Social media optimization (SMO) has become a must-do for Webmasters who want to build up links and snag more traffic--but in the quest to create linkbait, some site owners are doing things that
actually drive visitors away. Li Evans lists six reasons why Stumblers, Diggers and other social media darlings will ignore your site, starting with the battle between ads and content.
Be careful about drawing users in to a landing page that's too ad-heavy--and try not to make them scroll below the fold to get to the content. Your linkbait (i.e. the article title, blog post or
cool YouTube video) caught them, but make sure that the content is really satisfying and easy to find--or they'll just hit the back button.
Social media-philes can also smell duplicate content a mile away, so make sure that the bait you use is actually your own. Sometimes you can post the same top 10 list, juicy bit of industry gossip or viral video--but only if you can truly add to the existing discussion with new information or a strong, possibly contrasting POV. Evans also says that pages that take too long to load will drive visitors away, before they get a chance to decide whether to give your site a thumbs up or down.