likes to know what the trends are before I decide not to conform to them, I sought out posts on this whole link baiting thing. And I was a little disappointed.
All the posts said “Write posts people want to read.” Um (if I may bring back a word from the ’80’s) duh?
Some said make lists. Some said cause controversy. Some said study your stats to see when most people visit. All of this with a goal of getting stumbled, dugg, linked to across Blog World so we’ll rank higher, look better, bring in better ads. But for what? Our fickle friend Google can take it all away tomorrow. Does anyone who reads our blogs really care what Google says about us anymore?
Link bait, to me, seemed like a bigger deal than it was. Like the term problogger, it sounded important until I realized it wasn’t.
For bloggers whose ad sales are based on Page Rank, I say conform away. Grab your poles, bait those hooks, reel in the biggest fish you can get. My fisherman’s hat is off to you.
But for bloggers who blog for the sake of blogging? Let’s hope we’re already writing some posts people want to read. If others link to those posts, pass them through the social media highways, cut them up and serve them for supper, fabulous. If not, is it a loss worth losing sleep over?
I recently read a post by Mark Knowles at Blogging Tips on link baiting. Talking about a post that brought him a good amount of Stumble traffic, he said, “Apart from the fact that this is what I actually believe, I really wrote this to get it out of my system.”
As I commented to Mark, these are what I call “inspired rants.” These are the types of posts that draw in the most traffic on my blogs too. Maybe the best link bait, just like the best ranked web content, is best because it was constructed for success by accident?
I don’t know. I’ve never been a good fisherman. I’ve always enjoyed holding the pole and looking out onto the water more than I’ve enjoyed reeling in the fish. And on the rare occasion I catch something, I usually throw it back.
Have you had any success with linkbaiting? Was your success planned or accidental?
Enjoy this blog? Subscribe by feed.
Comments
12 Responses to “Incidental Link Bait: Gone Fishing By Accident?”
Leave a Reply
-
-
About Amy Derby
Formerly a corporate paralegal, I ditched the pantyhose to begin freelancing in 2004. I enjoy long walks to the coffee maker, never setting an alarm clock, and not wearing a bra to the (home) office. I can be reached at amy.derby (at) gmail.com.
I’m loving the anti-conformist attitude Amy
I’ve never written anything with the goal of getting a link. My most successful post to date was one I wrote in 15 minutes on a whim for a Copyblogger headline challenge. Something I did just for fun… and it got 50k hits and I lost track of the linkbacks.
I think it’s useful to pay attention to the blog experts the first few months, but after that you just see a lot of the same advice repeated. I’m starting to focus my energies (comments and reading) on blogs I simply enjoy rather than those that tell me how to be a better blogger.
Melissa Donovan
Hey Melissa. Thanks. I’m liking being snarky.
Very cool about the headline challenge bringing you all those hits and links. Fancy accidents are the best kind.
I care about some of what the experts say, but usually it’s only knowledge I apply to my clients’ blogs (like SEO title links vs headlines, tag usage, stuff like that). For my own blogs, I’d rather have readers who are interested in what I have to say than a bunch of hits from people searching for a certain term and never returning. But that’s just me. We’re all different.
I’ve been visiting a lot of new blogs lately and finding all kinds of great stuff. That month of illness and being off the computer really made me realize how much time I waste reading through blogs I feel obligated to read. Now I’m spending that time reading interesting stuff instead.
Amy,
I say keep doing what you are doing. You are very creative and your writing adds value to many lives (mine included).
You give something back, you pass something on.
Better a farmer, than a fisherman.
“Better a farmer, than a fisherman.”
I like that. May have to quote you on that sometime.
I am happy you enjoy what I’ve been doing, and that you’ve gotten something out of it.
It’s also a lot more fun to write in a shoot-from-the-hip style than it is to make boring how-to lists all the time. I’ll probably try to balance out a happy medium, though.
Please feel free to do so, any time! Words are for sharing.
That is one thing that keeps me coming back here - your writing style. Although if you were to write a how-to list, I’d still read it as it will be uniquely yours.
Amy, I just had to say one more thing about your post here, and it was about the picture.
I *love* that picture of the cat. Very cool.
I love that picture. I found it on a royalty free stock site, like all the others. Wish I could take pictures like that of my own, but alas, as a photograher I suck.
Don’t worry, I don’t take very good pictures either. My wife, on the other hand… I don’t know what she does, she just points & shoots, and it is perfect!
It is amazing some of the things that you can find out there, shared willingly. When I see the work of some photographers I honestly want to cry. The feeling that they capture is so intense.
Some people seem to have that gift. I’m not one of them.
I like http://www.sxc.hu for free photos. Sometimes I get caught up browsing around there for too many hours though…
Thanks a lot for that link - there are some really great photos there.
I admit to doing that too. Last year before we went to New Zealand, I spent many, many hours on Flickr looking at other people’s pics and that helped us to plan out a lot of our trip
I may have just helped feed your addiction.
The kids might like that site too. My little nieces and nephews like to look one that site for animal pictures. Then my night becomes a game of “find an ant eater.” My nephew has a thing for ant eaters.
I think you have too
I’m still looking at the site and will probably bring my kids down later to look on the big TV - I can’t believe how much stuff is there!