Infographics – Are They Worth It?
Infographics have a unique knack for their ability to blend predominantly dry statistics with eye-catching visuals.
This form of communication was super popular circa 2012, taking over both the digital landscape and Pinterest boards across the globe.
And as with any marketing trend, some great and some not so great examples exist.
But are they still relevant? What impact do they have on SEO – if any?
Cons of Infographics
There are a lot of awful infographics out there that are having a negative impact on the desired communication with an audience.
Here are some arguments for potential downsides to using infographics in your business.
- Saturation – There are millions of infographics on the internet, so it can be hard to stand out.
- Unclear Message – When trying to convey too much information, the message can get lost in the visuals
- Boring – No matter how visually pleasing they are, sometimes, the info is just too dry for public consumption
- Time Consuming – Good infographics take a lot of time to produce, as well as ya know, design skills? Not something you can pick up at the store, unfortunately.
- Hard to Read on Mobile – An infographic that looks best on desktops may not work for phone screens. 53.8% of web traffic comes from mobile phones; it can be hard to design for both.
- Stagnant Information – A popular blog post can be updated with new information and stay relevant (as you can see!). Infographics are one-and-done; once they’re out there, you can’t change them.
Pros of Infographics
They aren’t all doom and gloom. If used correctly, this visual medium can still have a positive impact on a business’s digital performance.
- Reader Retention – Quick bursts of info, rather than a long article, keep reader’s attention
- Shareable – Great way to get your content to spread quickly, and possibly get some backlinks to your site
- Eye-catching – People are drawn to colorful and playful visuals
- Interactive – New graphs allow for user interaction, whether it be with quizzes, dropdown menus, videos, even 360° views.
- Easy(er?) to Make – There are tons of free programs to make them, with built-in templates and assets that will help you be a design pro. Sites such as Canva, Easel.ly, and Visme are good places to start.
- Less Competition – We’re all oversaturated with them, so if one is being shared a lot, you know it’s going to be good.
Do infographics impact SEO?
Infographics can have a positive impact on your search optimization efforts — as long as you understand the importance of on-page and image optimization best practices.
Simply creating an infographic and dropping it onto your website won’t yield results.
In an ideal world, your infographic will be optimized, embedded in a blog post, with corresponding copy that relates to the infographic in question.
Google is getting better and better at reading text in images, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need to do your homework.
Make sure your infographic has the correct metadata, such as alt tags, and always accompany the image with body copy explaining your information in detail. Infographics are also a neat tool for link building – who doesn’t love linking to a visually appealing image?
Love ’em or hate ’em, infographics are the symbiotic relationship between information and graphical representation.
It’s important to have these contrasting worlds blend seamlessly into each other in order to create something that has both aesthetics and information.
Ultimately, infographic usage comes down to quality.
If you produce a striking and clear infographic, you will have no problem getting the exposure infographics are known for generating.
Need a hand boosting your organic search traffic (with or without the use of infographics)? Say hey to the team at Method and Metric, we’ll be happy to support starting with an affordable SEO audit!
