Linkable Assets: Why Sites Link to Claims, Not Formats
Most guides hand you a list of formats. We read the ones that rank and sorted their own examples by what other sites actually cite.
A linkable asset is a page other sites link to because it gives their writers something to cite: a number, a working tool, a clear definition or a ranking. The format matters less than most lists of linkable assets suggest. In the examples the ranking guides showcase themselves, the typical asset in one format earned about eight times the links of another, but inside every format the best example earned at least 49 times the worst. What's inside decides it. Build the claim first, then pick the wrapper.
We read eight guides that rank for "linkable assets" on 15 October 2026 and pulled out every example they showcase. Thirty-four come with a referring-domain count, the number of separate sites linking to them. That's the data behind this guide.
What is a linkable asset?#
It's a page built to earn links from other websites. Ahrefs' guide calls it "a piece of content purposely crafted with the intention of attracting links." Seven of the eight guides define it in roughly that way.
Google doesn't use the term. Its SEO Starter Guide says "creating content that people find compelling and useful will likely influence your website's presence in search results more than any of the other suggestions in this guide," and that other sites linking to you "is something that happens naturally over time." Its helpful content checklist asks: "Does the content provide original information, reporting, research, or analysis?" That's the closest Google comes to describing a linkable asset, and it's about substance, not format.
None of the eight guides links to any of that Google documentation.
What the ranking guides recommend#
The guides came from Ahrefs, Search Engine Journal, Respona, Page One Power, Stellar SEO, Wolf of SEO, G2 and SEO Hacker. Each lists between 4 and 12 formats.
Infographics top the list: seven of the eight recommend them. Original research, tools and long guides come next, at six each.
Three of the eight give no evidence at all that any format earns links. Stellar SEO's article is titled "12 Examples That Crushed It" and doesn't give a link count for any of them. Six of the eight publishers sell SEO services, link building or an SEO tool. Search Engine Journal is a publisher, and G2 sells software marketing but not SEO.
What the showcased examples actually earned#
Four guides state referring domains for their own examples: Ahrefs, Search Engine Journal, Respona and G2. We grouped those 34 examples by what a writer linking to them would be citing.
Three things stand out:
- Format barely predicts the result. The group medians run from 123 referring domains for images to 1,000 for definitions and explainers, about eight times apart. Inside every group, the strongest example has between 49 and 143 times the referring domains of the weakest.
- Infographics were recommended most and earned least. The eight image examples had a median of 123. The most-linked of them, The Periodic Table of SEO Success Factors at 2,300, is a reference chart full of claims, not decoration.
- The winners give writers something to point at. W3Schools' HTML tutorial (4,400 referring domains), Moz's ranking factors study (5,000) and Coolors, a free colour palette tool (5,000), each answer a question another writer needs answered mid-sentence.
These are the guides' picks, chosen to impress, so every number here is a success story. They can't tell you how often a format fails. Two large studies can.
Why the claim beats the format#
Most content earns no links at all. Backlinko's study of 912 million blog posts found "94% of all blog posts have zero external links." In a 2015 analysis for Moz, BuzzSumo found "over 50% of infographics (53,000 in our sample) had zero external links." A format can't save a page with nothing in it.
Both studies point at the same thing. Backlinko found "Why Posts", "What Posts" and infographics "received 25.8% more links compared to videos and 'How-to' posts," and gives the reason: infographics "contain highly-citable data." The Moz analysis concluded "research backed content and authoritative opinion shaping journalism is better at achieving referring domain links."
G2's guide has the clearest evidence. Of CB Insights' "Top 20 Reasons Why Startups Fail," which has 1,840 referring domains, it says: "Most of these links are using either a certain percentage or number from the study as anchor text."
People don't link to an infographic. They link to the number on it.
That changes the brief. Instead of "make an infographic about remote work," the brief becomes "find the remote-work number nobody has measured, then decide how to show it." The second brief can still end in an infographic. It just won't end in an empty one.
