How High-Quality Infographics Can Improve Your SEO in 2020

Search engine optimization (SEO) is growing more and more critical each year. Search engine algorithms change regularly, close to a thousand times per year. However, regardless of those changes, one thing remains certain: Content still reigns supreme when it comes to ranking factors. 

In this article, we’re outlining infographics and their role in SEO. Infographics are an excellent combination of visual and textual content, which makes them ideal for any situation where content marketing is involved. If you want to produce well-optimized content, infographics are a perfect strategy for you. Over the years, link builders have abused this format but they haven’t managed to undermine its efficiency. Back then, the infographics that were produced were of poor quality. 

Nowadays, fewer infographics are promoted, which makes them highly sought-after. With that in mind, let’s have a look at the role of high-quality infographics with regards to an SEO strategy in 2020. 

Infographics Are Easily Processed

It’s no secret that consumers today prefer visual content over that of plain text. However, that doesn’t mean no-one wants to read anymore. As mentioned before, infographics are a combination of text and visuals, which makes them well-suited for any type of audience. 

But why do online consumers process infographics so well? The main reason is that human beings are primarily visual learners. We process visual information 60,000 faster than we process text alone. 

Also, we can retain 65 percent of the information we’ve read when both text and visuals are involved, whereas we can only retain 10-20 percent of the information from text alone. That being said, infographics are a type of content that consumers will prefer to engage with and any content that’s well-received by a wider audience is beneficial for SEO.

Linkable Assets

Aside from content, high-quality backlinks are also among the top ranking factors for search engines. Infographics are, therefore, an excellent and linkable asset you can use in your SEO strategy. In addition, they can work well with other off-page SEO activities, such as guest posting, for instance. 

However, before you can leverage the full potential of infographics as a linkable asset, you’ll have to optimize them well. If you ever have difficulties with optimizing your infographics, you can always seek advice. 

For instance, well-optimized Infostarters infographics can serve as a perfect example of how to turn your infographic into a linkable asset. Here are a few optimization factors you should keep in mind:

• Develop stunning visuals
• Conduct keyword research
• Optimize alt text
• Optimize meta description
• Add an H1 tag
• Optimize supporting text
• Include social sharing buttons
• Include backlinks
• Create an SEO-friendly URL
• Choose a file name accordingly

Infographics Drive Engagement

Engagement factors always contribute to your SEO. Content that’s shareable, linkable and well-received turns into signals that improve your rankings. 

Also, infographics can drive engagement across various channels, such as email, social media, website and blog pages. Since infographics have strong visuals, they can meet the expectations of a broader audience. Here are a few facts about visual content that may interest you. 

• Posts with visual elements and graphics can generate up to 94 percent more views
• Infographics can easily go viral and viral content improves brand awareness and exposure
• Brands with viral content have 60 percent more chances of being contacted for business
• Articles optimized for visuals can generate 37 percent more engagement from target audiences
• Stunning images can generate 67 percent more attention from target audiences
• 40 percent of online users will better respond to visual content than to a simple text

In other words, infographics encompass the best of two worlds, text and visuals, which makes them an ideal format for content marketing and SEO. Such formats work well on social media channels. Even though social media signals don’t directly impact search rankings, they can still impact other SEO factors, such as visibility, organic traffic, conversions and the like. 

Numerous Opportunities

Infographics are an integral part of content marketing and content is still on the top of the list as the most important ranking factor, according to Google. What it means is that infographics can create numerous other opportunities to drive business goals and vastly improve your SEO rankings. For example, you can use infographics to repurpose old content and give it a new, evergreen coat. What’s more, they can be used to inform, educate and entertain your audience, which further contributes to their overall customer experience. 

As you may already know, customer experience is a ranking factor as well. Moreover, publishing relevant infographics on reputable sources also increases your own credibility and authority, which makes you rank well on search engines. In other words, you can use infographics to drive almost any goal you need. Here are a few other things infographics can do for you:

• Improve visibility, presence and brand awareness
• Drive referrals, positive reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations
• Allow you to improve brand messaging
• Allow you to tell a story
• Helps your content reach a broader audience
• Allows you to tailor content for every device

It’s safe to say that infographics will be an excellent addition to your SEO strategy. Infographics have a vital role to play in SEO even today. However, they must be of top-quality like the rest of the content you produce. The main reason content is regarded as one of the most important ranking factors is, it can deliver value to consumers. If your infographics don’t offer value, they won’t be able to help you drive business goals or improve your rankings, for that matter.