 |
The Importance of Images In Linkbait ArticlesOct 24 2007 | Design, Link Building |
If you’re in an area that finds it hard to build natural links what do you do? You create bait and attract or catch the links whether this is done on purpose or as a happy accident. The best way to do this is with content that is directed at a specific audience and has appeal.
Images and visual aids add to this appeal or can be the whole lure altogether. Eye tracking visualization software studies have shown that viewers move across the content on a screen very very fast. What is to keep them there? Unless the content i
s of interest to them they will move on to the next page and continue the search.
Lets face it, people view and read on the screen much different than the printed page. If you have appealing or ‘juicy‘ images for the eyes to feast on then that just may be the
difference for a viewer to stay and read further.
The images need to be relevant to the content, that should be a given. Don’t use a picture of Pam Anderson in Baywatch unless you are writing about her… loop hole, I couldn’t resist.
With so many eyeballs just surfing the waves of content you need to stand out and become noticed. Add some life and face to your wonderful content and use imagery to help get noticed.
Don’t forget to subscribe to the 10e20 RSS Feed!
Posted by Patrick Winfield at 11:13 am
Bookmark this post:
27 Responses to “ The Importance of Images In Linkbait Articles ”
Trackbacks & Pingbacks:
Comments:
-
Chris Winfield
says:
October 24th, 2007 at 2:57 pmNice post Pat. The power of good graphics is amazing…
BTW - I wonder what the reaction would have been if you had used a more current pic of Pam Anderson (like this one)
-
Patrick Winfield
says:
October 24th, 2007 at 3:07 pmThanks Chris- Yikes! I missed that image. The reaction would have been someone asking me ‘what if I used a Baywatch pic’:)
-
Michael Dorausch
says:
October 24th, 2007 at 3:41 pmGood graphics are important but be sure to research the target market before utilizing celebrity images.
In my locale (Los Angles) these are some of the people visiting my site and calling for services. Many are seeking privacy and I’m required by law to respect it.
Consider this when building campaigns that address large metro areas (such as NYC or LA) that are home to high profile individuals.
-
graywolf
says:
October 24th, 2007 at 3:47 pmPam Anderson Turns into a Zombie … not a bad bit o’ digg bait
-
Catherine
says:
October 24th, 2007 at 4:38 pmWhat if the client’s images have nothing to do with hot babes, guys or cute animals?
We have a mutual finds company so would the images be dollar signs or typical stock photos? Would those help?
Thanks
-
Catherine
says:
October 24th, 2007 at 4:41 pmExcuse me, a mutual FUNDS company.
Also, I suppose hot babes would come into play if someone made a lot of money and that’s what attracted someone like Pam Anderson to them…
-
Patrick Winfield
says:
October 24th, 2007 at 4:41 pm@ Michael- Yes good point, it is always critical to know your audience. Thanks for comment and useful information.
@ graywolf- That is some photo! I just may use it for my Yahoo IM profile pic
Nice to hear from you!
-
Patrick Winfield
says:
October 24th, 2007 at 4:51 pm@ Catherine- Great question, although I always say cute animals have a place anywhere…well I don’t really say that.
I would say just be creative- think in metaphors or use some other perspective of the everyday imagery.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
-
graywolf
says:
October 24th, 2007 at 5:36 pm@catherine how about a big stack of money? How about a fancy house paid for with all those mutual fund gains, exotic sports cars, private jets?
How about some humorous pictures of people who are broke? Guy with empty out turned pockets? A yugo with a wooden spoiler held on with duct tape? A made up classified ad for a 2 bedroom cardboard box?
-
Catherine
says:
October 24th, 2007 at 5:59 pmHEHE… Excellent ideas! Thanks!
How about a down and out hottie (of any persuasion) with rope holding their pants up and wads of money just out of reach?
How about a Yugo entirely held together with only duct tape with a sad and cute basset hound?
-
Chris Winfield
says:
October 24th, 2007 at 7:40 pmDamnnnnnn Catherine - are you sure you haven’t done this before
-
Jeff Quipp
says:
October 24th, 2007 at 11:02 pmHere’s a more (hmmmmm) relevant Pamela Anderson picture for the topic at hand.
@Catherine - lots of possibilities for you. Graphs and charts (line graphs of money growth, pie charts of diversification strategies, etc.). I personally love chart … a picture says 1000 words.
-
Jeff Quipp
says:
October 24th, 2007 at 11:03 pmSorry, let me add the other Pamela Anderson photo here
-
Patrick Winfield
says:
October 25th, 2007 at 9:15 amGreat examples Jeff, I am a fan of charts and how easily ’some’ can relay information. Was that picture taken at the Google dance?
-
Stephan Miller
says:
October 31st, 2007 at 1:15 pmI having been trying to incorporate more images in my blog. Do you have any suggestions to make the process less painfully long? For example, a plugin that searches open source images sources based on tags or simply a search directly from Wordpress itself? Or simply the process you use or sites you use for finding images?
-
Patrick Winfield
says:
November 1st, 2007 at 9:19 amHi Stephan- I do not know of any plugins that do such a thing. I use a pay site to get all my images. You can check creative commons on Flickr to see what you can use http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/ Other good stock photo sites are Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com and http://www.istockphoto.com
October 25th, 2007 at 10:10 am
[...] The Importance of Images In Linkbait Articles [...]
October 26th, 2007 at 2:57 am
[...] explained How to build a solid linkbait in three easy steps and Patrick Winfield added step four; Using images in a linkbait is important as well. Lisa Barone explains why link bait should mature. “What do you call grown up link bait? You [...]
November 15th, 2007 at 4:03 am
[...] also give credits to the photographer of the pictures they use. And don’t forget that images are quite important in linkbait articles, so try to get your share out of it. Especially when you manage to make some out of the box photos [...]
November 29th, 2007 at 1:44 pm
[...] Images: This is serious, you must use images in your blog posts. Make your blog a place which is helpful as well as a friendly place to be. Maki, of DoshDosh.com [...]
January 4th, 2008 at 1:08 am
[...] what is already available? Images helps in separating you from the crowd. It not only makes your blog posts look better, you make a mark on th visitor as a professional [...]
January 8th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
[...] This Article Uses An Image: Pictures say a 1000 words. Images are important in your articles in two ways, first they add up in a good look and feel of your article and second it make you gain [...]
March 10th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
[...] of images in your article may helpful to attract the attention of the readers and make it ready for effective linkbait. Interesting [...]
March 22nd, 2008 at 5:27 pm
[...] Images: I search for pictures or make the pictures to include them in the [...]
March 30th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
[...] Images: I search for pictures or make the pictures to include them in the [...]
March 30th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
[...] Images: I search for pictures or make the pictures to include them in the [...]
September 3rd, 2008 at 5:26 pm
[...] when blogging for quite a while now. And I’ve never skimped on the pictures when it comes to professional linkbait for my commercial sites. But, with Sugarrae and especially with “everyday posts”, [...]