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May 12, 2017

3 Killer Tips to Create Linkbait for Those Attractive Backlinks

Backlinks are considered the most important building block for SEO. The higher the number of backlinks, the higher is the website’s credibility among search engines. Hence, most SEO professionals aim to build quality inbound links for their website(s). But, do you know that some webpages tend to attract links in a very natural manner?


Yes, they do exist. In SEO language, you can term them as ‘linkbait’. Using such types of content, you can attract quality backlinks and gain huge traffic to your website. So, if you are eager know what exactly is linkbait content and how you could create it, read on.


As mentioned above, the sole purpose of linkbait is to bring in more links, giving the website owner a huge improvement in the site’s ranking on Google and other search engines.

Such types of content can be any one of the following:

  • GIFs, images and videos;
  • Resources and detailed guides;
  • Infographics;
  • Niche-specific content;
  • Quizzes or any other type of interactive content.

Links generally help in increasing the website’s authority as a whole, thereby attracting more organic traffic. However, most linkbait content actually ranks higher for their specific keywords. The traffic in this case is not for the website as a whole, but for the linkbait itself.

How to Create a Good Linkbait?

Many studies reveal that different psychological principles are the major driving force that persuades the target readers to link to or share content. Some of these principals can be summed up as under:

People love to share or link to a content that:

  • Portrays a practical utility of something. The readers do not wish to be in a fairy land. They want to search for things that are genuinely useful and valuable to them.
  • Highlights current events and stories.
  • Has been linked to by many others. People have a tendency to follow the crowd, no matter if it is right or wrong.
  • Evokes a certain kind of emotion, such as laughter, awe, happiness etc.
  • Supports their point of view with solid reasons.

In simple words, these psychological principles can work well for you to attract and engage customers. Linkbait also uses some of these principles. Therefore, in almost all linkbait content, you may find precise formatting, custom illustrations and a comprehensive guide. This makes the content entertaining and sympathetic toward the reader.

To create content that adheres to some of the psychological principles (as mentioned above), you should consider three basic triggers that may provide you with fine results:

1. Try to Be Hilarious 

This is one of the effective ways to create a linkbait content. Something that is comical is shared often. For example, your friend tells you a funny joke that makes you laugh, whenever you think about it. So, will you keep this joke to yourself or share it among your circle of freinds? The latter, of course..

This is the same concept that applies to the online world. When people find something funny online, they share it on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and other allied platforms. So, to gain a ton of links, try designing humorous content that is topical at the same time. If not funny, you can also create content that evokes other types of emotions, such as –

  • Excitement
  • Joy
  • Awe
  • Trust
  • Surprise;
  • Anticipation etc.

2. Offer Value 

Would you buy a product that offers zero or negligible value to you? No, of course not. So, how can you expect to receive great results from content that seems to have no value to the target audience? Often, a few attributes, like word count, content depth, content length etc., are considered to be the major factors of value. It should be noted that no one single product can be valuable to every person in your target market. So, to create linkbait content, you must write about something that is valuable to your readers.

3. Make It Eye Pleasing 

Last but not the least; it is very important to make sure the content is pleasing to the eyes of the reader. This basically motivates the reader to link to a specific piece of content. Your readers will visit your website, read the blog and enjoy the content but, they won’t link to it. Why???? Because your content isn’t visual.

Create and Promote 

After creation comes promotion. Even if you have the created a fantabulous content in your industry, it won’t attract links if your readers are unaware of its existence.


Shruti Mahour is a professional writer, having six-plus years of experience in writing about content creation, digital marketing, IT, link building, translation and SEO. At present, she is the senior writer at LinkBuildingCorp and is very passionate about spreading awareness among people, who are looking for detailed information on the above-mentioned industries.