What Is Link Bait? 6 Real-World Examples + Link Bait Ideas

What Is Link Bait?

Link bait is contented that attracts backlinks from different websites. People people privation to nexus to contented that is unique, useful, captivating, oregon provocative. 

Common nexus bait formats see probe reports, arguable adept takes, and infographics.

Here’s wherefore nexus bait works. And however to make it.

Why Does Link Bait Work?

Link bait works due to the fact that it solves a problem, evokes an affectional response, oregon offers unsocial insights that compels radical to stock oregon nexus to your content.

Effective nexus bait can make hundreds oregon adjacent thousands of high-quality backlinks (links to your tract from reputable oregon reliable websites).

High-quality backlinks awesome authorization to hunt engines, which tin assistance your contented fertile amended successful search motor results pages (SERPs). 

For example, this organic click-through complaint report has 25.7K backlinks from 6.7K referring domains, according to Backlink Analytics.

And ranks for a full of 857 keywords. It ranks successful the apical 10 for 32 applicable ​​keywords, according to Organic Research.

The champion part?

After you make nexus bait, it tin pull shares and links for years to come. Which means nexus bait tin nutrient exponential returns with minimal other effort.

6 Link Bait Examples: Successful Real-World Campaigns

Here are six examples of nexus bait that efficaciously pull backlinks. 

1. Semrush’s Most-Visited Website Study

Semrush’s Top 100: The Most-Visited Websites successful the US study analyzes fashionable sites by industry.

It has astir 4,000 backlinks from 787 referring domains, according to Backlink Analytics.

Why is it truthful successful?

Because studies, surveys, and statistic fulfill users’ curiosity and contiguous insights worthy sharing.

Semrush updates this survey regularly, which maintains its link-earning imaginable arsenic an evergreen piece of nexus bait. 

2. IDRlabs’ Food Disgust Test

IDRlabs’s Food Disgust Test asks the idiosyncratic to fertile their level of statement with 32 food-related statements.

At the end, it reveals which nutrient triggers the idiosyncratic is astir delicate to.

This leafage has earned astir 1,400 backlinks from adjacent to 200 referring domains.

Fun, interactive tests promote radical to larn astir themselves and stock results. Publishers indispensable nexus to the trial if they privation their audiences to effort it. Which makes this trial almighty nexus bait. 

3. The Points Guy’s Monthly Valuations

The Points Guy’s monthly valuations study details however overmuch 1 constituent oregon mile is worthy crossed assorted recognition cards and loyalty programs.

This leafage has astir 8K backlinks from 246 referring domains.

What makes this nexus bait truthful effective?

It solves a symptom constituent for users by presenting updated and consolidated information. Many publishers nexus to it alternatively of gathering and explaining the information themselves. 

4. JustPark’s Reaction Time Test

JustPark’s absorption clip test compares users’ effect speeds with the mean results for antithetic property groups. 

The crippled has astir 4,400 backlinks from 641 referring domains.

It appears successful reputable publications similar the Daily Mail and Metro.

Similar to tests and quizzes, games are fun, shareable, and informative, making them beardown nexus bait. 

5. 99designs’s Fundamentals of Color Theory

99designs’s colour mentation guide covers important colour concepts, similar colour mixing models and the colour wheel.

This usher has earned astir 3,100 backlinks from 663 referring domains.

It organizes analyzable accusation intelligibly and uses graphics to simplify ideas. 

Like this 1 astir the differences among hue, shade, tint, and tone:

Coupling a elaborate mentation of colour mentation with visuals makes 99designs’s colour mentation usher 1 of the champion resources connected this subject.

So if publishers privation to notation colour mentation without explaining it successful depth, they tin nexus to this usher to supply their audiences with a top-notch explainer.

6. Pomofocus’s Pomodoro Timer 

Pomofocus’s Pomodoro Timer helps users travel the 25-minute word, 5-minute interruption Pomodoro technique.

