Building links by creating link bait

Link bait is a term used to describe an article, feature, picture, post, or page that is so good that it attracts links naturally from all over the Web. If you've ever read an article that was so useful that you felt the need to not only add it to your browser's bookmarks, but also stumble it, tweet it, and share it on Facebook, then you'll understand the power a great article can have to attract links. That is link bait.

Building link bait is not an easy task, but it will bring in an incredible amount of traffic and links if you can get it right. You can start by brainstorming to come up with ideas for content that would appeal to many readers and make them want to share it with others. Here are some types of pages that seem to attract a lot of links.

Resource lists

If you compile a list of all of the best resources in your industry, you're likely to get some attention from the owners of the websites you include on your list. They may link to your resource...