The SEO Industry Needs a New Term for Linkbait

by Scott Allen

This post is a follow-up to one I wrote a few days ago on What Separates Great Linkbait from Mediocre? I’ve been thinking for a while now that many of us SEO professionals use the term “linkbait” simply because there isn’t a better term that is universally accepted within the industry. It’s broadly over-used and definitions vary widely, depending on who is using the term. We all know what it means, but try explaining it to a client who isn’t familiar with internet marketing terms, and they with give you a blank or strange look. To them it sounds like “fishing for links” which sounds terrible, and probably helps contributes to the fact that many outside our industry see even legitimate SEO’s as spammers or snake oil salesmen. Let’s face it, linkbait is not the best word to be using as a general industry standard term. Can we all agree on that? My colleagues and I have been discussing this for a while now, trying to decide what to replace it with.

Recently, it struck me that “link magnet” would be a more appropriate industry standard term. My definition for linkbait has always been: Any content that generates links without you having to ask. This seems more consistent with the term link magnet than it does with linkbait. Think back to high school: all the popular guys were considered “chick magnets”. It gets the point across quickly and succinctly. :) Likewise with link magnets. When clients hear it, they’ll have a much easier time grasping what we’re talking about. Sure, it’s not as juicy as linkbait, but it’s a little more accurate, don’t you think?

I did a quick Google search to see who else in the industry might be using this term. There weren’t many relevant results, save two from the Bruce Clay website. That makes sense, as many credit their team with inventing the term “search engine optimization”.

Here is a definition of “Link Magnet” from their page on Link Popularity:

Web site link popularity can be measured by the number of times a particular site or page is linked to. If your site has worthwhile or exclusive information then others will find this and link to your site. This type of information is considered a “link magnet.” Link magnets are items or information that attract visitors to your site, like a magnet. Depending on your market or business, there can be a number of ways to develop a link magnet. Unique ideas, design elements, information, or graphics can do the trick. Free services, tips, or goodies can pay off in web site popularity. Consider letting go of that unique, exclusive item in the event that others will want to use it or link to it.

Right on the money.

Even if we start using the new term, we don’t necessarily have to remove linkbait from our vocabulary. Maybe linkbait could be redefined as a specific type of link magnet. Using the term link magnet would allow for us to have a great term for the larger category of link-generating content, with linkbait being a subcategory that refers specifically to its Social Media Marketing definition - content that has the “cool” factor to make it to the homepage of popular Social Media sites and gain thousands of visitors and links.

Now that I’ve shared my thoughts, what do you think? Do we as an industry need to modify our professional vocabulary?

Tags:
seo | link building | linkbait | link magnet | webgeek

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to the RSS feed!

 Email This to a Friend

 Print This Post

Related Posts:

What Separates Great Linkbait from Mediocre?

Awesome Linkbait: How Many 5 Year Olds…

5 Reasons Why This Meme is Undercover Linkbait

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Tools #1 - Check Your Rankings

Google PageRank Gets Shaken Up, But Not to Worry