This nexus bait instrumentality has earned astir 152,000 backlinks from astir 4,600 referring domains.

Pomofocus’s timer is simply a elemental tool. But it is incredibly effectual successful attracting backlinks due to the fact that it:

• Is topical: This instrumentality takes vantage of the fashionable Pomodoro technique
• Satisfies a unsocial need: The instrumentality provides a convenient solution for radical who privation to usage the Pomodoro method without manually adjusting their timer
• Appeals to a wide audience: Nearly anyone tin usage the tool
• Is much engaging than a regular alarm: The tool’s elemental but aesthetically pleasing plan gives it a blase look. Which makes users consciousness bully erstwhile utilizing it and linking to it.

How to Create Link Bait

Consider these tips erstwhile creating nexus bait. Combine aggregate tactics to gain much backlinks from 1 portion of content:

Create Genuinely Useful Content

Focus connected contented that solves symptom points oregon answers pressing questions. 

Types of utile contented include:

• Free tools that assistance users person metrics, get answers to questions, make nonfiction ideas, and more. Especially if your instrumentality is innovative oregon executed amended than the competition.
• Comprehensive high-quality guides that are the definitive assets connected a subject, truthful that publishers tin nexus to them alternatively of explaining the taxable successful item themselves
• Unique how-to guides that locomotion readers done a process utilizing caller approaches and actionable proposal they won’t find elsewhere

Semrush’s AI Google Business Profile Description Generator is an illustration of a escaped tool:

While Backlinko’s Reverse Outreach backlink strategy is an illustration of a unsocial how-to usher that provides readers with a caller approach. 

Create Useful Content for Publishers

Target publishers by offering credible sources oregon highlighting their work.

In this context, publishers are high-traffic sites that nutrient accordant content, making them perfect targets for nexus bait to gain high-authority backlinks and boost rankings.

Possible strategies include:

• Studies, surveys, or analyses publishers tin cite
• Interviews with the steadfast to item their accomplishments. The steadfast whitethorn past nexus to the interrogation to amusement it off.
• Round-ups of insightful views from aggregate publishers, wherever the steadfast whitethorn nexus to your portion to promote their view
• Responses that stock your position connected a topic. Publishers whitethorn privation to measurement successful connected the matter, and nexus to your effect portion successful the process.

For example, the BBC published a effect portion asserting that showering each time is unnecessary:

The Palm Beach Post past wrote a portion reacting—and linking—to the BBC’s article.

Use Compelling Visuals

Use appealing visuals that simplify analyzable concepts oregon elicit an emotion.

Some ideas for nexus bait visuals are:

• Infographics that harvester imagery, data, and substance to archer a communicative oregon exemplify a concept
• Cheat sheets and checklists that distill elaborate accusation into a concise ocular summary
• Data visualizations assistance users recognize analyzable ideas quickly

Semrush’s broad SEO checklist is an illustration of a ocular portion that attracts backlinks.

Create Interactive Content

Produce interactive contented that changes based connected idiosyncratic engagement. Some examples of interactive contented include:

• Games that connection users amusive experiences
• Tests that situation users’ abilities, skills, oregon knowledge
• Quizzes that assistance users larn astir themselves

A recognition paper quiz is an illustration of interactive content. Users instrumentality the quiz to find applicable fiscal products.

Start a Conversation

Start a speech by sharing your instrumentality connected arguable topics oregon becoming a thought leader connected a taxable to spark discussions that others respond and nexus to.

Content pieces that are speech starters include:

• Unique arguments that intrigue readers and springiness publishers thing to speech about. Focus connected evergreen topics to support your contented perpetually link-worthy.
• Studies that springiness publishers thing to notation oregon adjacent respond to. Especially if your probe is connected an antithetic taxable oregon uncovers thing surprising, controversial, oregon unconventional.

Semrush’s “How Do People Search for Movies”? survey focuses connected a caller taxable that encourages publishers to respond and nexus back. 

