The more you get into blogging, the more you think about the likelihood that other bloggers will link to your posts. The kind of content that is most likely to get this reaction is called linkbait.
There are many different kinds of linkbait. But one of the most popular ones is to assemble a bunch of points (including relevant links to other sites) on a particular subject that many people will find useful.
This could be about anything of course. But the lists often relate to such things as the best ways to do something, things to avoid, etc.
Because this point by point structure is punchy, with lots of information, people do link to it quite often (as well as share it on social media -- another benefit).
While many bloggers swear by this approach, I think it has a couple of major drawbacks.
Firstly, the tight structure certainly makes a list post very easy to read. But it also means that visitors tend to scan through it very quickly, and pick out only the stuff that appeals. Then they leave.
So this content is attractive. But it's not really "sticky".
And because you are basically "rounding up" a series of points, you can't go into any great detail into any one of them. So, it's limited in that sense.
Then there's the list post's immense popularity in the blogosphere. So many blogs employ it repeatedly that they tend to end up looking much the same after a while. So if you repeat it often in your own blog you risk losing some of its uniqueness. And uniqueness is something you really want to nurture and develop. In the long run, it's always best to have a blog that stands out from the pack in look, feel and content.
For these reasons I think it's a good idea to write a few list posts from time to time as a means to get some more of those beneficial backlinks. I just wouldn't do too many of them.
There are many different kinds of linkbait. But one of the most popular ones is to assemble a bunch of points (including relevant links to other sites) on a particular subject that many people will find useful.
This could be about anything of course. But the lists often relate to such things as the best ways to do something, things to avoid, etc.
Because this point by point structure is punchy, with lots of information, people do link to it quite often (as well as share it on social media -- another benefit).
While many bloggers swear by this approach, I think it has a couple of major drawbacks.
Firstly, the tight structure certainly makes a list post very easy to read. But it also means that visitors tend to scan through it very quickly, and pick out only the stuff that appeals. Then they leave.
So this content is attractive. But it's not really "sticky".
And because you are basically "rounding up" a series of points, you can't go into any great detail into any one of them. So, it's limited in that sense.
Then there's the list post's immense popularity in the blogosphere. So many blogs employ it repeatedly that they tend to end up looking much the same after a while. So if you repeat it often in your own blog you risk losing some of its uniqueness. And uniqueness is something you really want to nurture and develop. In the long run, it's always best to have a blog that stands out from the pack in look, feel and content.
For these reasons I think it's a good idea to write a few list posts from time to time as a means to get some more of those beneficial backlinks. I just wouldn't do too many of them.
RSS Feed
