When is it smart to focus on viral-worthy content and clickbait? When is it not? To see fruitful returns from these kinds of efforts, they need to be done the right way and used in the right places. Rand discusses what kind of content investments make sense for this type of strategy and explains why it works in this week's Whiteboard Friday.
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Video Transcription
Howdy, Moz fans, and welcome to another edition of Whiteboard Friday. This week we're chatting about when and where you might use clickbait and linkbait and viral-focused content as compared to other types for your SEO-driven campaigns.
There's a lot of savvy sort of folks at the intersection of SEO and content marketing who are practicing things like this right now. We've actually spoken to a few agencies who are specifically focused on this, and they have really solid businesses because many brands understand that these types of investments can produce significant returns. But you have to apply them in the right scenarios and the right spaces. So let's walk through that.
Content investments
Let's say that you're a payroll software provider. Your goal is to increase traffic and conversions, and so you're considering what types of content investments you and your consultant or agency or in-house team might be making on the content front. That could be things like what we've got here:
A. Viral, news-worthy linkbait
I don't necessarily love the word "linkbait," but it still gets a lot of searches, so we're putting it in the title of the Whiteboard Friday because we practice what we preach here, baby.
So this might be something like "The Easiest and Hardest Places to Start a Company." Maybe it's countries, maybe it's states, regions, whatever it is. So here are the easy ones and the hard ones and the criteria, and you go out to a bunch of press and you say, "Hey, we produced this list. We think it's worth covering. Here's the criteria we used." You go out to a bunch of companies. You go out to a bunch of state governments. You go out to a bunch of folks who cover this type of space, and hopefully you can get some clickbait, some folks actually clicking, some folks linking.
It doesn't necessarily have the most search volume. Folks aren't necessarily interested in, "Oh, what are the hardest places to start a company? Or what are the hardest versus easiest places to start a company?" Maybe you get a few, but it's not necessarily going to drive direct types of traffic that this payroll software provider can convert into customers.
B. Searcher-focused solutions
C. Competitor comparison content
They see that lots of people are looking for them versus other competitors. So they set up a page that's "QuickBooks versus Gusto versus Square: Which Software is Right for Your Business?" so that they can serve that searcher intent.
D. Conversion-funnel-serving content
So they see that, after searching for their brand name, people also search for, "Can I use this for owner employees, businesses that have owner employees only?" So no employees who are not owners. What's the payroll story with them? How do I get that sorted out? So you create content around this.
All of these are types of content that serve SEO, but this one, this viral-focused stuff is the most sort of non-direct. Many times, brands have a tough time getting their head around why they would invest in that. So do SEOs. So let's explain that.
If a website's domain authority, their sort of overall link equity at the domain level is already high, they've got lots and lots of links going to lots of places on the site and additional links that don't go to the conversion-focused pages that they're specifically trying to rank for, for focused keyword targets isn't really required, then really B, C, and D are where you should spend your time and energy. A is not a great investment. It's not solving the problem you want to solve.
If the campaign needs...
- More raw brand awareness - People knowing who the company is, they haven't heard of them before. You're trying to build that first touch or that second touch so that people in the space know who you are.
- Additional visitors for re-targeting - You're trying to get additional visitors who might fit into your target audience so that you can re-target and remarket to them, reach them again;
- You have a need for more overall links really to anywhere on the domain - Just to boost your authority, to boost your link equity so that you can rank for more stuff...
Then A, that viral-focused content makes a ton of sense, and it is a true SEO investment. Even though it doesn't necessarily map very well to conversions directly, it's an indirect path to great potential SEO success.
Why this works:
Why does this work? Why is it that if I create a piece of viral content on my site that earns a lot of links and attention and awareness, the other pieces of content on my site will suddenly have a better opportunity to rank? That's a function of how Google operates fundamentally, well, Google and people.
So, from Google's perspective, it works because in the case where Google sees DomainX.com, which has lots of pages earning many, many different links from all around the web, and DomainY.com, which may be equally relevant to the search query and maybe has just as good content but has few links pointing to it and those links, maybe the same number of links are pointing to the specific pages targeting a specific keyword, but overall across the domain, X is just much, much greater than Y. Google interprets that as more links spread across the content on X makes the search engine believe that X is more authoritative and potentially even more relevant than Y is. This content has been referenced more in more different ways from more places, therefore its relevance and authority are perceived as higher. If Y can go ahead and make a viral content investment that draws in lots and lots of new links, it can potentially compete much better against X.
This is true for people and human beings too. If you're getting lots and lots of visitors all over Domain X, but very few on Domain Y, even if they're going in relatively similar proportion to the product-focused pages, the fact that X is so much better known by such a broader audience means that conversions are likely to be better. People know them, they trust them, they've heard of them before, therefore, your conversion rate goes up and Domain X outperforms Domain Y. So for people and for search engines, this viral-focused content in the right scenario can be a wonderful investment and a wise one to make to serve your SEO strategy.
