• Search Engine Journal, Tuesday, October 23, 2007 1:30 PM

At last week's SMX Social Media conference in New York, linkbait (and how to create and harness it) was the focus of a number of conversations and panel discussions. But many search marketers have a vague idea of what linkbait is, and an even vaguer view of how to use it.

"Linkbait is any sort of content that you create with the intentions of making it virally popular." So says Eric Lander, associate editor of Search Engine Journal. Now that the definition is out of the way, how does someone go about getting those free, juicy inbound links to their site?

First, it takes research into what category-specific articles and blogs have "gone hot" at the most popular social media sites (Lander recommends Digg, but there are many others). So if a client sells pies, then finding out what pie-crazy Digg users are "digging" is key. Creating original and interesting content is next, followed by being actively involved in the community. Lander's piece goes into all three tips in detail, providing links for further information, and summing up a number of SMX Social Media panels in the process.

Read the whole story at Search Engine Journal »