Because clickbait is designed to entice users to visit your link, it appears to be an appealing content marketing strategy. You want more website traffic and viewers after all of your hard work creating content!

However, clickbait is one of those contentious buzzwords that can mean either good or bad. This blog post will go over the following topics to help you understand what clickbait is:

 

What exactly is clickbait?

Clickbait is online content that is designed to entice visitors and generate page views. Clickbait headlines and thumbnail links entice Internet users to click on the link to read, listen to, or watch content. Clickbait content is also highly shareable because it employs emotional language.

Because clickbait content is often associated with misleading or sensationalized online content, as well as fake news, it has a bad reputation.

 

 

Who uses clickbait?

Several groups employ clickbait for good or ill:

Businesses: To increase website activity, businesses publish blog posts and videos with catchy headlines, which some content marketers consider to be a form of good clickbait.

Publishers: Clickbait is used by some publishers to increase site traffic and earn more advertising money, clicks, or conversions.

Unscrupulous individuals and groups: They tarnish clickbait by using it to direct users to phishing and malicious sites, fake news, or content unrelated to the headline or thumbnail image.

 

Is clickbait good or bad?

Clickbait is not inherently bad by definition. It is, however, being abused.

“Good” clickbait consists of an engaging headline and a provocative thumbnail that directs users to the anticipated content.

“Bad” clickbait entices users to click while failing to deliver on the promise of the headline and image. Worse, it redirects to a nonsensical or malicious website.

You’ve probably heard that clickbait in general is bad. So, why is clickbait bad?

Google may penalize your website if it discovers that you misled online users with an irrelevant headline and URL. As a result, your ranking will suffer. Furthermore, if your site visitors notice that you consistently use superlatives and exaggerated claims, you will lose their trust and they will stop clicking on your links.

 

What exactly is clickbait?

You’ve most likely encountered online content with headlines that are the modern-day equivalent of yellow journalism. Here are some examples of “bad” clickbait:

• _____ did _____. You’ll never believe what happened next.
• This weird trick did ____.
• They didn’t know that ____. What happened next blew their mind.

Then there are the excellent. These are pieces of content that entice readers with their headlines or thumbnail images and then deliver relevant articles or videos. They can be helpful how-to blog posts and listicles that entice users to click because they discuss useful tips.

 

What characteristics distinguish good clickbait?

Everyone wants their content read and watched, as well as their websites to rank. Bad clickbait practices, on the other hand, are counterproductive because they harm your reputation with readers and lower your rankings.

Instead, do the following to ensure that your content is consumed by your intended audience:

 

Using keyword research, discover what your target audience is looking for.

Keyword research assists you in identifying target keywords for your page’s title, headings, and on-page content. Sprinkle your target keywords throughout your content to ensure that search engines like Google find your page relevant to these keywords.

Keyword research tools such as Keywords can assist you. Keyword research will also aid your content marketing strategy by providing answers to questions such as:

• What blog posts or videos should I publish?
• Which existing pages should I optimize for certain popular keywords?

 

 

Determine the searcher’s intent.

The reason for a user’s search inquiry is known as search intent. Because a user is most likely looking for answers, create content — or improve an existing one — that addresses the searcher’s issue. There are four kinds of intent:

Informational: The most common type of search intent, this type of search intent wishes to learn more about a specific topic or subject. These searches occur during the discovery phase of the user’s journey. Users who search “what’s a good road bike,” for example, are looking for more information about road bikes but are not yet ready to purchase one.

Navigational: searches occur when a user has a brand in mind but requires the assistance of a search engine to reach a product page. For example, a user might type in “Pinarello road bikes” to find Pinarello’s website, which lists all of its road bikes.

Transactional: These searches have a high level of purchase intent. Because they’re almost ready to buy, phrases like “price,” “sale,” or “pricing” appear in the queries.

Commercial: A combination of informational and transactional intent, commercial searches have users who are ready to buy but need more information to help them make the decision. In our previous road bike example, a user can conduct additional research by searching “Pinarello dogma f8 vs. canyon aeroad.”

 

Make several headline options for your content.

With businesses competing for users’ attention and trying to outrank one another, you must have a headline that persuades them that your page has the answer to their questions. This may entail writing several headline options and selecting one or two to test.

Consider working with an experienced copywriter in your field. They can assist you in creating headlines that entice people to click without jeopardizing your reputation or rankings.

 

Contact us online or call us at +91 9594309652 to speak with a strategist about our digital marketing services.