How to Optimize Infographics for SEO?

Imagine having to read a lengthy paragraph filled with complex information. Just the thought of it sounds tiring, doesn’t it? 

Do you know what would be perfect for such a situation? Infographics.

Proved to the best-performing visual content of 2019, infographics are effective content marketing tools. They are visually-appealing and help the reader interpret information more quickly.

Apart from being powerful storytelling tools, one of their biggest benefits is the role they play in amplifying SEO efforts. 

Why are Infographics Important for SEO?

The ultimate goal of SEO is to boost brand visibility and drive valuable traffic to your website. The good news is that infographics can help you get closer to that goal. 

Here are three key reasons why infographics are important for SEO. 

• Creates link building opportunities

We all know that acquiring quality backlinks is an important aspect of improving search rankings but how about going beyond promoting text-based articles for link building? 

Infographics increase link building opportunities, helping you secure high-quality links more efficiently. They are a winning content marketing tool due to their ability to stand out and present information in an easy-to-digest manner.

What’s more, infographics are not as common as blog posts. So, if you decide to promote an infographic to secure links, there are higher chances of getting considered. 

• Easily shareable

As infographics can be embedded, it’s easier to share them and increases their potential to go viral. So, focus on creating a share-worthy infographic, and you’re sure to attract traffic to your website leading to an increase in brand awareness and quality backlinks. 

• More engaging

It’s a well-established fact that humans are visual creatures – we gravitate towards visuals more than words. This is what makes infographics a more popular and engaging content marketing tool.

Moreover, with depleting attention spans and an overdose of information in today’s day and age, people truly appreciate content that’s easy to scan and consume.

Apart from narrating a story effectively, they have the power to captivate readers and grab their attention for longer. Readers tend to be more invested in the content, helping you form a connection with them while increasing the time they spend on your website. 

7 Ways to Optimize Infographics for SEO

While infographics need to look attractive to stand out, what’s equally important is making them SEO-friendly. 

So, if you’re thinking of creating an infographic, you need to make it work for you. Here are seven ways to optimize infographics for SEO. 

• Identify the right target keyword

Keyword research marks the first step of creating any form of content and the same holds for infographics too. 

Once you’ve decided on the topic, you need to identify the right target keyword (s). 

You can use Google’s Keyword Planner to find a mix of short and long-tail keywords. 

All you need to do is enter keywords related to the broad topic you have in mind and you’ll be presented with a list of keyword ideas. Settle for those that are high on search volume but low on competition.

Another place to find keywords is using Google’s Autocomplete feature to see the kind of questions people are asking related to the topic in question.

• Keyword optimize the content

Infographics are images and Google doesn’t read them the way it reads articles. However, that doesn’t stop you from keyword optimizing the other on-page SEO aspects that can influence search engine ranking. 

Here’s a look at the important places you should keyword optimize:

• Heading tags
• Meta-description
• Supporting content
• Image (infographic) title and alt text
• Image filename 
• URL

The idea behind this is to tell Google what your infographic is about, helping it rank your infographic page better.  

• Craft compelling supporting content

It would be silly to publish a stand-alone infographic. 

Whether it’s an enticing introduction, an in-depth elaboration of the points mentioned in the infographic or a strong conclusion with a call-to-action – crafting content to support the infographic is essential.

While it’s a great way to emphasize on the infographic and deliver additional value, including supporting content also allows you to strategically add the target keyword and insert relevant links to internal and external pages.

Source: Venngage

• Ensure quick loading speed

Page loading time affects user experience and is an important aspect of search engine rankings. 

Considering that infographics are high-resolution images, they’re essentially heavy files and if there’s one thing we know about heavy files, it’s that they load slowly.

So, how do you include infographics and ensure quick loading speed?

One tactic you can employ is using the lazy loading technique. This means that instead of loading the entire page in one go, the various sections will load as and when users get to them.

Another way is to compress the file size using image optimizer tools such as JPEG Optimizer and Optimizilla. This will reduce the file size but maintain the quality. 

Regardless of the option you go with, before you go live, make sure you test the loading speed of the page to avoid delivering poor user experience. 

• Insert a prominent call-to-action

You designed an attractive infographic packed with valuable information. It kept your readers engaged and left them impressed.

Don’t let that go to waste. Make them act by placing a call-to-action in the infographic and supporting content. 

From subscribing to your blog and driving traffic to a landing page to making a donation or a purchase – make sure you capitalize on your audience’s attention by presenting them with a call-to-action, encouraging them to take the desired step.

Source: Oxfam America

• Enable social sharing

The more your infographic gets shared, the more traffic your website will attract which will increase search rankings.

So, to optimize infographics for SEO, you have to make it easy for viewers to share them. 

The best way to achieve that is by enabling social sharing buttons on your infographic pages so it’s extremely convenient for people to share the infographic across their social media networks.

Source: Zazzle Media

Apart from receiving organic shares, you can also go all out in promoting the infographic via social media, submitting it to infographic directories, guest blogging and other content marketing techniques such as reaching out to influencers and thought leaders. 

• Generate an embed code

Just the way placing social sharing buttons helps people share the infographic with ease on social media platforms, embed codes makes it easier for them to share it on their websites.

An embed code is an HTML code snippet which when pasted on a website automatically posts the infographic while linking back to the original one on your website. 

This is a smart way to strengthen your link building strategy by driving inbound links and ultimately attracting traffic to your website. 

Conclusion

It’s not enough to design stunning infographics. After all the effort that you put in, you want it to reap SEO benefits. 

So, follow these seven essential tactics to optimize infographics for SEO and leverage this powerful communication tool to drive quality traffic, create brand awareness and engage your readers.