Now if you clicked on this article hoping to find out what number 5 is, I’m terribly sorry but you have been duped. However, this is also great news as you are just the person I was looking for (in which case I take my apology back!). The intention of this article is to make people aware of linkbait and to prevent them from ever falling for them again.
Now upon doing research on the topic I was shocked to find that many consider linkbait to be an actual progression of a facet of Content Marketing. I imagine the train of thought goes something like this: “Everyone clicks on our linkbait articles therefore they must be great!” in fact the majority of ‘reputable’ sources on the topic were trying to lead me down the path of evil with promises of virality and amazing success. Almost as amazing as number 5 on my ‘list’! ;) I could liken this experience to being invited by the medieval torture society for a free workshop on how to get the most out of your torture rack.
Every day hundreds of thousands of innocent internet users are tricked into clicking on soul stealing linkbait. The cruelty lies in the nature of the title, which sneakily pokes at our uncontrollable curiosity. The technique is inspired by newspaper headlines whereby just enough crucial info is omitted to make your skin crawl in anticipation of what the possibilities could be. Sprinkle in a little ALL CAPS, add a dash of cleavage and you’re ready to serve! Now it’s one thing to trick someone, but to manipulate and abuse the most basic of human nature is just on a Stalin level of evil. It’s comparable to playing fetch with a dog over the edge of a cliff.
Now the issue is this. Reminiscent of the ‘Black Hat SEO’ days there will be many who will take this practice seriously, and may even gain positive results from it. Much like the ‘Black Hat SEO’ days the victory will be short lived as people become more and more aware of this. However unlike the ‘Black Hat SEO’ days the damage you’re doing to your credibility is significantly greater, why? ‘Cause Google forgives and forgets, but people do not! At least not when it comes to anything internet related where credibility is won and lost at the bat of an eyelid.
We can blame it on the nature of the internet and how our collective attention span has shortened considerably coupled with the sheer frequency of content produced on a daily basis, hence the need for enticing titles. We can also blame it on ourselves for falling for this trick (more than we like to admit). Perhaps this is just the natural progression of this type of content. Speculation aside, one thing is for sure. We need to put a stop to this! So join me in spreading the word and together we can put an end to linkbait as we know it!
Sound Idea Digital is a full service digital agency | www.soundidea.co.za
Julian Karstel is a Digital Marketing Consultant for Sound Idea Digital | Julian@soundidea.co.za
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