I seem to recall a link exchange service called “linkfart.com” a while back. The site no longer exists. Such a name as “link fart” is attention-getting, but not the kind of attention that would a site an overnight success. To be sure, I have no idea how much of a factor the site’s name was solely responsible for linkfart’s downfall, but its flatulent name was not enough to keep it afloat.

Link baiting has become a catch phrase in the SEO community nowadays. The idea is to get others to link to your site naturally through attention-grabbing, often provocative, content. You can bait others to link to your site by stirring controversy. The concept is basically a new twist on the old “content is king” mantra. The concept is perhaps more descriptive of methods that provoke.

Anything that evokes a negative response, such as anger, disgust, and envy, even on a subconscious level, may backfire, so it’s not always prudent to provoke to get people attention.

Link-baiting can be a double-edged sword. One should not try to create a buzz at the expense of detracting from their online professionalism and reputation. One should set a limit on how far they’re willing to go to get people’s attention.

When it comes building a website that stands out above the crowd, content is king, or so goes the old mantra. By this we mean content that is fresh, unique and original.

But what exactly is unique and original?

With billions of pages on the web, one would be hard-pressed to come up with material is truly unique and original. Chances are, anything that could be said already has been said somewhere by someone else. The only thing left to originality is the way in which the words are strung together.

People surf the web to be informed and entertained, and with over 100 million sites on the web, there is no shortage of information. Much of the information on the web is redundant and unoriginal. But you can be original in the way you present it.

People surf the web for different reasons. They surf to be informed, to be entertained, to sell and buy stuff, to be aroused, and so on and so forth. In the end it’s about putting a smile on people’s face. So, even if you don’t have anything original to say (like in this post), try to say it in a fresh, new way to capture your readers’ interest. But don’t try too hard. You either have it or you don’t.