What Is Link Bait?

Link bait is content that attracts backlinks from other websites. People naturally want to link to content that is unique, useful, captivating, or provocative.

Common link bait formats include research reports, controversial expert takes, and infographics.

Here’s why link bait works. And how to create it.

Why Does Link Bait Work?

Link bait works because it solves a problem, evokes an emotional response, or offers unique insights that compels people to share or link to your content.

Effective link bait can generate hundreds or even thousands of high-quality backlinks (links to your site from reputable or reliable websites).

High-quality backlinks signal authority to search engines, which can help your content rank better in search engine results pages (SERPs).

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

And ranks for a total of 857 keywords. It ranks in the top 10 for 32 relevant ​​keywords, according to Organic Rankings.

The best part?

After you create link bait, it can attract shares and links for years to come. Which means link bait can produce exponential returns with minimal extra effort.

6 Link Bait Examples: Successful Real-World Campaigns

Here are six examples of link bait that effectively attract backlinks.

1. Semrush’s Most-Visited Website Study

Semrush’s Top 100: The Most-Visited Websites in the US report analyzes popular sites by industry.

It has almost 4,000 backlinks from 787 referring domains, according to the backlink tool.

Why is it so successful?

Because studies, surveys, and statistics satisfy users’ curiosity and present insights worth sharing.

Semrush updates this study regularly, which maintains its link-earning potential as an evergreen piece of link bait.

2. IDRlabs’ Food Disgust Test

IDRlabs’s Food Disgust Test asks the user to rank their level of agreement with 32 food-related statements.

At the end, it reveals which food triggers the user is most sensitive to.

This page has earned around 1,400 backlinks from close to 200 referring domains.

Fun, interactive tests encourage people to learn about themselves and share results. Publishers must link to the test if they want their audiences to try it. Which makes this test powerful link bait.

3. The Points Guy’s Monthly Valuations

The Points Guy’s monthly valuations report details how much one point or mile is worth across various credit cards and loyalty programs.

This page has around 8K backlinks from 246 referring domains.

What makes this link bait so effective?

It solves a pain point for users by presenting updated and consolidated information. Many publishers link to it instead of gathering and explaining the data themselves.

4. JustPark’s Reaction Time Test

JustPark’s reaction time test compares users’ response speeds with the average results for different age groups.

The game has around 4,400 backlinks from 641 referring domains.

It appears in reputable publications like the Daily Mail and Metro.

Similar to tests and quizzes, games are fun, shareable, and informative, making them strong link bait.

5. 99designs’s Fundamentals of Color Theory

99designs’s color theory guide covers important color concepts, like color mixing models and the color wheel.

This guide has earned around 3,100 backlinks from 663 referring domains.

It organizes complex information clearly and uses graphics to simplify ideas.

Like this one about the differences among hue, shade, tint, and tone:

Coupling a detailed explanation of color theory with visuals makes 99designs’s color theory guide one of the best resources on this subject.

So if publishers want to mention color theory without explaining it in depth, they can link to this guide to provide their audiences with a top-notch explainer.

6. Pomofocus’s Pomodoro Timer

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

This link bait tool has earned around 152,000 backlinks from approximately 4,600 referring domains.

Pomofocus’s timer is a simple tool. But it is incredibly effective in attracting backlinks because it:

• Is topical: This tool takes advantage of the popular Pomodoro technique
• Satisfies a unique need: The tool provides a convenient solution for people who want to use the Pomodoro technique without manually adjusting their timer
• Appeals to a wide audience: Nearly anyone can use the tool
• Is more engaging than a regular alarm: The tool’s simple but aesthetically pleasing design gives it a sophisticated look. Which makes users feel good when using it and linking to it.

How to Create Link Bait

Consider these tips when creating link bait. Combine multiple tactics to earn more backlinks from one piece of content:

Create Genuinely Useful Content

Focus on content that solves pain points or answers pressing questions.

Types of useful content include:

• Free tools that help users convert metrics, get answers to questions, generate article ideas, and more. Especially if your tool is innovative or executed better than the competition.
• Comprehensive high-quality guides that are the definitive resource on a subject, so that publishers can link to them instead of explaining the subject in detail themselves
• Unique how-to guides that walk readers through a process using novel approaches and actionable advice they won’t find elsewhere

Semrush’s AI Google Business Profile Description Generator is an example of a free tool:

While Backlinko’s Reverse Outreach backlink strategy is an example of a unique how-to guide that provides readers with a novel approach.

Create Useful Content for Publishers

Target publishers by offering credible sources or highlighting their work.

In this context, publishers are high-traffic sites that produce consistent content, making them ideal targets for link bait to earn high-authority backlinks and boost rankings.

