We’re big fans of using infographics. Why? Because the benefits of using infographics are so enormous that we’d be crazy not to! Over the past few years, the popularity of using infographics has grown significantly. Not only that, but we’re deliberately searching for them using search engines too.

Developing a content marketing strategy which uses infographics provides another avenue for your business to be found. With web pages, blogs, infographics and social media, you’ve got your business pretty much covered. Now that you know you need them, it’s time to explore the reasons why.

Getting your brand noticed, remembered and trusted for all the right reasons is important. As a thought leader, it’s important you produce content which is enjoyed, wanted and shared by your target audience. An infographic is the perfect match for all three of those points. Six of the many benefits infographics give us are:

1. Improved Search Engine Optimisation
2. Raised Brand Awareness
3. More Likely to Be Shared
4. Makes Your Content Easier to Understand
5. Position Yourself as a Thought Leader
6. Increased Engagement with Your Content

An infographic, like an image, is searchable just on its own. But having someone search specifically for your infographic topic is only one way of being found. Infographics help your SEO by:

• Making it easier for your content to rank in search results. As well as text content, you also have an image you can rank with. The Google image search specifically looks for images and as there is less competition, you rank higher.
• Increasing the amount of social interaction on your website. One of the ranking signals search engines use to decide upon relevant content, is the popularity of a website. By having your web page with the infographic on it or the infographic embed link itself shared, it is sending Google a clear message that people like your content.
• You can use more tags to help with your on-page SEO. Your tags are used by search engines to understand what your image is about and this reinforces your page theme.

Your visual brand is what gets your business recognised instantly by your clients or customers. Think McDonalds and the golden arches, Pak n Save with the stickman and Mitre 10 with its orange and black colour scheme. Your infographic contains relevant information about your business such as your logo, colour scheme, fonts, icons and any other identifying characteristic. As a subtle visual way of marketing your business, an infographic is the way to go and is one of the many benefits of using infographics.

Humans are visual creatures. We are attracted to images, videos, photos and graphics far more than we are to words. Our brains process images significantly faster than text. If you think about it, you see an image and you don’t have to do a lot to understand it. If you read some text, you have to read it, understand what the individual words, sentences and paragraphs mean. It’s a lot more complex!

An infographic which shows how to do something is far easier to understand than a huge page of text. It’s also way more fun to read too!

When people search for information, they want to get it from a reliable source. Search engines know this, which is why they rank websites in their search results. Website visitors are more likely to think of you as an expert if you:

• Use graphics which explain your message
• Share your message in text form
• Can simplify topics
• Are found online
• Share your brand values in your content

The last of these six benefits of using infographics is that they get people engaged with your business. As infographics are aimed at informing and not selling, they help to create connections with your audience. They’re created to get attention, get shared and be remembered. So whatever you do, don’t create one specifically to sell your services or products. Instead, use it as a chance to put your business in a position where it is the expert. The flow on effect is that your business will receive their trust, loyalty and money later.