Technical Happenings

Link Baiting

What does that mean?

Link baiting (or linkbaiting) is a buzz word in the SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) world and has come to be the preferred method of natural link building.

And in English?

You need to create Linkbait. Essentially it is a piece of content placed on a web page – whether it’s an article, blog post, picture, or other content type – that is designed with the intention of naturally attracting back-links for your site.

Where does it come from?

When the browser was first introduced, people went to two extremes. Either they went berserk so that almost everything on the page was hyper-linked, or they created no links whatsoever as a way to keep people on the site. It was almost laughable. 2006 saw the advent of Social Networking and SEO, and the term link-baiting was re-appropriated.

What does it mean for my business (what are the marketing implications)?

If you write/create some interesting content and submit it to the right sites, in the right sort of field, targeting the right audience, (if your facing west as the wind blows from the east) with a bit of  luck you could find you get a surge of traffic.

What do I need to do about it?

Social linking and meritocracy based sites self mediate, with poor content sinking to the bottom, leaving the interesting bits to float to the top. So, ensure you create relevant content (linkbait), and distribute in a targeted and measurable manner.

How or where do I find out more?-

Search for ‘link baiting’ or ‘linkbaiting’ to find myriad results, or you could always find yourself a friendly SEO consultant.

Is it a paradigm shift or just another TLA?

The concept has been around for years in many forms. For example, newspapers use it in the form of headlines and TV shows in the form of teaser content.

Chirp Chirp – Social Network Aggregation

I like simple ideas and Chirp is one of them. We all have an ever growing list of social network sites and Chirp aims to bring these together in one place. The thing I like about the idea is it’s a screen saver. I think this is smarter than trying to be a web page or true desktop application, as people are more willing to try a screensaver. Also I think it may be a great time to get an update on your networks; just when you return to your machine.

At the moment it only links into Flickr and Facebook, but more are on the way. I’m not biggest fan of Facebook, but many are, so this screensaver may be popping up on a desktop near you.

Open Soicial on Facebook?

A New Facebook application that appears to make Facebook an OpenSocial container. Could this be the beginning of a guerilla attempt to lure Facebook into OpenSocial? — see full post at oreilly radar.