You spot a tantalizing headline and begin to read a few lines of what promises to be a juicy online article. To finish reading the story, you have to click on a link. This is an example of clickbait, web content that’s been specifically designed to generate advertising revenue.
The headlines are always sensational, but the quality and accuracy of the article you arrive at are sometimes quite poor, and it’s likely filled with ads. Is clickbait a harmless way to lure potential buyers to advertising? Or is there more to it than that?
Here’s a look at clickbait, its purposes, and when you should be wary of that irresistible headline.
Clickbait articles can be found on Facebook and other social media sites, on magazine sites, or any other content-filled website.
What Does Clickbait Look Like?
A clickbait ad has a snappy, sensational headline, often with a “You won’t believe it” tone. List-based articles are popular clickbait, forcing readers to scroll and keep clicking. The articles are generally short and don’t contain terribly original content, and sometimes they don’t even match their fascinating headlines.
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Why Is Clickbait Used?
Clickbait is used by some legitimate businesses as content marketing designed to boost traffic to a website. It’s a fast way of generating traffic and it can even produce results when used sparingly.
But there are some serious downsides to using clickbait for content marketing. Customers might resent being lured to an unhelpful, annoying article, and businesses don’t want to be synonymous with wasted time and misinformation.
