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19 min read

Guestographics: The Power of Infographics and Guest Posts Combined

Stewart Dunlop

Stewart

Co-Founder

If your infographic link-building campaigns aren’t gaining the traction you’d hoped for, it might be time to consider guestographics.

Combining the visual appeal of infographics with the credibility of guest posts, guestographics offer a more compelling package for webmasters.

By providing both a high-quality infographic and a tailored article, you make it easier for site owners to say yes to your outreach requests—and gain backlinks in the process.

In this article, we’ll explore why guestographics work, provide real-world examples, and share actionable tips for creating and promoting them.

What are Guestographics?

Guestographics is an effective content marketing strategy that combines two tried and true link building techniques: infographics and guest posting.

The concept is simple. You create compelling infographics, contact relevant websites asking if they’d like to link to it and then sweeten the deal by offering to write an accompanying guest post.

Why are Guestographics Effective?

There are many reasons why guestographics are effective. Here are some of the main ones:

Infographics are great at communicating

You probably already know this, but infographics are one of the quickest ways to quickly deliver a relatively large amount of information to a reader.

These stats underline this point:

💡 People’s brains can process visual information 60,000 times faster than written text.

💡 A 1982 study found that people who were given visuals to support written instructions were 323% better at following directions.

💡 People usually retain 65% of visual information after three days, but only 10% of the information we read.

More content for webmasters

Webmasters love high-quality content. That’s because it:

🥰 Keeps their audiences engaged.

🥰 Helps their website rank for keywords.

🥰 Helps new content appear in Google search results faster.

Providing infographics AND an accompanying article in one package simply means more content for them.

More value for readers

The more different media types you use, the easier to read and more engaging your article becomes. People who simply want an overview can glance at the infographic, while those interested in a deeper dive can read the article.

More control of the message

Less experienced link builders often send out their infographics and ask for a link, but then leave it up to the webmaster to decide where to place the link. Creating your own accompanying piece ensures the supporting content is accurate and expertly written.

Different approach

Website owners are inundated with requests to link to people’s content and infographics. You differentiate your offering by providing the two together. Think about it—if someone offers you a professional infographic and someone else offers you an equally high-quality infographic but with an infographic, which are you more likely to choose?

Infographics get shared

One of the reasons that infographics are such effective link building tools is that they can go viral. People may read your guestographic and decide to share the infographic element—you are essentially generating additional links for zero effort. Some people may link to the page your guestographic is published on rather than your website. But you’ll still get some ranking benefit; read our article on tier two backlinks to understand more about how this works.

    Two Examples of Guestographics

    Let’s look at a couple of examples, so you can visualize what a guestographic looks like.

    Example 1: Mind Mapping

    Below is a guest post on 99Designs, a digital platform that connects businesses with creatives. Its blog is well-known for accepting guest posts.

    The article below was written by the infographic design platform Vennage. It features a range of infographics about mind-mapping, which are tied together by a detailed article.

    Source

    99Designs not only has an article for its blog, but several infographics it can share on social media to encourage people to read the article.

    This likely made the article far more attractive to the webmaster than if it were just a normal article.

    Importantly, the article is very relevant to 99Designs’ target audience, which mainly consists of creatives or those seeking creative services. The infographics are useful because they provide guidance on how to create mind mapping visuals.

    Example 2: HawkEye diagram

    This guestographic is by professional threat researcher Aaron Jornet Sales. It features on the Any.Run cyber security blog.

    Aaron provides an infographic explaining how Hawkeye/PredatorPain malware works. He then provides a complicated deep dive into the subject. This is complex, expert-level content, so the infographic and written article help support each other.

    Of course, Any.Run’s audience consists of cybersecurity experts, so this is the perfect content for its blog.

    Source

    What Makes a Good Guestographic?

    A good guestographic covers many of the things that make a good infographic, including:

    ℹ️ Valuable information: The insights provided in your infographic should be original and genuinely valuable to readers.

    They should also be compelling. Take this example from Mindflash. The cost of a bad hire for businesses is staggering and is likely to draw people’s attention.

    🎨 Professional design: Platforms like Canva have made it easier than ever for anyone to create their own infographic. However, it won’t look professional unless you get a graphic designer to work on it. Likewise, we also recommend you get a professional writer to create the infographic content and the accompanying article.