All right, everyone. Look forward to your comments below. We'll see you again next week for another edition of Whiteboard Friday. Take care.
My firm consistently targets industry events, and even Twitter meetups to get our clients right in front of influencers. Even one or two interactions with those influencers leads to unbelievable level of lead generation. Think about it in your next campaign. Most tweetups last 15-30 minutes. (Not sure if there's any SEO benefit from sharing links on Twitter, but link-bait on Twitter is amazing)
How to do it non-invasively?
Will definitely look into what you are talking about Simon. Just this week I was talking to my team that we are missing social interaction with influencers for backlink building. I am pitching amazing unique content to websites that are 100% relevant, and they don't care unless they recognize my domain or my name. Most succesfull bloggers spend more time in social media, and ignore their 300 daily emails.
In my company, we wrote a tweet of how fast a material was supplied by a company and this company retweeted us. That day we got 15 more followers on Twitter and sales in our online store increased 50% in those days. Now we have verified that every time we publish in networks, better position in Google, that's why we try to publish often
I am totally agree with you, the most important thing for a linkbait is having a good content that supports it. It does not matter which social network is used if the content is of value will surely triumph. However, it is important to have cultivated a good reputation to our content goes viral easily..
I remember reading a Moz article a while ago. I might not be getting the precise details correct, but this was the general idea. The author of the article consulted for an auto bodyshop that needed more visitors to the website. So as a consultant they looked at the content in the local town that received the most traffic. There seemed to be success in publishing recipes, so he had the auto repair shop write articles on best chilli recipes, and ideas for making apple pies...this kind of thing. The comments section in the Moz article went crazy saying that this was an inappropriate way to drive traffic to a business where their services are in no way related to the articles.
The question I have therefore: is there a limit to the relevance of the link bait to the business operations? if you go completely off track, can this damage the website's search engine rankings?
I think that's a great point!!! We distill it down to the user experience as it relates to the brand overall and frame these tactics within that window instead just using raw tactics. My initial reaction is that auto body shop and recipes are not at all related, unless there was some unique local ecosystem where maybe the body shop owner was also a local food celebrity. In that event you would not be "penalized" on rankings, it would be more that efforts/budget/time would be wasted and you would see no value. If the strategy and tactics don't align with business operations & goals, what purpose do they really serve?
It's also important to remember where the link is coming from. Sure, they may get links from authoritative food bloggers to their auto shops website, but I would bet that authoritative car bloggers linking back to their auto shop website would be more beneficial in terms of SEO.
Relevancy of Links - I'm not sure if I've seen/read up on this, anyone have an article/thoughts?
Good article. I totally agree with you. It is a very good way to get known and that customers already know you. This in a new project many forget the branding and it is important that you relate your brand with the product to have good conversions.
Thank you Rand
Have a nice weekend
I'm curious if anyone runs into clients/potential clients who don't want to produce 'link-bait' content, even when they need the links, because they don't see the relevance? Even after understanding the importance of links and link building for their website, they still have a hard time wrapping their head around the idea of investing in content that won't draw direct conversions.
That is a very interesting question, I work with a client that has a unique resource that I use to link bait. And I have suggested to build similar resources on other projects, but if it isn't in their annual plan, its hard hard to get it done. I understand time and resources are not readily available to create unique resources of content, and even when done that is not a guarantee it will be a successful link bait. So I've suggested inviting an influencer for an interview, or joint creation of a unique post (saves time). Using an influencer in the niche should increase the chances of link baiting, specially when that influencer writes for specific sites and has a significant following. This is still in the planning stages, but has anyone done something similar?
I've had clients that were resistant to the link-bait idea for the reasons you mentioned, Sam. There's some (justified) fear that the agency will drive a bunch of traffic to the site, but unless the traffic converts, it's worthless. The conversation usually turns around when I bring in retargeting ads—especially if the client's trying to reach a difficult-to-target audience.
I've seen the story resonate with execs and practitioners:
It closes the gap between traffic and ask for them. Plus, it alleviates the fear that non-converting traffic won't amount to anything. They're not just getting pageviews: they're growing an audience that they can keep providing value (and promote the product) to!
happens with me
Solid topic and insight this week Rand! We love utilizing Competitor Comparison Content as well as Searcher Focused Solutions (for searcher focused solutions, we like using https://answerthepublic.com/ to discover topics/queries)
*Also, a bonus tip we love for using Answer The Public, if you have the Keywords Everywhere Chrome Extension installed and active on your browser you can see search volumes/competition level for all the queries on whatever topic you entered in Answer The Public in the Date view*
People love content that is useful and free. And these are the best places to branding and promoting products.
I'm waiting for your next article.
More content is better. Anything what is related to the website is useful. I have achieved some significant results only by adding a lot of content.
Totally agree, I am also applying this method with good results.
