Thanks to AI, although high quality links still form the backbone of any good SEO performance, 2024 has brought with it a set of its own challenges for link acquisition, which we refer to as link earning. One of the most significant challenges is the proportion of links to commercial pages. Although commercial links can be useful, they can feel unnatural to users and more importantly, to the all-new Google’s AI-powered algorithm.

So, the way forward is to make linkable assets that essentially make a reason for you to have a link.

Sometimes known as link bait, linkable assets are quickly becoming the new normal, with so many savvy SEOs utilising these assets to chart a path to organic performance growth this year.

Just because you’re pivoting away from commercial links to linkable assets it doesn’t mean the rules go away. The linkable assets still need to be relevant to your industry, your core audience and match up to your level of expertise. By still putting in the same amount of effort into your linkable assets you can continue to be in the favour of the new AI focused algorithm, and the all important Google Guidelines to bring better results to your link campaigns.

Not all linkable assets are created the same, some are going to suit your industry and brand values, while others will fall flat. Being aware of the assets isn’t enough, you also have to know which ones are a better option for your specific needs.

But first, let’s go over the options you have overall and what these options tell people about your business values.

Invaluable to giving your prospective visitors a sense of your years of work in your chosen industry, a case study is a report where you look at your (or someone else’s) past work to highlight the effect of an action on a given outcome. As a link asset these are unique as they highlight you as someone who understands the path towards a positive outcome, and also as someone who can understand the path of what not to do as well.

Original research is an asset that has some of the most value. When you create your own research and present it in a compelling manner you’re offering a resource to the industry that others will then refer to in their own content as they use your statistics to aid their own arguments. To readers this gives them the impression that you are the person in your industry with the most understanding of the industry as a whole.

Another asset you can make is a tool or calculator that other people in your industry can use and offer to their clients and can get you a lot of cost-effective links. This is a link asset that needs a certain amount of website know-how to finalise, but is still worth the effort and proves to your visitors that you’re one to understand the technical nature of things.

When you identify incoming trends and create a report to show insight into your industry it becomes something that is quotable as others catch up to your findings. When presented in an educational manner these trend reports show your audience that you are an innovator in your field.

No matter whether it’s a Gifographic or infographic, you can present a visual representation of data to your audience alongside a natural link. These linkable assets are easily shareable on social media, within relevant blog posts and can be shared with your link as credit. The real value here is that the infographics take data and present it in a way that is easily digestible for the layman

These assets are when you collect data on your industry and grade them according to various ranking metrics. How you create these rankings are up to you, but you do need to justify with content, why they are ranked in this way and this can help readers understand your logic and determine if they use this list in their own content.

The ideal link building campaign in 2024 is one that is varied with the right mix of commercial minded links alongside linkable assets. How much of one you need over the other depends entirely on your link portfolio, the industry you’re in and your goals as a business. If you need guidance on this matter our team at Perfect Link Building is happy to help.

We pride ourselves in future-proof link building that anticipates how incoming trends such as AI driven algorithms will change the landscape of link portfolios in the future and bring it to you before your competition hears about it. Helping our clients keep up with the rapidly changing digital marketing environment is a unique strength we offer at Perfect LInk Building.