How to Make Viral Linkbaits Work: Four Characteristics of Success

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.

A Case Study of a Viral Linkbait: A Transformer Quiz

Which Transformer are you? is a short quiz I’ve come across today while reading the news at Digg. After I took the quiz I decided to do a quick writeup on the website, because I felt it exemplified the qualities needed for a good linkbait.

The website itself is rather new; a look at Google’s cache shows that as of the 3rd of August, Funflip.com was still a parked domain at Godaddy. The quiz was perhaps developed to acquire some quick links and authority for the domain.

Here are some points I’ve noticed:

• No Branding. The actual purpose of the site is unknown as the site homepage just shows the transformer quiz and nothing else. There are no other branding elements available and aside from the incongruent domain name, the linkbait (quiz) is natural enough to attract participation.




• Use of a Popular Topic. The Transformers movies was recently released in the cinemas and the quiz is riding on the buzz still generated by it. People are more likely to link to the quiz if the topic is still fresh and interesting.




• Provides Linking Options. The last page of the quiz provides some html codes and quiz badges you can grab and put up on on other websites or forums. The badges automatically link back to the quiz homepage.

  A simple link is provided for visitors to grab for IM or email although I think an email form would have been much better.

Possible Points for Improvement

I would put up some popular bookmarking buttons to encourage users to bookmark the homepage. Putting an visible link back to the start of the quiz would be great as well because some visitors might want to retake it.

I would also recommend putting up an opt-in email form to encourage subscriptions for any specific newsletter or notification list. This way you’re not only getting links but also making full else of the traffic you get. This might not work for this particular Transformer’s quiz but will be applicable for other scenarios.

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