You may have heard that in order for your articles to attract an audience, get shared in social media, and continue to attract visitors organically, including more visuals – images, illustrations, charts, etc. – is one of the fastest ways to get there. Knowing this, more and more businesses have realized that infographics – which might be defined as image-based articles with creative visual content around the text – represents one of the best ways of making an otherwise boring article more readable and enjoyable to consume.
The reason for this is of course because we humans relate to visual impressions, much more so than we do with text. Because of this, we pay attention, feel engaged, and just want to consume the information presented so beautifully in front of us. Images and infographics are also great for boosting your ranking in search engine results. For example on a business or finance blog, infographics that goes along with written content can really take your blog to the next level.
Infographics Are Extremely SEO-Friendly
Your site’s ranking on a search engine results page (SERP) depends largely on how popular it is, how many other high-quality sites that link to your site, and how much your content gets shared. According to research, there’s an increase in engagement of 40% when there are visuals that accompany text on a page. Therefore, it’s going to be much more likely for your content to get likes, shares, and comments when you have a creatively designed, well-researched infographic as part of an article on a rather technical subject in finance for example.
Other SEO strategies, such as link building, are also effective when done correctly, but usually require a lot more effort than simply refreshing your old blog posts with improved formatting, a conversational tone, bullet points, and more visuals like infographics. Everyone who have dipped their toe into link building would probably agree that it gets challenging, and that the best option is therefore to start putting your own house in perfect order first.
An extra benefit with infographics is that they’re also easy to share via third party websites like Pinterest, Facebook, and Reddit, where users can download, like, comment, and otherwise interact with your content, of course with your company’s logo on it and with a link back to your website.
Become a Niche Authority
As I have already stressed, people both prefer and pay more attention to visual content compared to just plain text. This is why, when you produce promotional materials for your business, it is essential to include plenty of visuals that catch the interest of your target audience. Without it, chances are nobody will even notice.
Well-researched infographics full of interesting facts and figures can also position you as an authority in your field, both in the eyes of your audience and from the perspective of search engines. It gives your readers a tangible point of reference and presents you as an expert in the field. In addition to the previous point, infographics tend to favor your business in more than one way. For example, if you’re in a very specialized industry that is difficult to break through in with just simple-worded ads, infographics again are the solution by making heavy and difficult subjects enjoyable and easy to understand.
Google Searches Still Increasing
Infographics have been extremely popular online over the past decade. Since 2010, Google Trends has shown a consistent increase in global search interest for the term “Infographic,” with an all-time high in Google searches for the keyword being recorded in November 2017.
As you can see, Google Trends shows a steadily growing interest for the term “infographic.” This means that people – your potential clients – are actively looking for information presented in the form of an infographic. If you want to be found, you need to be there when the customer goes out looking for you!
Takeaway
Research has revealed that infographics are 30 times more likely to be read than plain-text articles, and it has also been proven that website visitors stay longer and consumes more of your content when infographics are part of it. When combined with well-researched information and compelling visuals, infographics become a very powerful tool that helps your readers save time and navigate the information jungle that is the Internet today. They will appreciate your quality content and hopefully come back for more!