Possible strategies include:

• Studies, surveys, or analyses publishers can cite
• Interviews with the publisher to highlight their accomplishments. The publisher may then link to the interview to show it off.
• Round-ups of insightful views from multiple publishers, where the publisher may link to your piece to promote their view
• Responses that share your perspective on a topic. Publishers may want to weigh in on the matter, and link to your response piece in the process.

For example, the BBC published a response piece asserting that showering every day is unnecessary:

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

Use Compelling Visuals

Use appealing visuals that simplify complex concepts or elicit an emotion.

Some ideas for link bait visuals are:

• Infographics that combine imagery, data, and text to tell a story or illustrate a concept
• Cheat sheets and checklists that distill detailed information into a concise visual summary
• Data visualizations help users understand complicated ideas quickly

Semrush’s comprehensive SEO checklist is an example of a visual piece that attracts backlinks.

Create Interactive Content

Produce interactive content that changes based on user engagement. Some examples of interactive content include:

• Games that offer users fun experiences
• Tests that challenge users’ abilities, skills, or knowledge
• Quizzes that help users learn about themselves

A credit card quiz is an example of interactive content. Users take the quiz to find relevant financial products.

Start a Conversation

Start a conversation by sharing your take on controversial topics or becoming a thought leader on a subject to spark discussions that others respond and link to.

Content pieces that are conversation starters include:

• Unique arguments that intrigue readers and give publishers something to talk about. Focus on evergreen topics to keep your content perpetually link-worthy.
• Studies that give publishers something to reference or even respond to. Especially if your research is on an unusual topic or uncovers something surprising, controversial, or unconventional.

Semrush’s “How Do People Search for Movies”? study focuses on a novel topic that encourages publishers to respond and link back.

Evoke Emotions

Publish content that triggers emotional responses and encourages links:

• Narratives that tell stories to hook readers and help them relate to the discussion
• Exposés that reveal shocking, controversial, or previously unknown 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 creative link bait ideas:

• Act on user feedback: Build a tool or write a guide based on audience suggestions and questions
• Monitor trending social media content: Keep a pulse on viral trends that could inspire compelling content
• Analyze your competitors’ most-linked content: Identify competitor pages with many backlinks and create similar or improved versions content with many backlinks

Semrush Backlinks tool can identify competitor content with the most backlinks.

To use it, open the tool, enter one of your competitors’ domains, and click “Analyze.”

Select “Indexed Pages.”

You’ll see a report of your competitor’s most-linked-to pages. And each page’s number of referring domains.

Evaluate why these pages are bringing in many backlinks. For example, they may offer valuable information, appealing visuals, or interactive elements.

Then, create link bait similar—or even superior—to these pages.

Find Outreach Opportunities for Your Link Bait

Promote your content to maximize backlinks. Publishers will likely appreciate the chance to link to valuable new resources sooner rather than waiting to discover them later.

And you don’t have to wait for your content to be discovered through search before seeing your first backlink.

Here’s how to find sites for outreach opportunities.

Research Sites in Your Niche

Look for other sites covering similar topics. Finding these sites can be as simple as searching for a word or phrase related to your niche and seeing which sites are displayed.

For example, if you run a pet blog, look up similar sites by Googling “pet blog” or “puppy care.”

For more targeted research, use Semrush’s Link Building Tool to look for sites in your niche that link to your competitors. They may be open to linking to your content, too.

Go to the tool and start a new site project for your domain. Enter your top keywords and competitors.

Then, click “Start Link Building.”

After the tool is done compiling prospects, go to the “Prospects” tab for a list of potential brands to reach out to.

You’ll see various metrics for each site like “URL Type,” “Authority Score,” and “Rating.”

Sites rated four or higher may be worth reaching out to.

See Who’s Linking to Competing Content

Identify sites linking to pages that compete with your link bait. In Backlinks, enter the competitor’s URL and click “Analyze.”

Then, click the “Referring Domains” tab.

Scroll to find a full report of the domains linking to the competing content.

Export this report for a quick list of outreach opportunities.

Track Your Link Bait Campaigns

Monitor your link bait campaigns to see which content generates more high-quality backlinks and referral traffic.

Use that insight to replicate successful campaigns and refine underperformers.

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

Launch the tool and go through its configuration steps. Then, click “Start Backlink Audit.”

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

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

You’ll also see each referring domain’s Authority Score, which is a Semrush metric that measures a site’s reputability. Backlinks from sites with higher Authority Scores tend to be higher quality.

Use the report to determine which link bait campaigns are getting you high-quality backlinks. Double-down on the content types and outreach strategies working in your favor. And continue to build relationships with authoritative sites in your niche.

Try Backlink Audit now:

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