Linkbait refers to content that is created with the aim of getting people to link to it. A component of search engine optimization and marketing, linkbaits work to increase search and referral traffic to a site and eventually sales or ad revenue, if it is monetized.

Usually developed in the form of a thought provoking or entertaining article, a useful application or a list of helpful resources, linkbaits work best when they add value to visitors to the web site.

This is because visitors are likely to link to something when the webpage is perceived as interesting or relevant to their own website or audience.

Four Characteristics of Successful Viral Linkbait

A viral linkbait is one that is designed with the aim of facilitating dissemination by visitors who come across it. It’s viral in the sense that its self-replicating and leverages existing social networks through the use of media like images or video.

I’ve previously listed several qualities of a good linkbait and now I’ll like to add three additional factors which will increase your linkbait’s potential for success.

1. Be Topical. Linkbaits work particularly well if they topical and relate to popular topics or cultural phenomenon at a specific time. This naturally appeals to most fans or enthusiasts of these topics and encourages links because the bait is fresh, new and relevant.

Topical linkbaits will also catch waves of search engine traffic as visitors are likely to be searching for the topic associated with the linkbait.

2. Be Natural. Good linkbait shouldn’t look like link bait. The link-getting motivation should be subdued to a point where it’s not apparent at all. You don’t want to look as if you’re trying too hard for links.

The entire linkbait should be a natural value-adding proposition that’s sold to the visitor from the moment he or she lands on your website.

3. Ease of Use. Linkbait will spread easier when it’s unique or easy to use, read or understand. While extensive resources and articles can provoke the bookmarking instinct, simple and user-friendly link bait may work better for viral dissemination.

Don’t assume that everyone is on the same cognitive level (some will shun over-complicated material) and try to appeal to a general audience.

4. Encourage Distribution. While it isn’t completely necessary, it might be useful to encourage visitors to spread your linkbait by linking to it. You can do this by providing html codes for videos or customized images.

You can also put up social bookmarking buttons, email forms or a simple one-liner to ask visitors to tell others about the website.

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I’ve been experimenting with StumbleUpon for the past few months and have had several pleasant experiences. It’s simply an incredible viral means to drive a large amount of sustained traffic to any website over a period of time.

I wrote this mini guide on StumbleUpon because I thought StumbleUpon had enormous potential in maximizing brand exposure while fitting nicely with a long term site building strategy.

Included are some personal observations on using StumbleUpon to drive traffic to your website, as well as some strategies you can adopt to retain StumbleUpon visitors while monetizing your website.

What is Stumble Upon?

Stumble Upon is a social website which allows its users a new way to experience the Internet. Instead of searching for specific items on search engines like Google, Stumble Upon users only have to tag specific personal or professional interests and then ‘channel surf’ the web by simply clicking on a button on Stumble Upon tool bar.

Upon doing so, they will be randomly directed to specific websites which adhere to their lists of interests. Users can then choose to tag the webpage they are on or give it a ‘thumbs up‘ or ‘thumbs down‘ to indicate if they want to see it again.

Users can also use the Stumble Upon toolbar as a form of social bookmarking. By surfing the web and tagging or submitting specific websites, each user can keep track of which websites they like and share it with others.

How do I get started with Stumble Upon?

You can get started by installing the toolbar, which is compatible with I.E. and Firefox at Stumble Upon’s website. After which, you can check to see if your website is already listed on Stumble Upon. You can do this by visiting this page and typing in your site’s URL.

If your website is not listed, you can start using your newly installed toolbar to tag and review it by clicking on the blue thumbs up symbol which has “I like it!” next to it.

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By Dave Davies

Published 02/25/2008

SEO Step One Of Ten: Keyword Research

Back in October 2004 I launched a series of articles outlining the ten crucial steps to a well optimized website. The steps were:

1. Keyword Selection
2. Content Creation
3. Site Structure
4. Optimization
5. Internal Linking
6. Human Testing
7. Submissions
8. Link Building
9. Monitoring
10. The Extras (all those things that didn’t fit in the first 9 steps)

Well in case you’ve been asleep for the last few years on in case you’ve just recently joined us in the SEO-realm, I – along with some of my good friends in the web marketing world – have decided to re-write the series with new information and new perspectives.

The New Series

In our updated series we’ll be dropping some of the articles and adding others to account for changes in the industry. Another major change in this series is that we’re going to compliment it with a weekly segment on Webmaster Radio’s Webcology on Thursday afternoon at 2PM EST where we’ll be conducting interviews and discussing tools with their manufacturers to help our readers and listeners make the most of this information. If you miss the show, you can always download the podcast free of charge afterwards.

The 10 steps covered in this series will be:

1. Keyword Selection
2. Content Creation
3. Site Structure
4. Optimization
5. Internal Linking
6. Human Testing
7. Submissions
8. Link Building
9. Monitoring
10. The Extras (all those things that didn’t fit in the first 9 steps)

Step One: Keyword Research & Selection

There are two times in a site’s life when keyword research is conducted – when researching a site to rank in the organic results on the search engines and when researching keywords for a PPC campaign. In our article today we’re going to focus on the former and save the research involved with PPC campaigns for step seven in this series.

