link bait
link bait noun: articles, infographics, videos, and other content on websites created as part of a strategy to attract links and go viral.
Noun
link bait (uncountable)
- Articles, infographics, videos, and other content on websites created as part of a strategy to attract links and go viral.
- Sustainable link bait is rooted in quality content.2007, Amelia Painter, Opening and Operating a Bed & Breakfast in the 21st Century, page 183
- A good link bait tool will create 'brand evangelists' — people who will talk positively about you.2009, Susan Rice Lincoln, Mastering Web 2.0
- Synonyms:
- clickbait, churnalism
- 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.
- 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
Examples of link bait in a sentence
- 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:
- 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:
- 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:
- 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:
Synonyms of link bait
Forms of link bait
| alternative form | linkbait |
|---|---|
| alternative uncommon | link-bait |
Origin of link bait
From link + -bait (manipulation to elicit a particular response).
Words formed from link bait
Questions about link bait
- What does link bait mean?
- Link bait means articles, infographics, videos, and other content on websites created as part of a strategy to attract links and go viral.
- How do you use link bait in a sentence?
- Link bait content is typically written about a hot, real-time topic such as breaking news.
- What part of speech is link bait?
- Link bait is a noun.
Words near link bait in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: link bait (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “link bait.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/link_bait. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.