So the cinematic reference my brain conjures up whilst writing this headline is, The Life of Brian.
I’m in chains surrounded by a bunch of SEO bloggers in fake beards holding rocks whilst Dave Naylor aka John Cleese is screaming, “Blasphemer, stone the unbeliever.”
OK full disclosure.
The only reason I wrote that headline was to get you to read this post.
“Why is this crazy guy waisting my time?” I hear people scream.
Here’s my thought.
When trying to create Linkbait, don’t make the mistake of creating Eyebait. Eyebait is the creation of a content that has a compelling headline making you click and read, but does not deliver. It collects the eyeballs but has has no chance of getting links. Therefore, it’s just for the eyeballs.
Is Eyebait an effective branding tool? Probably not. If a piece of content is not worth a link it’s probably mediocre and not something that would create positive heat for a brand.
I see it a lot in the current, “gotta get me some linkbait on my blog” frenzy. If you write a compelling headline but fail to provide linkable content you are not writing linkbait, it’s simply eyebait. Linkbait is more complex than a lot of explanations would have you believe. For some people it’s easy, for others it’s impossible. Thankfully there are people out there who will create linkbait for you if you pay them.
OK, so let me clear this up. Does Danny Sullivan know what he is talking about? Of course he bloody does. The cinematic moment here is, Waynes World, “we’re not worthy, we’re not worthy”.