Linkbait (also link bait) is content designed so that other sites want to link to it. The term comes from link building and presumably dates from its early days (assumption).
Common formats
SEO publishers name these formats:
- Original studies and data
- Calculators and small online tools
- Infographics and visual guides
- Surprising or entertaining content
- Pointed opinions that start a debate
Whether a piece gets linked is hard to predict, and promotion matters as much as the content (Backlinko, Semrush).
How it relates to Google’s rules
Google’s SEO starter guide says that other sites linking to you happens naturally over time, and that most new pages Google finds come through links. Linkbait pursues the same goal on purpose. If money or goods change hands for a link, Google’s spam policies treat it as link spam unless the link is qualified with sponsored or nofollow.
Example
A heating installer publishes a calculator for the running costs of different heating systems. Consumer sites link to it in their guides. The links appear without any arrangement and can be traced in the Links report of Search Console.
Sources
- SEO Starter Guide – Google Search Centraldevelopers.google.com
- Spam policies for Google web search – Google Search Centraldevelopers.google.com
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