Content Baiting
Posted by jfj3rd on 27 May 2007 at 11:15 am | Tagged as: SEO
One topic I’ve always found interesting is link bait. How is it done? Why is it done? Should it be done? I’ve asked myself these questions over and over again and I’ve even attempted creating some of my own link bait.
Today I don’t want to regurgitate the same information about link bait concepts. If you are interested in learning about link bait then I encourage you to preview some of these writings on the topic:
#1. Aaron Wall of SEOBook.com has a pretty nice explanation of the link bait term.
#2. Jim Westergren at JimWestergren.com has a list of ideas that can get you started on your own link bait campaigns.
#3. Matt Cutts from Google chimes in about link baiting
What I’d like to talk about is content baiting. What is it? How is it done? Why is it done? Should it be done?
What is Content Bait?
Content bait is the act of getting someone else to produce content for your website.
How is Content Baiting Done?
If you’ve ever signed up for an account on MySpace.com, FaceBook.com, ActiveRain.com or other popular Social Networks and have written a blog posting on them then you have contributed to that websites content baiting efforts. If you’ve ever posted a comment on a blog such as this one then you’ve also contributed to that sites efforts to get others to write content for them.
Blogging is one of the most convenient content baiting practices but you could also have people write content by simply providing them with a ‘About You’ field when they are signing up. I’ve also seen sites like InterviewAgent.com or MyAgentDirectory.com where you can either fill out a questionnaire about yourself and your area or you can write an entire mini article about the city or state you live in.
Why is Content Baiting Done?
The simplest answer to this question is because it allows website owners more flexibility with either there time, money or both. If you and I are volunteering to do the work for them then they end up with a site that is always changing, always being added to or edited. Just take a look at Wikipedia.com, they have tens of thousands of references on any topic under the sun and I’d guess that it is 99% user contributed.
Should Content Baiting be Done?
Why not? Save yourself time and money by creating the option to let your visitors contribute to your site’s success. If they don’t buy your products or services then they can at least help you grow your business in this way.
- : 3.2
- : 5.3
- : 3.0
So by the fact that I am adding this comment to your blog would be an example of content baiting?
Hi Noah,
Yes comments on blogs can be considered content baiting. Most blog comments are short and sweet but a lot of comments on say a controversial topic do add up to a significant amount of content.
Take for example this comment that I am leaving in response to yours Noah. So far I’ve written a pretty short paragraph and a half just to address your questions on content baiting.
Take a look at a very recent post from SEOMoz.org. They wrote a blog posting about someone else’s blog and already at this time they have 32 comments.
How to Market a Website with $100
Not bad response rate for something that was written just a few short hours ago since I made this comment.
[…] Internet Marketing in 10 Minutes » Content Baiting Posted by jfj3rd on 27 May 2007 at 11:15 am | Tagged as: SEO. Content Baiting One topic I’ve always found interesting is link bait. How is it done? … www.10minutes.org/marketin/content-baiting/ - 13k - Cached - Similar pages […]
[…] Internet Marketing in 10 Minutes » Content Baiting Posted by jfj3rd on 27 May 2007 at 11:15 am | Tagged as: SEO. Content Baiting One topic I’ve always found interesting is link bait. How is it done? … www.10minutes.org/marketin/content-baiting/ - 13k - Cached - Similar pages […]
[…] reader base so should anyone be interested in some of my older works I might suggest reading my Content Baiting, Does Content Baiting Equal Link Baiting? and Content Lifecycle: Creation, Refresh, Archival, […]