    🗺️ Logical layout: The information in your infographic should follow some sort of logical structure, whether that’s a timeline, a top 10, a process or a selection of related facts. These should be arranged in a way that’s easy for the reader to follow.

    📄 Put additional information into the article: Here’s why guestographics work better than just infographics on their own—you don’t have to cram everything into the visual content. Instead, you can add more detail to the article. This means the infographic is used to compel, while the article provides depth.

    A Step-By-Step Guide to Successful Guestographics

    Now you know what guestographics are, let’s look at how to create them.

    1. Create A Great Infographic

      Good infographics start with valuable information. Brainstorm some ideas for what your infographic could cover.

      Consider what:

      • Interesting data you have available to you.

      • Useful knowledge you have that readers may benefit from.

      • Interesting data you could gather through surveys or research etc.

      • Would benefit from being presented visually.

      Don’t forget that whatever subject you choose, it should have enough depth to warrant a supporting guest post. If you have some interesting stats, but nothing to say about them, then it may be best to find another idea.

      You should also consider what form your infographic should take. Common examples include:

      Timelines

      Timelines visually represent events in chronological order, making them perfect for showing historical progressions, project schedules, or the evolution of a trend. They help readers easily grasp the sequence and significance of events.

      Here’s an example from robotaxi firm Waymo.

      Checklists

      Checklist infographics are structured to present a series of actionable items or steps, ensuring clarity and ease of reference. They’re great for offering tips, step-by-step guides, or ensuring completeness in tasks.

      In the example below, Logitech has created a checklist for employers to equip remote staff for online meetings:

      Statistics

      Statistical infographics use charts, graphs, and visual elements to showcase numerical data in a digestible format. These are ideal for presenting research findings, survey results, or any data-heavy content.

      Here’s an example from the European Environment Agency.

      Source

      Comparisons

      Comparison infographics highlight the similarities and differences between two or more items, often side-by-side. They’re useful for helping readers make decisions, such as comparing products, services, or ideas.

      In this example, cell phone manufacturer Samsung has provided a side-by-side comparison of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S9. This allows customers to quickly understand where these relatively similar phones differ.

      Source

      Processes

      Process infographics break down complex workflows or procedures into clear, sequential steps. They’re ideal for explaining how something works, from scientific methods to business operations.

      The example below is from tech marketing firm Foundry. It shows the steps involved in buying network security solutions, along with supporting facts.

      Geographical

      Geographical infographics use maps and visual markers to present data tied to locations. They’re commonly used for demographics, regional statistics, or showing the impact of events across different areas.

      This example from WorldAtlas shows the richest countries in the world based on GDP per capita.

      Source

      Hierarchical

      Hierarchical infographics present data in a ranked or structured manner, often resembling pyramids or flowcharts. They’re perfect for illustrating organizational structures, priority levels, or tiered systems.

      Here’s a good example from Health and Safety Magazine. It shows which health and safety controls are most effective when handling hazardous waste.

      Source

      💡 Pro tip

      Design databases like Visua.ly are great for getting inspiration. You can see what infographics professional designers have come up with. This can help you visualize what could work for your guestographic.

      Type into Google “https://visual.ly/tag/[your subject] to see ideas. For example, we typed “visua.ly/tag/law” and the first result that came up was this checklist infographic:

      Find Ideas Using Ahrefs

      Once your brainstorming ideas run dry, it’s worth having a look at what infographics are popular online. There are two reasons for this:

      1. You can get more ideas.

      2. You might spot something that is popular but that you could do 10x better.

      One of the easiest ways to do this is using the SEO tool Ahrefs.

      In Ahrefs, choose “Content Explorer” in the top menu bar and type “[your topic] infographic”. In this example, we’re going to focus on weddings.

      Source

      Hit enter and you’ll be shown a list of popular content based on your keywords from across the web.

      You can filter this list by organic traffic, referring domains and social media shares.

      Source

      This page on the average cost of a wedding looks interesting. 167 domains have linked to it, suggesting it is popular with website owners.

      Upon clicking the article, we find a short but detailed article on the cost of weddings, supported by several infographics, including this one:

      Source

      As mentioned earlier, you could either take inspiration from this and create something similar or try and compete with it by creating something better.

      It’s critical to ensure your infographic is professionally produced. We recommend either using a graphic designer and writer or hiring a marketing agency.

