Effective links using images

For example, take this simple comic from xkcd:

According to Ahrefs Site Explorer, it contains links from over 7,000 referring domains:

While it can be difficult to replicate such success, there are simple ways we can all build links using images. In today's guide, we'll look at three of the most effective tactics.

Images can be embedded. And when people embed them in their content, they usually link back to the source. For example, here's this comic about password strength embedded in a post on Wired.co.uk:

The author credits the author below the image, citing the source of the image.

Which images attract links?

Getting links from images is a strategic process. You can't just take a picture of your cat and expect links to flood in. You need images that people will actually want to embed. Here are some common types of images that attract links:

Infographics

Graphs

Photos

Maps

Product Photos

Infographics

People love infographics for a variety of reasons. This probably explains why "creating infographic links" has been a practice for over a decade now. And while they've become a little less popular than they once were, mostly because people overdid it a few years ago, interesting and well-designed links can still attract a lot of backlinks.

Just take a look at this from Wine Folly:

According to Ahrefs Site Explorer, it has links from 153 unique websites (referring domains).

Photo

No, an Instagram photo of your lunch isn't going to help you build links. But if you take snapshots of what people are searching for, they can attract links like crazy. For example, Unsplash's bank of 100+ nature images has 349 referring domains:

Maps

Take a look at this map:

The page it's on has backlinks from 278 referring domains including BBC, Lonely Planet, Vice, Gizmodo and more.

Product Photos

If you take photos of popular products for your online shop, you can bet that others will use them without permission. For example, FireBox took their own product photos for a brewing kit they sell:

However, this isn't the only site that sells this product, and others seem to have used their photos without permission:

3 ways to build links with images

Let's get down to the minutiae and start building links.

Claim rights to links of incorrect attribution

If you've already created some of the image types mentioned above, people may have already embedded them.

Claim rights to links from unauthorised use

Most people who use your images will provide you with a link, but not all.

Use the TRUST formula

You can only expect a certain number of backlinks from your existing images. After that, you'll need to create more images to attract backlinks. There are several ways to do this, but one proven formula is the TRUST formula.

In a nutshell it is:

Trending topic - Find a relevant topic

Research and analysis - Find interesting data on your topic

Unique (unusual, or unexpected) takeaway - Write a good headline.

Simple visual - Create your own simple visual

Tactical promotion - Promote and promote.

Images are an effective way to build links because they are embeddable, and their visual nature also makes complex topics easier to explain. This is why infographics can work so well. Just remember that not everything makes sense in an image. You shouldn't try to force your content into this format just to create links. It won't work. This is the reason why countless infographics have failed.