How To Build Links Effectively Using Linkable Assets

If you are looking to boost your SEO ranking as well as establish quality brand entity, you need to demonstrate E-E-A-T elements, even in AI-generated content. One way to boost the authority and trustworthiness of your page is to build quality backlinks, also known as inbound links.

With that being said, generating quality backlinks can be a time-consuming process as it involves reaching out to other quality websites and content creators. Hence, rather than solely focusing on building a link-building outreach programme, establishing a pool of linkable assets also helps your targeted content to earn links, improving your outreach response rates.

What are linkable assets?

Linkable assets are high-quality content crafted to attract inbound links from other sources, either through outreach campaigns or promotional efforts. They can come in the form of downloadable content, online tools, videos, written articles, or infographics.

The difference between high-quality linkable assets and the rest of your ranked content in similar niches is that they are long-form, detailed, valuable, unique, and informational resources that should benefit your target audience.

The effectiveness of your linkable assets also depends on your website’s proven E-E-A-T (Expertise, Experience, Authority, Trust). It does not apply only to linkable assets but also to every generated content.

How does E-E-A-T apply to linkable assets?

Google’s Search Rater Guidelines introduced the E-E-A-T concept, offering a detailed understanding of how online content is evaluated, which in turn affects the visibility and SERP ranking of said content.

E-E-A-T has become such an imperative element in not only SEO but also link-building and content marketing. In order to ensure a well-optimised linkable asset, one needs to demonstrate the four elements:

• Expertise: The linkable asset must prove the content creator’s extensive understanding and knowledge about the related topic through publications, experience, or education.
• Experience: The linkable asset must highlight the content creator’s first-hand knowledge of the related topic through research, interviews, or personal experiences.
• Authority: The linkable asset must establish the content creator’s credibility and reputation through the quality of their work, affiliations, or credentials.
• Trustworthiness: The linkable asset must showcase the content creator’s integrity and honesty by avoiding conflicts of interest, neutrality, or transparency.

What are the pros and cons of linkable assets?

High-quality linkable assets have been proven to generate a significant amount of quality traffic and links. However, that does not mean that it is all-powerful. In fact, the link-building strategy has several drawbacks.

Let us start with the advantages:

• Brand credibility and exposure: Linkable assets can improve the reputation of your brand as an industry expert, boosting your credibility and trust.
• Long-term value: Valuable and relevant linkable content will continue to bring in inbound links for a long time, boosting traffic at the same time.
• Foster quality relationships: Linkable assets help foster quality, long-term relationships with industry experts and other content creators, establishing trust and collaboration.
• Enhanced organic visibility: Linkable assets can draw in a significant amount of visits across several keywords.
• Scalable link acquisition: Linkable assets opens up link opportunities in other topics.

Linkable assets have their disadvantages too:

• High competition rate: The need for organic visibility and inbound links increases competition, making it harder for content to stand out from the rest.
• Difficulty in measuring success: It takes time for crawl bots to recognise and reward gained backlinks. Hence, it can be challenging to assess the linkable asset’s SEO impact.
• No guarantee of backlinks: Having well-written quality content does not mean guaranteed backlinks.
• Resource- and time-intensive: Generating high-quality linkable assets can be a time- and resource-consuming process that might not bode well for smaller brands or businesses lacking in those areas.

Types of linkable assets you can create

There is a huge pool of content types you can generate solely for securing high-quality backlinks. For example:

• Google Sheets and Excel templates: From project planning to home organisations, templates are straightforward tools to manage a campaign with several moving parts. Search terms with higher counts tend to be keywords focusing on project management.
• Informative infographics: With a combination of texts, illustrations, icons, graphs, and charts, infographics provide clear, quick, and concise information.
• Listicles: Listicle contents involve numbered or bulleted points accompanied by a brief explanation of the points. They are ideal formats for getting brief information quickly. However, they can also oversimplify complex topics. Hence, they are to be used appropriately.
• Unique research studies: From surveys to company and resource data analysis, such linkable assets involve unique studies with accompanying insights and methodology published in a general webpage or blog article.
• Statistical roundup lists: This form of a linkable asset will combine various statistics from different reputable sources, organising them into appropriate categories for easier search.

How to build linkable assets?

Depending on the type of linkable asset you are going for, there are two specific approaches to building them.

1. Technique-first

The technique-first approach focuses on generating content for specific audiences. Basically, you first identify content creators, forums, or sites that specialise in a specific topic, then generate content around that topic, appealing to them to earn quality backlinks. An example of a technique-first approach is the Skyscraper technique which sits on three core principles:

• Find popular content that has generated significant backlinks from other quality sites
• Create better content on the exact topic, publishing it on your own website
• Promote that content to the right group of content creators or website

2. Content-first

The content-first approach focuses on generating niche- or audience-first content, followed by reaching out to earn links. You might optimise existing content or simply create brand-new content that you know will appeal to your audience. One way of boosting your appeal to your audience is to look into your Google Search Autocomplete for suggestions on what your audience might be looking for.

With content-first approaches, unique distribution methods to help earn backlinks include press releases, targeted social ads, or emailing an existing list of relationships.

Conclusion

Crafting linkable assets that other quality websites, as well as content creators, can leverage can help to reduce outreach time and earn links. While such contents take a significant amount of time to generate, it can help speed up the overall time in earning backlinks.

Of course, at the end of the day, it does not hurt to outsource such tasks to digital marketing agencies in Singapore that provide not only SEO services covering linkable assets but also other services, such as lead generation. Hence, the next time you are thinking of starting a link-building campaign, do not hesitate to refer to these points to speed up your process and earn quality ones.