This article looks at the utility of infographics in digital marketing and how a well put together infographic can help drive search traffic to your website and bring in new visitors.

Infographics are a relatively new form of media (just a few years old yet) that have been becoming more and more prevalent in digital marketing. Chances are you already know what an infographic is. (If not, check out this one we put together on video marketing.) Since May 2010, the popularity of infographics has gone up tenfold.

People are much more likely to respond to a clever or cutesy picture and share it with their friends than they would be an article, and the rise in the popularity of infographics in digital marketing largely comes down to engagement and conversions. Ninety percent of information that comes to the brain is visual, and 40% of readers respond more positively to an infographic rather than just plain text. Photos on Facebook, for example, generate an average of 53% more likes and 104% more comments than the average post. ^[1] Even tiny image emoticons in Facebook posts have been found to increase comments and shares by 33% and likes by 57%.

Step One: Prepare Your Infographic To Be Shared

Generally speaking, the more people share your website’s content, the better your website’s visibility in search engines will be. Why? Because Google looks at the number of sites that link to yours, and this number plays an important role in your website’s rankability. Links that go to your site from other websites are called backlinks, and building quality backlinks is an important consideration in any serious SEO or digital marketing campaign. Since infographics are more engaging than most other forms of media, they serve as an excellent vehicle for obtaining backlinks.

By getting people to share your content, those people are telling Google (and those other search engines) that they find your content interesting. By getting a larger number of people to share your content, those people are telling Google that your website is popular, and this will help your overall rankings. The more quality backlinks your site has, the more popular Google views your domain. This doesn’t just apply to your infographic’s visibility in search engines. The benefits of a good backlink profile will help all of your pages and posts in search engines.

Make it easy for readers to share your infographic.

• Feature your infographic on your blog in conjunction with social media share buttons
• Share your infographic to any social media platforms your website uses
• Use a free embed service like embed.ly

Step Two: Invite Other Publishers To Share Your Infographic Whenever Possible!

Do you know of other websites within your niche that might want to use your infographic? Offer to let them use it for free! Publishers are typically interested in using free content that fits with theirs. Look up some articles relevant to whatever your infographic is on, send those publishers an email and offer to let them implement your infographic in their article. If they do, you’ll get some quality backlinks in return.