So we’ve got the topic down to “just” keyword research and selection for organic SEO campaigns – from there the topic once again gets split into a variety of areas. Those that we will cover here are:

• The raw data
• Studying those who’ve gone before
• Understanding your choices

The Raw Data

The raw data is the raw estimated searches/day that you can expect a phrase to get on the major search engines. There are a number of tools you can use to compile this information. Here are some of the more commonly used:

Overture Keyword Suggestion Tool

Yahoo!’s keyword suggestion tool. It’s fast and it’s free but it has some serious drawbacks. The tool often mixes singular, plural and common misspellings into one so it could lead you astray (admittedly it’s gotten much better lately but still far from perfect).

Is a bed and breakfast in Banff, BC better to target “banff accommodation” or “banff accommodations”. How about the very common misspelling “Banff accomodations”? That said, it’s based on easily the largest pool of search data made available in this way which gives it a huge edge in accuracy based on the pool of data it’s collecting from.

WordTracker

WordTracker is easily one of the most popular of the paid keyword research tools. It solves the problem with the singular vs plural vs misspellings however the data it accesses is from a few meta engines and is not as comprehensive as one might like.

They offer a free trial and have options to pay for just a day or up to a year so they provide options for people who simply need it for a quick round of research on one site to SEO firms who need it on a daily bases. It sells for $59/mth.

Keyword Discovery

This tool is very similar to WordTracker in the advantages/disadvantages category. Better specification of keywords, lower pool of data to base them on. I personally prefer Keyword Discovery simply for some of the features and the ability to export data for clients to view easily. Of course, that could well be due to my increased experience with it.

They have a free trial as well and it sells for $69/mth.

Aaron Wall’s Summary
Noted above are some of the most popular tools and the ones I’ve used the most. There are some other tools definitely worth taking a peek at. Aaron Wall did a great summary on his site of the major tools, their pros and cons, etc. Definitely worth taking a peek at. Admittedly it’s a couple years old so some of the features have changed a bit but most of it is still valid and accurate.

Now What …

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By:searchengineland.com

There was a time in social media, just as in search engine optimization (SEO), when everything was only about getting to the front page. Little attention was paid to what happened after you got there and for a while it seemed as if you could do it in your sleep. Over the last year social media has evolved and become a more common form of online marketing and link building.

With that evolution, it has become more difficult to push your content to the front page of top social communities, and the different communities’ algorithms have taken into account the various tricks and methods previously used. Marketers are also taking more time to evaluate and determine the value of success in social media.

Whether you are looking for increased RSS subscriptions, more page views and traffic, or inbound links, it is time to start looking at a real strategy for success with social media marketing.

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Posted By Tapan Bhat,
Website: http://ycorpblog.com/

We’re excited to introduce Yahoo! Buzz, a new way to for you to tell us (and the world) what you think is cool, and in the process help make Yahoo.com, the favorite Internet starting point, even better. Yahoo! Buzz uncovers the most interesting and relevant content from websites across the Internet to bring more buzz-worthy stories to the homepage of Yahoo!.

How does this work? You cast your vote on the most interesting Web stories, images or videos about anything and everything – from a late-breaking political story on a major news site, to the coolest photo of the lunar eclipse, to a shocking celebrity gossip blog post that shouldn’t be missed. The best part is that the stories with the highest Buzz Scores – determined by combining your votes with organic search popularity rankings – may be featured on the Yahoo! homepage, giving you the power to influence what millions of people see on Yahoo!.

So whether its the latest Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul banter, the best dressed from the Oscar’s, or a new global report on climate change, tell us what you think is the best of the best on the Web. Make sure to look out for the “Buzz-Up” badges all over Yahoo! and across sites on the Web, or go to buzz.yahoo.com and browse through thousands of stories to vote for your favorites.

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Web 2.0 can be summarised as interaction, while web 3.0 is about recommendation and personalisation. But how will the onset of a more personalised web impact business? David Bain reviews web 3.0 as a marketing medium.

(live-PR.com) - According to Jemima Kiss, while web 2.0 can be summarised as interaction, web 3.0 is about recommendation and personalisation. But how will the onset of a more personalised web impact business?

David Bain, founder of Internet marketing strategy specialists Purple Internet Marketing thinks he knows the answer.

“Services like Google Gadgets and Facebook Applications are already allowing users to enjoy a highly personalised web experience. There are already nearly 40,000 Google Gadgets and 15,000 Facebook Applications.

“What these tools allow people to do is add additional functionality and relevance to their personalised Google home page or Facebook profile.

“Whatever your preferences, you’re bound to find at least one widget that improves the quality of your online experience.”

This is where business can take advantage of web 3.0. By offering their own Google Gadget or Facebook Application, businesses can target potential consumers long before any purchase decision has been made. This is what Bain refers to as MyPage Marketing.

“MyPage Marketing occurs when users decide to place a widget on their personalised web page which benefits them – but also exposes them to subtle advertising from the widget developer.

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