9 Types of Content You Should Create for Backlinks

Getting high-quality backlinks has become one of the biggest goals among website owners. 

And why not?

After all, backlinks are the things that Google values more than anything else when it comes to rank a website.

So, if you have a website that needs some link juice to rank higher on SERP, pitching a high-quality website for link building should be your high priority right now.

But, how do you convince a site owner to give you a backlink?

One of the most successful ways is to create high-quality content for them.

Here comes the twist!

While you understand the value of content, you may not know exactly what type of content you should create.

Well, the truth is, most people don’t.

In this article, we will discuss nine types of content that can easily attract backlinks from high-quality websites.

Importance of Content for Link Building

According to most of the SEO experts, content is the king.

And they aren’t lying.

If you want to secure a quality backlink from a high-traffic domain of your niche, there’s no way you can do it without creating well-researched and value-driven content. 

Even if you manage to get a link without any proper content somehow, you might end up risking your site rank.

The reason?

Such links can make your site look fishy in the eyes of Google. 

While backlink is one of the most important metrics for search engine ranking, earning them in a wrong way such as comment spamming or reviews can make your site vulnerable to penalty.

That’s why it’s highly recommended that you focus on content creation if you’re really serious about link building.

Content That Attract Backlink

If you’re still reading this article, I assume you’re planning to create content for your next link building campaign. 

Whether you write it yourself or hire an agency for a quality content writing service, you need to learn about different types of content.

So, let’s have a look into the following content types that can help you to attract backlinks.

List Content 

List content is one of the best types of contents to go for if you’re planning to write a guest post.

These types of articles are remarkably consistent and easy to create.

You focus on a particular content, provide a number of points with explanations about that topic with a brief conclusion.

And the best part? Readers love them.

According to Buzzstream and Fractl after analyzing 220,000 articles, listed content gets the most shares on social media.

There are some good reasons why people love listed content. 

They don’t require much attention to read, are easily scalable, and invoke curiosity almost effortlessly.  

However, while creating such content, remember to provide an in-depth explanation of each point.

The Ultimate Guide 

This type of content offers a detailed and complete idea about a particular topic.

The ultimate guide can be an excellent reference for people who want to write on similar topics. 

If done well, it can easily attract tons of links. 

However, creating a guide isn’t as easy as it sounds.

Unlike other contents, a guide requires hours of hard work and research to create, and can even cost you thousands of dollars if you make someone else do it.

Cut the corners and you will not get the desired result.

So, if you’re planning to create such contents, you need to thoroughly study that topic, provide necessary data and research, infographics, and images to make it look like a complete guide.

Since bloggers can easily refer to your guide when they run out of space to explain a similar topic, you can expect to secure some quality backlinks.

How to Content

Another great type of content that can attract a significant number of readers.

Each day, hundreds and thousands of users search in Google to find a solution to a particular problem. 

Guess who can convert those users to their loyal readers?

You know the answer – the one who provides the solution.

Like the list content, how to articles can also cause curiosity in your readers’ minds. 

Wondering how you are going to create such content?

Conduct research on some problems your potential customers are facing on a regular basis.

Write an article introducing the problem to them, provide some solutions, and explain each step to get the desired result.

Such contents are in high demand since readers adore them. 

Site owners would love to publish such content since they will increase their traffic. So, create such articles and both of you can win.

Original Research

A kind of content that can guarantee you backlinks from some high-traffic websites.

Content based on original studies, research, or surveys conducted by you can add a great value to your site, as well as other sites that link to you. 

Bloggers who can’t do such research will surely love to use your research as a reference, thus securing you a significant number of backlinks.

Unlike regular content, doing research requires a lot of effort. However, considering the growth of your domain, it’s surely worth a try.

For example, Ahrefs has received more than 1000 backlinks for their research on Google search traffic.

So, if you can put some effort and create such research-based articles, you can see some popular blogs or sites linking to your site.

Compilation of Data

Even if you can’t do your own research you can still be on someone’s help.

Want to know how?

By creating a compilation of statistics or data.

Bloggers love authentic data and tend to link to that particular source they are using in their content.

Like original research, data compilation or statistics can also help others to backup their arguments in an article.

So, if you put some effort into creating a compilation of statistics from different websites and present them in a single article, people won’t have to browse several websites to get those data.

Instead, they can just click your content and get all their necessary data.

For example, if your website is about health niche, you can create content like:

• Average nicotine consumption in the year 2020
• Women died in breast cancer during the last 5 years

You can secure hundreds of links if your content provides original and useful information.

White Papers

This long-form piece of content is a great start to create a high-quality link network. 

White papers are one of the best kinds of cornerstone content that provides a detailed examination of a topic that matters to your audiences. 

These are authoritative reports or guides that are rich in information, meaning that they can be repurposed to engage potential customers.

White papers are one of the most ideal pieces of content since they don’t only sell themselves but also solve the pain points of customers.

Remember, a white paper isn’t a brochure that you can use to advertise your business. 

Instead, it will provide a detailed report on a topic or service, which is meant to provide a solution.

Since they are a perfect content to earn quality links, you can consider creating some of your own.

Case Studies

Have you recently accomplished a huge success in your business? 

If yes, why don’t you share your success story with your audiences?

Publishing a case study is one of the most effective ways to earn links since people have to link back to your content if they want to quote the result of your findings.

Although similar to original research, what makes a case study different is that it’s entirely built on your personal experience.

With such content, you will be able to explain how accomplished something using a certain strategy.

For example, if you look into this case study done by Brian Dean, you will know how he increased the traffic of his site by 110% within 14 days. 

Everyone admires successful people. So, bloggers would love to share your story within their content to attract more readers.

Infographics

Infographics have been a popular way of attracting backlinks and for good reasons. 

Regardless of some controversies, it’s still one of the most popular methods of link building among the SEO experts. 

While it’s easy to attract backlinks using infographics, creating one requires a lot of patience, consistency, and creativity. 

You need to pick a topic that is highly relevant to your audiences’ search intent. 

Then you need to choose the right theme that goes with it, arrange your data, and be a little creative for creating a high-quality infographic.

With the growing popularity of visual content, infographics can be a less painful and successful way to impress the readers, meaning that publishers would love to use them in their content.

Free Tools or Softwares

One of the best ways to attract backlinks for those who want to go extra miles. 

Whether you have a software company or an SEO firm, you can use this strategy to help other marketers, as well as to help yourself.

Try to develop a free tool or software that you will let other people use through your website. 

You don’t need to create any complex or high-quality software for this, just be a bit creative and make a useful tool.

For example, Coschedule has created its free headline analyzer tool which anyone can use for the analysis of their article title. It’s easy to use but quite useful for marketing purposes.

Final Thoughts

You must be wondering if you should apply all of these content strategies for your next link building campaign.

Well, you should not.

While there are several types of content that can easily attract backlink, not all of them go with every niche.

It means they won’t produce the same result for everyone.

Depending on which business you’re in, you can try a mix of these content for a few months and track your expense and the outcome to finally stick into one.

No matter what type of content you’re creating, never compromise with its quality since it will continue to attract backlink as your site grows.