The following is a summary of Rand Fishkin’s list of 7 steps for Success in Link baiting. For those of you don’t know, Rand is the President of SEOmoz, one of the most successful link baiting companies in the business.
So without further ado, here is a short rendition of the 7 steps to link bait success (aka “Link Baiting according to Rand”):
- Find and know the link bait portals. In order of link generating power, as determined by SEOmoz’s research, here is the list:
- Understand the link bait audience. Above all, it’s not the end user reader. It’s the person who has a strong reputation in the link bait portals that you have targeted, and who you are going to get to “digg” (or another appropriate verb) your site. Target the content to those major influencers. You get their attention, and you win. In the Digg world, this is probably a young male technocrat with leftward political leanings.
- Brainstorm effectively. Try many ideas, and don’t be afraid to discard some of them. Don’t be afraid to go off topic. And once again, remember who your target audience is (the person of influence who will give you the first Digg)
- Build Beautiful Bait. Make it look as appealing as possible. This will help you get on the portals which is your first priority. Note that this includes using cool and interesting technologies. Or creating room for controversy and discussions.
- Create a Reputation. My take is that this is the most important step. You are going to have to invest in getting to know people with influence at the social media portal of your choice if you are going to get anywhere. This requires an investment of your time and effort. But once you have their trust, there will be many, many opportunities for you. Just be aware that you have to give to get. Find out how to help them first, and then the trust will follow.
- Submit with Style. You need an attention-grabbing headline (and description) that is of interest to your submitter. Get their attention first and fast. Once you have it, you are well on your way. If they decide to provide input, listen to it, and be responsive.
- Don’t Shoot your self in the Foot. You may have read articles about how networks of people support each other by digging each other’s articles. Making friends with people who come to trust you and are likely to vote for your articles is a fine idea. But don’t push it too far. Don’t submit more than once from any IP address. If you live in North Dakota, don’t suddenly have 10 people in your town submit votes for your article all at once. This stuff is easily detected and will get your article flushed.
- This is a great overview of what needs to be done. I believe that there is one more concept that deserves to be a part of this list, so here is step 8. Be Opportunistic. Sometimes, timing is everything. Keep your eye out for related activity in your business space. See what other people are doing. At a critical moment, you may recognize that one of the major influencers in your space needs something that you can provide to them. Jump on it without delay. The door on that opportunity is likely to close fast, and these opportunities do not come up every day. Someone else will snap up the opportunity if you don’t.
As always, execution is critical here. The above tips work. But you need to commit yourself to execute against them well. Go forth and multiply (your links that is…)