      2. Write your accompanying article (or don’t…)

      Once you have the visual part of the guestographics created, it’s time to write the supporting text.

      Guestographics posts tend to let the visuals do the talking, so are often short—around 300 words.

      Infographics need to use minimal text, so audiences can read them at a glance. The chances are that you had to strip out a ton of detail because of this.

      For example, the supporting text for the wedding infographic above explains some of the costs that are included in these expenses, like grooms men gifts.

      💡 Pro tip:

      Website editors love unique content—that’s fine if you send your infographic to one website, but what if you are targeting many?

      You may wish to delay finalizing your content and discuss with site owners what interests their audience. You can then adjust your article to suit.

      There are several benefits to this approach:

      • It’s collaborative and helps you build a relationship with the website owner.

      • The resulting article is more likely to be popular with the website’s audience.

      • You’ll be able to provide unique content to a wider range of websites.

      3. Find relevant websites

      Next it’s time to drum up some interest in your guestographic. The first thing you’ll need is a list of websites that you can contact and ask to publish your guestographic.

      The ideal target website will be:

      • Relevant to your content or industry.

      • Publish high-quality content and insist that you follow rigorous guidelines.

      • Well-known and respected in your industry.

      The best way to find guestographic opportunities is by using Google search operators.

      To do this, open Google and type into the search bar a keyword related to your niche, followed by one of these:

      • “Guest post”

      • “Write for us”

      • “Guest article”

      • “Guest post opportunities”

      • “This is a guest post by”

      • “Guest contributor”

      • “Want to write for”

      • “Submit blog post”

      • “Guest column”

      • “Become a contributor”

      • “Guest post courtesy of”

      For example, look at the opportunities that come up when you type “wedding guest post opportunities”:

      Take a look at each blog and check that it meets the criteria listed above. If it does then add it to a spreadsheet.

      To further prioritise the best opportunities, paste each website’s URL into Ahrefs’ Site Explorer tool.

      This will show you some useful data on the website. The two most important are:

      1. Domain Rating (DR): This is a measure of how authoritative the website is. It is calculated using a range of factors, including how many other websites link to the domain. The higher a website’s DR, the more impact a link from them will have on your SEO rankings.

      2. Organic traffic: This is the amount of visits the website gets through people clicking through to the website from search results.

      Source

      💡 Pro tip

      Beware of websites with high DR but low traffic, relative to similar websites.

      This may indicate that the site is being used as a link farm—in other words, a site that only exists to make money out of selling links.

      This happens when a previously reputable domain is purchased by a new owner who wants to make a quick buck out of it.

      They usually reduce their quality standards and accept content from less relevant sources, so they can sell more links.

      This reduces traffic, as they no longer provide value to readers.

      4. Contact target sites

      Once you know what websites you want to target, it’s time to contact them—this is often known as outreach and it’s a critical part of any link building strategy.

      The main things to remember are:

      👍 That site owners are inundated with link building pitches.

      👍 That yours needs to stand out to even get opened.

      Standing out involves:

      • Writing a compelling subject line

      • Addressing the recipient personally

      • Telling them why you like their site and want to build links from it

      • Tailoring your pitch to their audience

      • Including a clear call to action—for example: “please let me know if this pitch interests you or if there is anything you would like me to change.”

      With guestographics, there is a slightly different approach you can take.

      Since you are offering two things, an infographic and a guest post, you can offer them separately:

      1. Get in touch with the site owner or content editor. Introduce yourself, explain why you like their site and then show them your infographic. Do not ask for a link at this stage. You’re simply making contact.

      2. If they respond, then tell them they can share the infographic with their audience and offer to write them a short guest post to support the infographic. You can also collaborate with them on what the article could cover, as previously mentioned.

      3. If they agree, then ask them to include a link with any collateral you provide them with.

      This way, instead of asking for a link, you are providing them with value—twice. The backlink is simply you asking for your work to be credited.

      That’s it! You’ve now got a high-quality backlink. Simply rinse and repeat this process for the other sites on your list.

      Take Your Link-Building to the Next Level with Guestographics

      By combining the visual impact of infographics with the outreach potential of guest posts, guestographics provide a compelling way to secure backlinks and engage audiences.

      If you’re ready to supercharge your link-building campaigns with strategies like guestographics, LinkBuilder is here to help.

      Book a call with our team today and learn how we can support your growth with expert link-building services tailored to your goals.