Stream of consciousness SEO

bait

Yeah, so it’s the season to head into the wilds for a spot of fishing … the whitebait are running and I am guessing their bigger cousins, the salmon are probably out there feeling frisky too.

So what do you need for a good day out on the water?

First thing is to get your bait sorted.

And that’s a very round about way to getting to my topic for this post – developing “link bait” - otherwise known as “content so awesome that other sites will fall over themselves to link to it and recommend to their friends”.

Developing material that makes people want to link to you is really what the success of the internet and virtually all forms of social media is built on – the very human desire to share cool stuff with our friends. Because what’s the point of coming across something amazing, or ROFL hilarious, or inspiring, or just downright useful – if you can’t then share it with someone else. Half the pleasure lies in being able to talk about those discoveries with your friends – argue about them sometimes, send them on to others to share as well so you can all talk about it and have a laugh or whatever response is most appropriate (or inappropriate in some cases).

We have all seen those YouTube videos that go viral (if you haven’t then you need to be better connected) … and we have all been the recipients (and sometimes the senders on) of those emails that demand to be sent on, in order that you either receive great blessings, or avoid great calamity.

In their own ways, these are the same things as link bait, except somewhere out there in the world of SEO, someone coined a phrase that is less than flattering – but still pretty apt.

So … keep in mind when you are developing content that you really hope will draw people into your site – not only does it have to be really “share worthy” in its own right, not appear to be spam if people choose to pass it on, and ideally be original – you also may need to invest a little time in sharing the love yourself, to make sure it gets the attention you think it deserves.

Don’t be afraid to put it out there – first and foremost, test it in the communities you hang out in and see what they think … if the response is positive, then start spreading the love.

Use your social media networks – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, delicious, YouTube and anywhere else you hang out, invite people to have a look and cross your fingers that they like it enough to pass it on or link to it from their blogs and websites. The more compelling it is, the most likely this is to happen.

So spend most of your time thinking and making it great, before you invest in spreading the word.

Then of course, if you get a good result, the hardest thing is coming up with a sequel that matches its success, or even better, outstrips it! Of course, if your first effort is already out there working for you, your second can piggyback on that groundwork to some extent … if you have a hit YouTube video, chances are that any other videos you post to your channel will also get some attention.

But don’t rest on your laurels – make sure you keep the standards high, and reward the people who were interested enough to come and have a look.

Before you know it, you and your creations could be an “overnight success” – we’ve all seen it happen, so we know it’s possible.

Good luck and happy fishing!

Karen