Link building is an important part of SEO. Without authoritative links pointing at your site, your optimization efforts are nil. Search engines specifically look for these links and consider them in their advanced algorithms when determining SERPs. The thing is that it can be difficult to earn the type of powerful links that really benefit your site’s SEO efforts. Guest posting is a great link-building strategy, but not everybody wants to do that and there has got to be another effective approach. One powerful solution that produces dramatic results lies in data-driven content. However, to implement a successful link-building strategy with data, one must first understand why people link, and the type of data that is most effective. Authors and site owners typically link to a web page to support a claim or back up a narrative. Understanding the intent behind the action is important. Now you need to learn about the types of data that will afford you linking-building opportunities in your field.

Analysis

This may sound a bit mundane and boring, but the truth is that some of the most successful link-attracting content available is data analysis. This data may be the result of studies, original search, correlating properties or other applications. This type of information probe and publishing appeals to people because it is easily comprehended if it is displayed properly. The analysis may be the result of public information or data that was obtained through proprietary means. It typically compares two or more factors but that is not always the case. Even cross referencing publicly available data and making it available for scrutiny can be especially interesting. The internet itself is bringing about the availability of this type of information to the consumer market and it performs.

Survey Inquiries

People love surveys and they love seeing the results because they want to know what everybody else said. It seems silly but its true. Most people are willing to complete a survey at some time. If the survey is original and relevant it usually earns a lot of backlinks because people want to see it. It is also deemed as sharable information that can circulate on social media. The best thing to do is identify a quantitative question that your audience would be interested in. Try to keep the survey short and do not use open ended questions. Keep them simple and offer simple options. You will also want to host your survey on a platform. There are plenty available on the internet. Use the most attention-grabbing piece of information as your headline after the audience has completed your survey and provide your own intelligent interpretations of the results.

Compilations

Research compilations are another type of data driven content that will earn you valuable links. This is simply a post which compiles and displays previous search data in an easy to understand comprehensive format. Research compilations won’t earn as many links as quickly as the other types of data. However, they are typically more evergreen in nature and they continue to earn links over the long term as others become outdated. You’ll want to make sure that you use factually dense content which can be updated over time as needed or as current information becomes available. Categorize the information comprehensively and make the structure easy to navigate.

Using data-driven content to garner valuable backlinks is a powerful and effective strategy. The best idea is to use some combination of all three over time and display them in a manner that appeals to your audience. Data driven content carries weight that words and pictures just don’t have when they stand alone. Source the information, compile and display it with authority and you will earn links.