Usually on Facebook there are many posts we see in our feeds that have titles I consider as "Clickbait". So what is clickbait anyway?

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Clickbait is a title that is designed to get you to click through to a blog or website that's loaded with advertisements. That's because the website owner gets paid for those ads. Don't get me wrong, there isn't anything wrong with getting paid if you write or create good content, whether it's articles or videos, or maybe through mobile apps. Getting paid for what you create yourself isn't wrong. Getting paid for junk that has no value is not something that's very acceptable in the real world though. To get paid you work, whether that's online or in a factory or store.

However there can be something wrong in the way you get those traffic on your website. And using titles that are considered clickbait, is just wrong. at least it is if you use Adsense.

But why?

While clickbait type articles are getting a lot easier for all of us to recognize, some people still don't get it, and still click through to go to the website. sadly, when they get there, the article is either poorly written, or very general and doesn't offer the punch promised in the headline. That's one easy way to recognize clickbait. The fact is, the only reason for the page is to run ads, but if the page doesn't provide what headline shows it will. That's considered deceptive.

Users don’t need to be misled by the content they engage with online. For this reason, Google advertisements may not be placed on pages that misleading or hide information about you, your content or the primary purpose of your website. Basically, these are articles with sensational or attention grabbing titles, but provide little or no value to their visitors.

Most decent advertising companies won't pay, or would pay very little when the visitors is garnered through social media via clickbait titles.

The other factor I think of as clickbait is something others might term "fake news". No, don't worry. I'm not quite as bad as You think - I don't scream "fake news" at everything I don't like. My personal feeling is if the information provided in the article can't be backed-up or corroborated by doing a little studies, there's something wrong with the article and it probably:

isn't true at all
is only partially true
is a hoax or scam or funny story

There are two different "concepts" about fake news. There is "fake" news (news that isn't real), and then there is the "fake-news-website". Some people find websites that copy news articles from different websites as a "fake-news" website. Probably because the website doesn't write their own news, they just collect news from different news websites. The news itself might not be fake, but it's also not news when it's not being reported, just copied.

I don't know that I consider that a fake news website myself. It's not a "news" website to begin with, it's a duplicate site. By it's very name news is not something that is re-used from another place, "news" is typically something new. That's why the print newspapers, and even some of the biggest online newspapers have reporters and writers. Websites that simply copy these articles aren't news websites at all. What they are is aggregators. That's not something you should be getting paid for.

Take a look at an aggregator website. Google news. Do you notice any ads on that page? Nope. If Google news isn't placing ads on their aggregator, why should anyone else be doing it when they copy news articles? Google news doesn't even copy, they add a snippet and link to the website.

If you're going to scream headlines likes "carrots cures blindness". There better be some actual scientific and research studies that back up that claim. To date, there is no cure for blindness. Don't tell me there is unless you have evidence (and no, someone's grandad or uncle or friend saying he's cured by eating carrots is not proof). just because you see something on hundreds of blogs doesn't make it real or true.

If you're going to write about stuff like fitness (clinical, food plan, workout, news, science, etc.) then no matter what you write, you better have some actual, tangible evidence. If you don't, then don't write it, don't promote it, don't share it. because filling the web with fake information is a pretty useless thing to do. There's way too much already (and that's probably where you read it the first time and why it's in your blog now, right?)

On social media, more and more people are learning to recognize clickbait, and are learning to disregard it, or learning to use AdBlockers when they just can't resist. everyone on my friends on Facebook uses AdBlockers because of the proliferation of spammy website links.

How to avoid Being ignored?

Write something of real value.
Stay away from the fluff.
Share your own opinions.
Don't spam social media, don't buy advertising for clickbait articles and fake information. don't write sensation seeking titles.

The bottom line is. Be real, be yourself, be true. It is not that hard.

itsjed