Linkbait: Tools and Freebies

Everyone loves a freebie. Offer free tools to your users and they'll reward you by referring their friends and readers.

Linkworthy freebies include cause-oriented items, such as reports, planners, checklists, calculators, games, calendars, and lesson plans. For example, the Union of Concerned Scientists (http://ucsusa.org) includes a webpage dedicated to global warming lesson plans for teachers. Educators can download detailed PDF lesson packets to use in their classrooms at no charge.

Another example is the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (http://arhp.org), which offers an interactive online tool to help women choose the type of birth control that suits them best. End-users go through a series of questions about their values and lifestyle. The tool then suggests possible birth control options.

Similarly, the American Diabetes Association (http://diabetes.org) provides an online tool that calculates an end-user's risk of getting diabetes. Enter your weight and height, answer a few questions about family and lifestyle, and the program will give you a risk score. The webpage provides an analysis of your score, tips for decreasing your chance of getting diabetes, and a phone number to call for more information.

When you offer a tool, ask end-users to link to your webpage if they find the content valuable. Bloggers and webmasters are generally happy to reward useful content with an incoming link.

Linkbait: Humor, Conflict,
and Controversy

Linkbait: Case Studies
and Research Findings