How To Create Valuable Linkable Assets

When approaching SEO, a fundamental aspect that you will want to consider is your linking strategy. A large part of this includes creating content that attracts quality inbound links, we call this content linkable assets. Linkable assets are simple, they are any assets that offer value by being useful relevant and high quality.

A strategy which places emphasis on developing links for the sole purpose of climbing through the Google rankings is one that isn’t fully utilising the potential of the asset. In this sense there is also a distinction between good linkable assets and bad linkable assets. Bad linkable assets bring little value for the reader. The content may be presented in a way that’s different from what was promoted at the source link, or it may just be low quality.

Conversely, good linkable assets do a number of things.

Attract High Quality Leads

A good asset will not only bring in large amounts of traffic, but large amounts of relevant traffic. If someone isn’t interested in your product or service but you create content to attract them anyway, you are wasting both your and their time. Having a high percentage of traffic that converts is more important than just having a lot of traffic. When the assets you create are valuable, they bring in high quality leads, longer term traffic and they encourage social media activity. Someone who finds what they are looking for is far more likely to have a positive experience and share your services with others.

Maintain Longevity

When you create a linkable asset, you want to create content that will be relevant for a long time. This is sometimes called evergreen content. Creating evergreen content is likely to ensure that you receive links for a longer period of time.

Generate Authority

Think about creating assets that display your knowledge and establish your brand as an authority in your space. The best way to do this is to solve direct problems. You can find these by asking customers directly or by looking in social media conversions or on forums and question boards such as Yahoo Questions and Ask.com.

Improve Visibility

Good linkable assets increase your sites visibility. This means that they will be shared through social media networks and improve your SERPs to push you up through the search engines as well.

Whilst these are all examples of what good linkable assets do for you, when considering how to create these assets, you want to ask what you can do for the audience. Understanding your target market is obviously fundamental and you may want to consider these questions when brainstorming new assets.

1. Is the content I’m creating something that is in demand?
2. Can this asset be used multiple times?
3. Will this content illicit a strong emotion response?
4. Does this asset reveal new knowledge to the audience?
5. How is this asset making life easier for the reader?

Examples of Linkable Assets

• Videos
• Widgets
• Converters e.g. file and currency
• Niche specific maps
• How to guides and walkthroughs
• Podcasts
• Interviews

Creating your assets is only the first part of the process. In order to make these assets linkable you have to consistently push them through different channels until they are consistently generating organic traffic. A couple of ideas include:

• Submit the content to content sharing sites such as Stumbleupon
• Reach out to content curators in your sphere such as bloggers
• Provide incentives to readers to encourage social sharing
• Embed links to your assets in your videos

Ultimately, quality content and linkable assets will form the backbone of your SEO and content marketing strategies. Do you research and ensure what you are creating is in demand and only be ready to put it out if it is offering value. If you would like to know how you can get started creating your own linkable assets, contact us today.