How to Build Backlinks with Infographics to Boost Your SEO Rankings

While it is certainly true that infographics were at one point extremely popular and equally over-used, and while many an “SEO expert” has called time of death on them since, they remain interesting, popular, and link-worthy.

Like most digital strategies, they have seen a boom, and have managed to recover from it – as there is nothing inherently wrong with them. Rather it was the way people used them in the past that caused issues.

When you think about it, infographics as a visual format are incredible: they can help visitors digest a lot of information in an appealing, creative, and memorable way, and they can spice up even the most boring of articles.

Theyʼre even used as a learning and memorization aid. The only cause of their bad rep was the fact that at one point, everyone was using Canva to make rather poor visuals that had no reason to be published or shared. As these poor efforts were being over-promoted, people got tired of seeing them, and their popularity waned.

Luckily for us we can now create infographics for SEO purposes that our brands deserve

Why use infographics to promote your website?

Using visuals on your pages can help improve website traffic by 12%, while infographics are considered to be the top performing visual content type.

However, there is a caveat – they need to be original, and they need to be well-made.

Slapping something together in a free tool over your lunch break will not yield the results youʼre looking for.

Let’s look at a couple of examples of well-performing infographics to illustrate this point (pun intended).

Here’s an incredible one about the Beatles: http://duelingdata.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-beatles.html

One about life itself: https://www.behance.net/gallery/10901127/History-of-Life

An incredibly useful one: http://www.shouldiworkforfree.com/

One about the Avengers: https://lemonly.com/work/avengers-assemble

And of course, one about infographics: http://www.ivan.cash/infographic-of-infographics/

As you can see for yourself, all of these are unique, interesting, targeted – and their design is impeccable.

A lot of thought and research has gone into them, and that effort has paid off manifold.

The rule of content that we apply to articles also operates with infographics: quality over quantity, and research above all else.

How to create an infographic

As we have now established that the success of your infographic will depend on the resources you pour into it, let’s briefly touch upon the creation process:

1. Choose a compelling and relevant topic

While you may not be able to get away with an Avengers-themed infographic (unless you can somehow tie them to your business), there are certainly countless ideas you can go for.

Remember, you are promoting your business, not creating an infographic that has nothing in common with it.

If you make shoes, you can do an infographic on the history of shoe making, or on the different styles and tools used in the craft, for example.

If you have a gym, you can do infographics about different exercises, techniques, or the history of weightlifting.

If you sell SEO services, you can create visuals around the elements of a good website, ranking factors, and so on.

All you need to do is think of something people look for and, more importantly, something people will want to link to.

2. Think about the audience

You need to factor in who you are targeting with the infographic when considering the design and the messaging you want to convey. For example, if youʼre appealing to an audience who are new to a subject, you will use different language than if you were talking to experts.

Again, think about the people who are likely to share the infographic on social media and link back to it from their own blogs: what would appeal to them?

3. Write your story

Your visuals need to tell a story, so don’t just pile a bunch of data onto a piece of paper. Think about the narrative: how does the data tie in, how does it work with your audience, and how can it represent your brand?

Timelines are always a good choice, as are charts, but you can organize your data however you feel will work best. Remember, it not only has to look good, but it needs to follow a logical thought pattern. You want audiences to be able to follow along and learn something, not just look at a pretty picture.

Do your research well and always double-check your facts.

4. Design

If you have a designer on your team you can work with them to create the infographic. If you’re doing it yourself you should start with a wireframe, and come up with the best placement for each piece of data and each image. Then you can do the actual design work.

Think about things like colors, fonts, and sizes – all of this will have its own appeal.

So, all of the above covers exactly how to go from an idea to creating a full infographic. But, how do you build backlinks with infographics?

How to promote an infographic and build backlinks

Now that you have a great piece of visual content on your hands, there are several avenues we advise you to explore – not all in equal measure, but all of them should be incorporated in your infographic promotion strategy to some extent. Here is how you build backlinks with your infographic:

Publishing

But first, a side-note about publishing.

Always post your infographic on your own website. That way, all traffic will be directed there.

Also, always make sure the author of the infographic is noted in a corner, with your website’s URL also listed. While people may not be able to click on it, branding is very important.

Post to social media

Once you have posted the piece, your first port of call are your social media accounts.

Make sure you promote the post more than once – don’t just share it when it goes up, but reshare it a few times to ensure more people see it.

Also, make sure not to reveal the entire visual on social media. You want people to come visit your site to read the entire infographic, so only show glimpses and spark their imagination.

You can also pay to promote your posts on social media to increase visbility.

Share with your subscribers

Sharing your infographic through your newsletter should also be a given – after all, your loyal audience is bound to be interested in this new visual piece you have created.

Encourage subscribers to share on their own social media channels by adding plenty of sharing options to the email, and nudge them in the right direction – but don’t ask them to share outright. You want to inspire action, not demand it.

Submit to directories

There are plenty of online infographic directories where you can (and should!) submit your infographic. While they may not provide all that much traffic, they are a great way to get an easy link back.

Just make sure you go for quality directories, as opposed to low-level and low-ranking ones. You may have to pay to get featured on some of the better ones, so if you have the budget for it, that’s another option.

Reach out to influencers

Reaching out to influencers in the niche who might be interested in sharing is a great tactic. But again, remember, you are not asking for a share, you are just sharing the infographic with them.

Since you can’t offer anything in return for the share, you don’t want to ask for it – let your content speak for itself, and if you have done your work well, people will want to share it of their own accord.

Social media is often the best way to reach these people, and itʼs much more casual than sending an email.

Find local guides

Surprisingly many local resources are happy to help promote a fellow local if you just reach out and say hi. We’re just a little SEO company in Asheville, and we’ve been super surprised how many local publications have been willing to work with us for local clients. 

Reach out to bloggers

This is where you want a lot of your links to come from. However, outreach for infographic promotion is a bit tricky.

You can ask a blogger to include you in their newsletter. You can ask for a share on social media. You can ask for a link from their website. You can even tell them where you think the infographic will fit well.

Any and all of these tactics might work, but then again, they might not. Asking for a link is a tricky endeavor, so you should be prepared for mixed results.

Of course, just letting someone know you have published a nifty infographic might also result in a link.

The one way to improve your chances is to do your research well so that you can direct your efforts to individuals who would be really interested in helping you out and showcasing your creativity.

Final thoughts

Now that you know how to create and promote an infographic, you can put your thinking cap on and get to the nearest drawing board. Just keep in mind that quality and relevance come first.

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Karl Kangur

When being a chess prodigy turned out to be too demanding, Karl converted to being a marketing nerd. He loves to theorycraft and when he starts talking about SEO, he can't stop.
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