Why Are Infographics Such Great Link Bait?

Posted by Mark Thompson - April 23, 2010 - Design/Development, SEM - 3 Comments

Infographics tend to be extremely viral content that spread rapidly throughout various social networks and the blogosphere.  Some recent examples of viral Infographics are By the Numbers: Facebook vs The United States, The Current State of Twitter, and Google Facts and Figures.  All intended to be informational, engaging, and most importantly are great link bait.

So why are Infographics such great link bait?  Let’s examine why…

Infographics Tell a Thousand Words

One of the great things about infographics is the ability to use graphics to tell a story.  There are no limits to the type of information you can pack into a well designed infographic.  Perfect for displaying figures, showing timelines, showing event details, showing screenshots, or place emphasis on certain aspects of the infographic.

Fun & Engaging

Unlike plain ole text, Infographics are appealing to the eye and attracts the user. Naturally your eyes gravitate towards images and graphics, so it is just instinct to want to look at the infographic before any of the text that may surround it.  With infographics you can illustrate things like emotion, depth, importance, complexities, concepts, processes and more.

Its Better Than Reading

A web user has the attention span of a hyperactive child chugging redbull.  By using Infographics to get your story across, it means less time the user has to spend to understand what you are saying.  Pictures and images have been a universal language for as long as time, that everyone can understand and relate to.

Graphical representation renders itself far more accessible and understandable by people; whether they understand the language of the designer or not.  The reason why people accept so much information via infographics compared to text is explained by how our brains have formed over time.

Quote by InspiredMag

Informational (obviously)

The foundation for a infographic is to visually explain a topic, theme, company or figures/data threw the use of graphics.  What is so appealing to the user is that they can learn something in a fun and engaging way. Of course you could use an excel sheet or powerpoint, however these communication tools have been overused and have the stereotype of being boring.

Increase Search Volume for “Infographic”

As you can see from data provided by Google Insights, the number of people searching for Infographics has been on the steady increase over the last 12 months.  I would assume that the search volume will stay on the rise.

About the Author

Mark Thompson
