Link bait is, essentially, the idea of creating some form of content on a website with the hope that other people will link to it. This content could be breaking news, video, images, offers, promotions, and much more. As Hartzer tells WPN, social media is a great way to popularize this content so that others will link to it.

When the content is an offer or promotion, he advises people to utilize sites such as Slickdeals and FatWallet to drive more people back to their site. This drives traffic, which generates links, which also leads to better organic rankings.

“Even though you’re giving something away, or giving a certain percentage off a product, you’re actually going to gain,” he said.

On Bruce Clay’s idea of “likes are the new links,” Hartzer said that if ‘liked’ content becomes popular, it would become trackable, which could then become a traditional link.

He also talks about a new tool from Standing Dog called Review Analyst. This tool allows businesses to monitor reviews, media, and statistics across the Web to help them better manage their reputation. Learn more about this product by visiting its website.

In this interview with WebProNews, Rand Fishkin of SEOmoz says, “…essentially, Twitter is cannibalizing the Web’s link graph, and it’s doing so in a disproportionate manner for more social media forward industries.”

Although Fishkin does not believe the link graph is disappearing completely, he says it’s growing faster in the social Web than it is in the blogosphere. Google is also picking up on this trend and is paying attention to tweets. According to Fishkin, people can calculate Page Rank with the Twitter graph in the same way people do on the Web. He thinks Google is working with this concept now and expects to see more from them in this area.

Speaking of Google, Mike McDonald asks Fishkin about Google Buzz. From a strategic standpoint, Fishkin believes Google wants to let people know that the social Web and social media are important to them. In addition, Google realizes the amount of sharing and connection that happens through email and wants to leverage it.

There are, however, many issues that have been raised over Google Buzz, as WPN previously reported. While the lasting power of Buzz is still to be determined, Fishkin says SEOs are waiting to where it goes before they fully embrace it.

What are your thoughts regarding link bait in this age of Twitter, and do you believe Google Buzz will stick around?

For starters, he says you should focus on a specific industry or topic. Produce good and interesting content that people want to know about. Hartzer mentions that news items are always a good choice when you are trying to create link bait.

Look at other websites and take notice of their link bait. Learn from their mistakes and benefit from what they are doing right. Think of things that would enhance your story such as pictures, videos, contests, or polls and use them.

Try to be the one that breaks the story especially for news items. After a story has been published by several different sources, the chances of your story being noticed will diminish. Remember to always update your stories and bring out new information since viewers enjoy continuing stories.

Even though, you’ve hit the publish button, doesn’t mean you’re done. Use social media sites like del.icio.us, Technorati, and Social Poster to promote your story. Not only will this help to get your story out there quickly, but it will also get it indexed with the search engines.