The Resource Linkbait - Using Lists to Build Authority, Traffic and Links to your Website.

Do you want more traffic and links to your website? Perhaps you’ve got a lucrative affiliate program that you’ll like to promote. Or maybe you just want to increase the number of readers for your new blog or boost it’s reputation in a specific niche.

Here’s a solution. Try creating an “Ultimate Collection or Guide” for a specific topic. If you can provide a comprehensive list of a large collection of resources, people will link to and visit your website.

Why? Because sharing a list of resources provides convenience for readers, who generally crave for a one-pager that spits out all there is to know about a certain topic.

Resource list are time-savers and are known to have a history of repeat traffic.

If you’re a social media marketer or copywriter, you’ll probably already know that everyone loves a list that offers an astonishing, enriching and gratifying collection of chewable information bits.

This type of list is a Resource Linkbait, or a tactic that builds links, traffic and authority through the compilation of various resources on a single blog post or web page.

The term linkbait indicates that one intentionally creates this list of resources with the explicit aim of increasing incoming traffic, links and site authority. This differentiates it from the basic non user-friendly resource page or directory that offers a broad range of unorganized links and text.

While it might be a beneficial service to your readers or community, the Resource Linkbait can also lead to certain favorable results for your website. By creating an extensive collection of notable resources within a list, you are actually showcasing the breadth and depth of your knowledge within your niche.

You’ll get respect for your efforts and resourcefulness while other bloggers might link to you because your specific post has become a definitive guide/introduction to a specific topic.

SEOmoz’s excellent beginner’s guide to building a traffic-worthy site offers the following advice on creating documents that can serve as one-stop resources:

If you can provide a single article or resource that provides every aspect of what a potential visitor or searcher might be seeking, your chances for success in SEO go up. An “all-in-one” resource can provide more opportunities than a single subject resource in many cases.

Don’t be too broad as you attempt to execute this kind of content creation - it’s still important to keep a narrow focus when you create your piece.

In the context of our discussion, this refers to creating a definitive resource page instead of spreading out your information and links over several webpages.

SEOmoz also suggests that one great page is worth a thousand pages:

While hundreds or dozens of on-topic pages that cover sections of an industry are valuable to a website’s growth, it is actually far better to invest a significant amount of time and energy producing a few articles/resources of truly exceptional quality.

To create documents that become “industry standard” on the web and are pointed to time after time as the “source” for further investigations, claims, documents, etc. is to truly succeed in the rankings battle. The value of “owning” this traffic and link source far outweighs a myriad of articles that are rarely read or linked to.

Examples of Successful Resource Linkbaits

A very good example of a resource linkbait is Copyblogger’s Ultimate Guide on how to attract links and traffic. Note how Brian Clark writes a short introduction and then includes his perspective on the topic. The list is also evenly spaced out and the names of the original blogs and their post titles are clearly stated.

By including this list of articles, Clark has created a positive association between his blog, the topic of traffic/link building and the other blogs listed in his article, all of whom are reputable blogs in their field.

He also sent some traffic and link value to the blogs in question, which is always a very nice way to deepen relationships with other bloggers.

Another example that has succeeded in attracting a large variety of incoming links and continual traffic is Smashing Magazine’s list of 83 Beautiful Wordpress Themes You (Probably) Never Seen.

The sheer number of included themes and screen shots makes this specific post a monster magnet for attracting longterm traffic and incoming links. Take a look at the comments (252 of them at this moment) and you’ll notice that most of them are trackbacks. Operation Resource Linkbait = Success!

Incidentally, Smashing Magazine is one of the few blogs out there that have made Resource Linkbaits the core of their content. All, and I do mean ALL of their blog posts are huge collections of resources from all over the internet and are perfect examples of how a Resource Linkbait should be executed.

Why I like using the Resource Linkbait

The ease of creating a Resource Linkbait is one of the main reasons why I like to use it occasionally. I usually rely on this technique when I’ve run out of ideas or don’t have the energy/time to come up with an extensive article on any topic.

There’s not much to write because you’ll only need to put down links to specific posts or articles and include a spiffy introduction. The Resource Linkbait will be very easy to formulate if you regularly bookmark interesting webpages that you come across. I usually go through my bookmarks on del.icio.us and pick out some stuff that I have tagged in similar categories.

You don’t have to spend hours writing and rewriting a long article or researching on a specific subject. All the work has already been done and you really just need to pick and choose what goes on the list.

Benefits of the Resource Linkbait

Let’s recap some of the benefits involved in the creating a resource linkbait:

• You’ll increase general awareness of your blog. Sending out a whole bunch of links notifies other bloggers and their readers of your existence.




• You’ll gain authority by association. Compiling a list of articles reveals the breadth and depth of your knowledge in your blog niche.




• You are likely to receive links and traffic if your resource is fairly comprehensive, well-organized and relevant.




• You are making other bloggers your friend. By sending traffic and link out to others, you’re creating stronger relationships with bloggers in your niche.

Pointers on Creating a Kickass Resource Linkbait

• No excessive ads please. You don’t want people to think that you’re creating the list to earn extra ad revenue.




• Short introductions work well. Write a few short paragraphs to reveal your knowledge/perspective on the topic




• Categorize. A well compartmentalized list is easy to read and navigate.




• Use Descriptions. Writing one-liner descriptions for each resource adds a lot of value for your readers, who will definitely appreciate the extra effort.




• Proofread your copy. Check grammar and spelling while making sure that links and their titles are accurate.




• Self-promote with caution. Try not to include more than two of your own articles in your resource list

Making Money from your Resource Linkbait

The only way to make money is to leverage off the traffic that might come from your article or resource. Here’s a sneaky ploy: Try to include your best article within the resource list.

It is important to note that what you include should be highly relevant to the topic in question. For example, if you’re creating a resource list of the best articles on blog monetization, your own article should revolve around the similar topic of monetizing a blog.

Try using an article that has affiliate links, which allow you to earn commissions for a specific program. However, you will need to ensure that the article is well-written and has great content because you’re going to be putting it up against a large number of excellent posts that are terribly attractive.

This strategy might also not work for most topics. For example, there aren’t going to be many/any affiliate programs you can use for subjects like dog training, photography hacks or web design tools.

Other than the above method, you’ll probably also earn money indirectly from the usual long term benefits of having strong and popular content:

Successful Attractive Content = Increased Blog Exposure = More Blog Readers and Link Popularity = Increase in Traffic and PR = Increased Ad selling potential and earnings.

How can I get Started on Creating My Own Resource Linkbait?

Very easy. Sign up for an online bookmarking website (if you haven’t already) and save interesting websites you come across. Make sure to tag every website you save. I use something like ‘List A’ to save all the tags for one specific post or ‘List B‘ to tag all the websites for another post.

This keeps it simple because I don’t have to remember which specific tags I used and I can just call up all the articles I need by clicking on the appropriate tag.

You would have accumulated a large number of tags over time and you can stop when you feel that you have an adequate amount. After which you create a new blog post or web page and include each link you’ve saved as a resource. Write an introduction and publish it. Give it a initial push by telling your friends and other bloggers about your list. Voila! That’s about all you need to do.

This concludes the mini-tutorial on creating a Resource Linkbait. Now get out there and come up with something brilliant or link worthy so we can all gawk at your efforts and send some traffic your way.

You might also like to read my previous article about how freebaiting can get you all the traffic and links you’ve ever wanted.