Examples of link Bait

O.k we all know that link bait is a very good way of getting links, so could some of the pros on here give us a example of link baits that have worked for them in the past or link bait that you know other webmasters have used that have worked well.
The reason I ask this, is because I think examples would be a good way for people who are looking to create link baits, to get into the mindset of proven link baiting methods and is a lot better than just saying, "create a link bait".
The more information the better !!

From what I recall, link baiting has been tackled on several threads on the Link Popularity section of the forum. You may want to check it out as I have seen a few examples given there. But basically, a brief explanation that I can give for white hat link baiting would be creating content that is so enticing that people would want to link to you. Aside from content you could provide a free service or a tool to attract users.

Ideas for link bait are born from industry wants / needs. It's hard to give great ideas for link bait without knowing the specific area where it will be used.

It's like saying, "what should I wear to the event"? The answer would be WHAT EVENT?

Can't argue with this. It would be hard to give a definite example of a link bait right of the bat. It would always vary based on purpose.

I would give you a few links to that type of thing...
...but I don't want to play into their hands!

Ok. Just some examples of successful ones would be good, I'm not looking for any specific industry ones, just specific link baits that have worked for you guys, would be nice to know what has worked for you and by giving us examples, we would be able to tailor them to our needs to suit our industry's.

I have never done a link bait but I did read one idea for one on this forum, so I will try to give a example of it.......
A guy on here was asking how to create links for his website that sold watches, someone suggested that he could do a article on a list of very famous people e.g President Abama etc and what watches they wear and what a watch can tell you about a that person etc, hopefully websites about these famous people might see the articles and link to them from their site.
If webmasters seen this example I'm sure they could tailor it to their needs e.g "car" website= article about what car a certain famous person drives

Although like I said this is only a link bait example I read about and don't know if it would be successful, so would like real link bait success story's.

Please feel free to add yours here, many thanks.

These people came up with a tool that would allow anyone to type in a question, and instantly gain access to a multitude of sources that could answer that question. It also works on topical subjects, research, products, social incentives, and much, much more.

They weren't the first, but they quickly became known as the best. It gained them a real edge in their market, and the name is now heard of worldwide.

Quite an excellent idea if you ask me.

Link

Linkbait comes in many forms. WordPress widgets are the best example I can come up with off the top of my head. Take this site for example:
http://www.appointy.com/Web/index.asp

They have over 2k links, with I'd guess 3/4 of them coming from people using the free version of their widget tool.

Here's my first attempt at linkbait:

Chocolate poisoning in dogs. It's a calculator. Last week it got a nice link from an about.com article. It's not bringing in links by the thousands but it's a start.

"Google PR update tonight?", or "Keyword stuffing gets Google results again" ... probably get some hits.

I quite like these two not saying there great here but i liked them as articles and as your a builder martin77 I thought they would suit :-)...





http://tinyurl.com/ncl76p

http://tinyurl.com/3584z2q

Thanks guys keep them coming, would like lots more stillso feelfree to contribute, the more the beter, thanks again.

The earliest form of link bait I can think of is when the internet was relatively new and sites made awards to give to webmasters for their sites. These awards were useless but webmasters liked getting their egos stroked so they put up the "award" on their site, thus linking to the award site. Worked great for a while, and still does in some cases. I know SEOs that use a version of this tactic still.

Here is something that I refer people to for link bait discussions.

http://www.seomoz.org/blog/widgetbait-gone-wild

http://www.oneplusyou.com/q

http://www.oneplusyou.com/bb/stickers

People turn to the web because they want to know more about a subject, buy something, or be entertained.

If you're going to be successful on the web, you must become the subject matter expert in your field (if you're not then find another field).

If you're the expert then you must know the kinds of things people are seeking - knowledge, products, entertainment. Sometimes people want all three at the same time.

Deliver what people want and you'll get links.

But don't stop there - delivery more than they expect. Deliver it in new ways. Deliver it so well that you discourage your competition. Don't follow your competition and become a "me too" site. Become the best in your class. People recognize a good site and gravitate toward it.

Getting traffic is only half the battle. You have to convert those visitors once they arrive. That's a subject outside what the OP is asking, but sometimes I think people are focusing on the wrong metric. My metric is how much the cash register goes "ka-ching" and that involves a lot more than just SEO.

Ed