Dictionary

link bait en · NOUN

Etymology

From link + -bait (manipulation to elicit a particular response).

Meanings

1. (Internet, uncountable) Articles, infographics, videos, and other content on websites created as part of a strategy to attract links and go viral.
   • A good link bait tool will create 'brand evangelists' — people who will talk positively about you. 2009, Susan Rice Lincoln, Mastering Web 2.0:
   • I've seen link bait succeed in the form of a downloadable scientific research paper, and I've seen it succeed in the form of a picture of a golden retriever in a tutu. 2013, Evan Bailyn, SEO Made Easy:
   • Sustainable link bait is rooted in quality content. 2007, Amelia Painter, Opening and Operating a Bed & Breakfast in the 21st Century, page 183:
   • Link bait content is typically written about a hot, real-time topic such as breaking news. 2011, Susan Gunelius, Content Marketing For Dummies, page 53:
2. (Internet, nonstandard, uncountable) Provocative headlines designed specifically to persuade people to click or share by using loaded terminology (e.g. incredible, secret, shocking, unbelievable), posing provocative questions, or tying themselves in to hot topics.
   • There is also content that appears on the bottom of many websites with link bait type headlines like, "See the Dinner Hack that Millennials are Crazy for." 2017, Jayne Barnett, Advertising Nuggets:
   • Many bloggers write false story headings about search topics that are trending as well, resulting in high bounce rates, abandonment by subscribers, and raising the ire of other bloggers in the industry. You should never write false headings or try to manipulate your readers with link bait. 2010, Douglas Karr, Chantelle Flannery, Corporate Blogging For Dummies, page 384:
   • Link bait is content or a feature on a website that is expressly designed to get users' attention so they click through to another website. 2014, Sunni Brown, The Doodle Revolution: Unlock the Power to Think Differently:
   • Further black hat examples could be misleading link bait from ads for poorly targeted news articles, clicking on links spawning extra windows, or simply only dealing with robots (in a shady way). 2017, Anne Ahola Ward, The SEO Battlefield, page 22:

Forms

Deriveds

linkbaiting

Synonyms

clickbait · churnalism