Solid topic and insight this week Rand! Links are important, content it's important but the most of the time the clients don't ask the SEO guy where to promote their brand online. My last client paid a lot of many for an article on a website with a DA 22 with the back link in content inserted without any relevant anchor text. By the way, its important to have the back link with "https" if the target site have an https URL?
Thanks for the insights, Rand. Getting buy-in for Type A content (viral, newsworthy linkbait) requires forward-thinking and patience on behalf of the client or senior executive. On the in-house/agency side it can require diverting research, copywriting, PR, graphic design and developer resources to a project that won’t pay off immediately. When it’s most beneficial (start-ups, rebrands, change in competitive landscape) is also the hardest time to get the go-ahead since the opportunity cost is high.
It helps to have strong historical data and point to similar competitor campaigns to illustrate the measurable impact a viral/linkbait strategy can have in the short term. While it may not produce many online sales or mid-funnel conversions in the short-term, it can produce an increase in other valuable metrics:
Choosing the right goals helps align client expectations so that high-performing content and its impact on branding and domain authority is recognized.
All 4 are great strategies, and we are especially fond of D. Conversion-funnel-serving content, which works great for businesses with longer sales cycles. Having content, especially offers or blog posts, that target users in the Awareness, Consideration, and Decision stages of your product or service is an awesome way to establish your business as the go-to resource in your industry and boost your credibility to your potential customers. Thanks for sharing your insight Rand!
I think that the clickbaits are a good idea to receive visits, however, they can be dangerous if we fall into excessive use, since our website can lose credibility.
Thanks for this Whiteboard Friday, Rand.
Have a good weekend!
I agree with you man.
Great advice, which really needs to be factored into a site's content calendar. Invest more heavily in linkbait early on, and then dial that back and increase your volume of the other 3 content types once those inbound links have started to lift your general traffic tide. Doing this in reverse makes it harder for your more sales-focused pieces to hit, since you won't have enough general traction yet. At the same time, don't give up on link-building content once you think you've reached a steady traffic flow, because every new influx of visitors who've never heard of you before still creates new opportunities to build links and authority with new and old audiences alike.
Good article. I'm totally agree with you and all you everything you write in the article. It is a very good way to get known and that customers already know you. Thanks for the information. But i think this process of linkbating its delayed to view the progress.
Great points, Rand! I have found so many times, creating content is done backwards. Organizations and companies want to push out content they feel is relevant, and then try to find keywords and drive traffic. This just causes never-ending headaches.
Even if your org/company may not go for the viral, news-worthy link-bait pieces of content, just explaining the importance of it to them may help shift their thinking to understand how to reverse engineer content creation.
Excellent post! i agree with you!
Very good article. For me, personal or business branding is something super important. You make you create confidence and security for strangers.
However, it is not easy to create it, let alone maintain it.
You can create a lot of quality content, give a certain image, but if you then treat your customers more, sooner or later the brand is destroyed. For this reason, it is good that it is in line with the values of the company or the principles of the individual.
I like your thought process when it comes to "Newsworthy" topics/articles. Something for me to think about. Although my niche is very small and doesn't have a lot of news type opportunities. I guess I'll just have to think outside the box and come up with something awesome for people to get excited about and cover.
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Excellent post!
I am totally agree with you Rand. Thanks !!!!
Totally agree Rand! These viral content sometime do magic to your entire website and even none performing pages start getting visibility. I really like your example of X and Y!
Thanks for another lovely WBF
Cheers!
Hi Rand, is nice to see you again!! It´s always interesting to keep learning about how to take profit of the content to reach our SEO goals. Thanks for the post and I hope we will see you here soon.
Another great Whiteboard Friday, Rand, thanks.
I have a question:
DomainX outperforms domainY, but why exactly is that?
Is it because it gets more links across all pages, bringing in more link equity which is then spread through the site, helping everything rank better (the cumulative effect);
Or is it because more people are viewing more pages, reading content and watching videos and commenting on DomainX, and because of it Google perceives it as more an authority than DomainY.
The point I want to make is:
Would DomainX still outrank DomainY if most of the links it got were nofollow?
So the scenario is:
DomainX:
DomainY:
Who wins?
I know this is a hard one to answer, but I am interested in your opinion, thank you again for this excellent Whiteboard Friday.
It got me thinking:)
Thanks for the message I will put it into practice.
The truth I liked this post for my seo campaign.
I just have to put it into practice, good work.
Hello Rand, good to see you in the 'Whiteboard Friday' again. I am following you at 'sparktoro'
I just have a quick question - How long will you continue with 'Whiteboard Friday'?
I am very excited to see your new venture grow.
Hii
i am very impressesd with this post thank you for sharing this use full post on "Where Clickbait, Linkbait, and Viral Content Fit in SEO Campaigns - Whiteboard Friday" this topic
Thank you for the information. providing more content with uniqueness in them is always benefit for the search engine perspective.
Thanks for sharing this useful information I forgot about these techniques to boost site traffic. so thanks to recall them again. I will use these techniques again for my website.