Evoke Emotions

Publish contented that triggers affectional responses and encourages links: 

• Narratives that tell stories to hook readers and assistance them subordinate to the discussion
• Exposés that uncover shocking, controversial, oregon antecedently chartless information

For instance, this exposé of a Google Search API leak shared the brand’s findings from the leaked documents:

Uncover More Creative Link Bait Ideas

Use these tips for uncovering originative nexus bait ideas:

• Act connected idiosyncratic feedback: Build a instrumentality oregon constitute a usher based connected assemblage suggestions and questions
• Monitor trending societal media content: Keep a pulse connected viral trends that could animate compelling content 
• Analyze your competitors’ most-linked content: Identify rival pages with galore backlinks and make akin oregon improved versions contented with galore backlinks

Semrush’s Backlink Analytics instrumentality tin place rival contented with the astir backlinks.

To usage it, unfastened the tool, participate 1 of your competitors’ domains, and click “Analyze.”

Select “Indexed Pages.”

You’ll spot a study of your competitor’s most-linked-to pages. And each page’s fig of referring domains.

Evaluate wherefore these pages are bringing successful galore backlinks. For example, they whitethorn connection invaluable information, appealing visuals, oregon interactive elements.

Then, make nexus bait similar—or adjacent superior—to these pages.

Find Outreach Opportunities for Your Link Bait

Promote your contented to maximize backlinks. Publishers volition apt admit the accidental to nexus to invaluable caller resources sooner alternatively than waiting to observe them later. 

And you don’t person to hold for your contented to beryllium discovered done hunt earlier seeing your archetypal backlink. 

Here’s however to find sites for outreach opportunities. 

Research Sites successful Your Niche

Look for different sites covering akin topics. Finding these sites tin beryllium arsenic elemental arsenic searching for a connection oregon operation related to your niche and seeing which sites are displayed.

For example, if you tally a favored blog, look up akin sites by Googling “pet blog” oregon “puppy care.”

For much targeted research, usage Semrush’s Link Building Tool to look for sites successful your niche that nexus to your competitors. They whitethorn beryllium unfastened to linking to your content, too.

Go to the instrumentality and commencement a caller tract task for your domain. Enter your apical keywords and competitors. 

Then, click “Start Link Building.”

After the instrumentality is done compiling prospects, spell to the “Prospects” tab for a database of imaginable brands to scope retired to.

You’ll spot assorted metrics for each tract similar “URL Type,” “Authority Score,” and “Rating.”

Sites rated 4 oregon higher whitethorn beryllium worthy reaching retired to.

See Who’s Linking to Competing Content

Identify sites linking to pages that vie with your nexus bait. In Backlink Analytics, participate the competitor’s URL and click “Analyze.”

Then, click the “Referring Domains” tab.

Scroll to find a afloat study of the domains linking to the competing content.

Export this study for a speedy database of outreach opportunities.

Track Your Link Bait Campaigns 

Monitor your nexus bait campaigns to spot which contented generates much high-quality backlinks and referral traffic.

Use that penetration to replicate palmy campaigns and refine underperformers.

Semrush’s Backlink Audit tracks your site’s backlinks, fig of referring domains and backlink quality.

Launch the instrumentality and spell done its configuration steps. Then, click “Start Backlink Audit.”

When the audit is complete, you’ll get a study that includes your site’s referring domain and backlink numbers.

Then, power to the “Audit” tab for a broad breakdown of your backlinks. Including the URLs linking to you, the anchor text used, and the pages they nexus to.

You’ll besides spot each referring domain’s Authority Score, which is simply a Semrush metric that measures a site’s reputability. Backlinks from sites with higher Authority Scores thin to beryllium higher quality.

Use the study to find which nexus bait campaigns are getting you high-quality backlinks. Double-down connected the contented types and outreach strategies moving successful your favor. And proceed to physique relationships with authoritative sites successful your niche. 

Try Backlink Audit now: