etailology

As you know, inbound links are “good.” They not only bring traffic, but they increase the social network around a site and dramatically boost pagerank in the major search engines. Linkbait is just that — content specifically designed to increase inbound links and promote shareability… and sometimes that means that the value of the content is sacrificed to its value as a link attractant. And sometimes that means the links themselves are less-than-relevant to the brand or site in question.

We do this in the offline retail world, of course. Loss leaders and hot-promo items (like those five Playstation 3’s that sell out two minutes after opening) are examples of offline linkbait. They get people visiting, talking, and engaging with your store.