Lessons in Linkbait

Lessons in LinkbaitHannah Smith - Distilled @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

Hannah SmithDistilledhannah.smith@distilled.netwww..distilled.netwww.seo-chicks.comhttp://twitter.com/#!/hannah_bo_banna @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

What is Linkbait?Content which people *want* to share and link to… @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

316 Linking Root Domainshttp://www.thomson.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/infographic/interactive-music-map/index.html @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

450 Linking Root Domains http://www.27bslash6.com/overdue.html @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

1767 Linking Root Domains http://www.seomoz.org/beginners-guide-to-seo/how-search-engines-operate @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

Butfor every piece of content that succeedsthere are hundreds that remain... @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

unseen, unshared and unlinked to  @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

So, before you begin…• Make sure that your boss (or your client) know that there are risks• Manage their expectations• Set metrics ahead of time so you know what ‘success’ looks like @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

The Process• Define your audience• Go & find them• Brainstorm Ideas• Filter Ideas• Pick the form for your content• Pre-Outreach• Create• Outreach & follow up @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

Define your audience• Think ‘Who’ not ‘What’• ‘What’ you create depends on ‘who’ you want to attract links and social shares from @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

Find Real-Life Examples• What do these people like?• What do these people hate?• What do they already link to and share? @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

Brainstorm• Brief people before the brainstorm so they come with ideas• Keep the meeting short• Just capture all the ideas• Don’t sit and argue their merits @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

Filter your IdeasKey Questions:• Will this appeal to my target audience?• Can I get the data I need?• Do I have enough time / resource to deliver this properly @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

Think about Shelf-Life – Don’t get trapped… @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

‘Current’ v ‘Evergreen’ Content• Something that’s very current might do really well…• But if it doesn’t, then you’re stuck• Evergreen content can be outreached for longer – probably increasing your chances of success @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

Are wedone with the filtering, now? @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

No not yet  @hannah_bo_bannahannah.smith@distilled.net

Filtering ChecklistIs this idea…• Simple – Is your idea easy to communicate & understand? – Can you explain it in a tweet?• Unexpected• Concrete – Real, definite rather than abstract• Emotional – Will anyone care?• Credible – Is your data good enough?http://www.distilled.net/blog/seo/link-building-seo/how-to-make-sticky-content/Inspired by ‘Made to Stick’ by Chip & Dan Heath @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

Obtaining Credible Data… @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

Trusted Data• If data is central to your story & want to get links from news outlets make sure you use a trusted data source e.g. – http://www.spaghettiopendata.org/dati – http://www.linkedopendata.it/ – http://www.dati.gov.it/ricerca_datasetThanks for these links Gianluca Fiorelli - @gfiorelli1! @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

Surveys Don’t Always Cut It• Need at least 1000 respondents• Data isn’t robust / representative• Lots of people won’t cover stories based on survey data @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

So we’ve picked out an idea… @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

Now pick the format• What’s the best way of telling this story?• What does your audience like? @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

Yay! Now we’ve got our idea & we know what we’re going to create… @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

Stop! @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

Pre-Outreach• Reach out to a few contacts and see if they like the sound of your idea• If they don’t respond positively – do something else @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

But if they *like* it… @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

Now you can Create it! @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

We’ve just made something beautiful.We can sit back & relax now, right? @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

No. @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

Promote your Linkbait• Outreach to journalists / bloggers etc• Syndicate a press release• Guest post• Seed to influential social contacts• Follow up with those who haven’t linked to you as the source @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

Now you can relax @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

Key TakeawaysDon’t forget the process…• Figure out what success looks like• Set targets• Define your audience• Go & find them• Brainstorm Ideas• Filter Ideas• Pick the form for your content• Pre-Outreach• Create• Outreach & follow up• Relax (!) @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

Key TakeawaysCheck that your idea is…• Simple• Unexpected• Concrete• Credible• Emotional @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

Key Takeaways• Outreach like your life depended on it! @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

Thank you! @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

Hannah SmithDistilledhannah.smith@distilled.netwww..distilled.netwww.seo-chicks.comhttp://twitter.com/#!/hannah_bo_banna @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

Image credits• It’s a trap! - http://www.flickr.com/photos/koisny/5597404306/sizes/z/in/photostream/• Credible data - http://www.flickr.com/photos/bfishadow/4930961643/sizes/z/in/photostream/• Idea - http://www.flickr.com/photos/evilpeach/2697408894/sizes/z/in/photostream/• Stop - http://www.flickr.com/photos/aquilaonline/5912499536/sizes/z/in/photostream/• Create it - http://www.flickr.com/photos/tim_norris/2377652663/sizes/z/in/photostream/• No - http://www.flickr.com/photos/kwl/4493219149/sizes/z/in/set-72157625725205643/• Relax - http://www.flickr.com/photos/kwl/3875936992/sizes/z/in/set-72157605226236207/• Get a room - http://www.flickr.com/photos/kwl/5405412150/sizes/z/in/set-72157623544311963/ @hannah_bo_banna hannah.smith@distilled.net

Lessons in Linkbait

by Hannah Smith

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