SEO Secrets: The Power of Link Magnets

Last Updated on 03/11/2025

Building connections is a challenging, potentially hazardous task if you don’t know what you’re doing. While link building is an important aspect of off-page SEO, the goal is to naturally generate backlinks to your website.

In this post, we’ll teach you all we know about link magnets. This includes why they should be a core component of your content strategy and off-page SEO.

Let us begin!

What are Link Magnets?

A link magnet is a high-quality, unique piece of content that is fascinating & smart enough to attract connections on its own.

Instead of developing content and then chasing links, link magnets allow you to build material that offers so much value that other sites feel motivated to connect to it.

When done correctly, it may be one of the most effective sources of relevant backlinks. Before we proceed, it’s essential to understand that a link magnet does not imply no work. It’s not the type of link building that you can set and forget.

Sure, if you already have great traffic and are regarded as a reliable and significant source of information. You may be able to get away with simply allowing people to discover it naturally over time.

For most people, however, it will not suffice. According to Ahrefs, the great majority of internet pages receive no search traffic, with one of the primary causes being a lack of links.

A more effective strategy to ensure the success of your link magnets (which are, by definition, time- and resource-intensive) is to publicize them after they have been published.

This is where content marketing and distribution come into play. Any social channels, online communities, email lists, friendly bloggers and journalists you know who could be interested in your new link magnet and willing to conduct some mutually beneficial digital PR for you; all of these are excellent options to assist in ensuring the success of your latest material.

With that said, let’s look at how to create those link magnets. 

Link Magnets

Link Magnet 1: Blog Posts

Nowadays, having a blog (and blog entries to fill it with) is required by default, both for SEO considerations and to demonstrate your relevant authority to visitors and clients.

The problem is that the majority of blog content is now uninspired and repetitive. It is used to pad out a webpage and is written for Google crawlers rather than users.

Not only is this type of blog material no longer popular (a simple look at the March 2024 core update should demonstrate this). However, this type of derivative SEO first material will not garner backlinks.

Perhaps, if you are an established site with a large following and a high domain authority, people will simply exploit your subpar blog content to incorporate some high-authority backlinks into their own. 

If you are not one of the web’s few beacon sites, your link magnet blog material must be distinctive. 

Case Study:

One of the most effective strategies to encourage people to click and link is to predict the future.

People dislike ambiguity, and anyone who can at least attempt to provide some reassurance or predictability (backed up by genuine legitimacy and authority, of course) typically gets noticed. 

Take the article below from Marketing Lad, for instance, titled “16 Proven Ethical Link Building Strategies in 2025”!

If you’re in the link-building sector, that’s arguably the most pressing issue on most link-builders‘ minds. When we searched for “ethical link building” on Google, this article was the first to appear. 

Another blog titled “link building best practices” is almost certainly going to get buried in a sea of identical, useless, and entirely copied content. In contrast, a projection of the future immediately captures people’s attention. 

Link Magnet 2: Templates 

Templates, a type of linkable asset or “link magnet,” are pre-designed and customizable resources that provide a solution or starting point for various activities or projects.

These templates are frequently designed to address specific needs within a specific industry or niche, and the sites that create them typically offer them for free or as part of a content package in the hopes that people will find them useful and link back to them–particularly other sites that see them as valuable resources for their audience.

Case Study:

Here’s an excellent example of a teamwork.com template that has generated a large number of backlinks. Here is a screenshot of the template.

It’s a client onboarding template, and folks clearly enjoyed it: 

Take a look at all of those backlinks (100% are dofollow links). 

Link Magnet 3: Infographics 

Infographics are visual representations of facts and/or concepts that are considerably easier to absorb than large walls of text and are often more engaging, resulting in improved performance.

To learn more about infographic link development, we have published a detailed post on the subject. 

Case Study:

Check out the 2021 Asia Central story and associated infographic, “By the Numbers: The Supply Chain Disaster.”

This resulted in six backlinks from five connecting domains:

It’s almost certain that none of these connections originated via link building (based on the size of the site in question and the type of sites referring to this infographic and article). 

How to Build?

Because infographics are one of the most popular lead magnet tactics, there are several tools available online that will assist you in creating them. Some of the most popular are:

• Canva
• Piktochart
• Visme

Even Adobe has a free infographic tool. 

To create a solid infographic that will attract links and not get lost in the noise (there are many infographics out there with no backlinks), you must hit a few important points:

• Clear purpose
• Focus
• Clean design
• Visuals
• Engaging information and data
• Reputable sources

The supply chain infographic above has it all (albeit it was a little busy in terms of “clean design”). Infographics, like blog content-based link magnets, may become overused and unimaginative.

To maximize an infographic’s value as a lead magnet, it must be unique and timely (the information must still be relevant). As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, you must also let people know you created the content through continuous distribution and marketing. 

Link Magnet 4: Statistics

We are living in the golden era of data when statistics and hard figures reign supreme. A statistics-based link magnet that provides industry facts, stats, and trends related to a specific topic or specialty. 

This information can be gathered by surveys, research projects, or independent data analysis, with the results published in full reports or articles. The goal is for other websites to reference or cite this data as authoritative information, thereby increasing the credibility and value of their content.

If a statistical article gains sufficient recognition over time, it may have a hyperlink snowball effect, which grows exponentially. This is one of the most effective methods for creating future-proof links, ensuring that your backlink profile remains full and natural for an extended period. 

Case Study:

HubSpot is the maestro of marketing statistics. Take a look at the next article, “The Ultimate List of Marketing Statistics!

Well, that article has received around 58,000 backlinks:

Wrapping Up

Link magnets are one of the most effective methods for natural link building. There are several methods for developing attractive, linkable material, ranging from original blog entries with insightful forecasts to visually engaging infographics that elucidate complex subjects. 

Combining link magnets with effective content distribution and marketing initiatives increases exposure, authority, and success in a highly competitive online world.

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