If you’re a producer of online content, clicks are what you’re aiming for. After all, every click is a visit and every visit is an opportunity. But how far should you go to get those visits?

For some, the answer is simple. Looking to drive as much possible traffic to a site in the shortest amount of time, companies will engage in clickbait practices – promoting content that lures readers into clicking on sensationalized titles and images that offer nothing in the way of meaningful content in return. But hey, a click is a click, right?

Wrong.

Click-baiting damages your brand’s hard-earned reputation faster than a pop-up of a girl in a string bikini. So tell me, are a few hundred, thousand, or even a million clicks worth compromising the integrity of your brand?

No.

Chances are, you’re not the only business that does what you do. Why then would you give your audience a reason to go elsewhere?

When you keep your content honest, offering valuable information, tools, and resources that educate and inspire, you can trust your audience will come.