Linkable asset examples by what they give a writer#
Group your ideas by what a writer would cite, not by format:
- A number nobody else has. Studies, surveys, analyses of public data. Ahrefs says "four of the five most linked-to pages on our blog are studies." Example: CB Insights' startup failure study (1,840).
- A tool that does a job. Calculators, generators, checkers. CoSchedule's Headline Analyzer has 3,600 referring domains. Clearbit Logo has 66. Both are tools; the difference is how many writers need that job done while they're writing.
- A definition people quote. The best explainer on a term, or a term you coin. The "Briefcase Technique" (90) is a named method other writers refer to. Wait But Why's "Why Procrastinators Procrastinate" (1,600) coined the "Instant Gratification Monkey," and writers who borrow the phrase link back to it.
- A ranking or list people want to be on. The World's Billionaires List has 10,600 referring domains, the most in our set. A top-50 list in your niche gets links from the people on it.
How to build a linkable asset in 5 steps#
Step 1: find the sentence people write without a source. Read ten recent articles in your niche and note claims made with no link: "most startups fail because...", "the average cost is...". Each one is a gap a linkable asset can fill.
Step 2: produce the thing they'd cite. Collect the data, build the tool or write the definitive explainer. If it's data, publish your method and sample size. Writers link to numbers they can defend. Keep the scope small enough to finish: one question answered well beats a sprawling report nobody can quote.
Step 3: put the claim at the top. Lead with the headline number or the answer in one quotable sentence. If a writer has to scroll to find what to cite, they'll cite someone else.
Step 4: pick the format last. A table can carry a statistic. A chart helps when the shape of the data is the finding. Make an infographic only if you have data worth drawing.
Step 5: tell the people who write that sentence. Go back to the articles from step 1 and contact their authors. You're offering a source for a claim they've already made, which is the easiest pitch in link building outreach.
Built the asset, now need it seen? GenLink's agent finds the pages already making your claim and emails their authors from your own domain, every day.
Getting links to a linkable asset#
Most linkable assets fail quietly, with no promotion. Google's own guide says you "can also encourage people to discover your content by promoting your site." The tactics that fit:
- Outreach to citers. The step 5 list: authors who already make your claim without a source.
- Resource pages. Lists of tools and references in your niche. See resource page link building.
- Broken links. Find dead links to similar assets and offer yours. See broken link building.
- Journalists. Original data is the core of digital PR.
- Better versions. If a weaker asset already holds the links, the skyscraper technique is the playbook.
Don't pay for placements to get it started. Google's spam policies list "buying or selling links for ranking purposes" as link spam. Our guide to buying backlinks covers the risks.
How many links should it aim for? That depends on the keyword you want it to rank for; how many backlinks you need shows how to work it out.
The limits of this evidence#
Our eight guides came from a web search on one day, not a verified Google results page, and one more ranking guide couldn't be opened. The 34 counts are the guides' own, mostly from Ahrefs' index, read at different times, and many are rounded ("3.6K+"). Sorting each example by what gets cited is our call, and only G2 reports actual anchor text. The two large studies are from 2015 and 2019. None of this shows that one asset type causes more links. It shows format is a weak predictor.
Build the claim, then the page#
A linkable asset isn't a format. It's a claim, a tool or a definition other writers need, put where they can find it and cite it in one click. Start from the sentence people already write without a source, and make the page that sources it. For where this fits in the wider strategy, see our link building guide.
Turn one good asset into a steady stream of links. Put an agent on your domain to find the right writers and pitch them every day.
Frequently asked questions#
What are examples of linkable assets? Original studies, free tools and calculators, definitive explainers, coined terms, and rankings or awards. In the guides we read, the most-linked examples included Moz's ranking factors study, Coolors' palette tool and The World's Billionaires List.
Are infographics still good linkable assets? Only when they carry data worth citing. Over half of the 53,000 infographics in the Moz and BuzzSumo sample had zero external links. In the guides' own examples, images had the lowest median.
How long should a linkable asset be? As long as the claim needs. Backlinko found long-form content earns more backlinks on average, but a calculator or a one-table study can earn thousands of links with few words.
What's the difference between a linkable asset and link bait? Mostly tone. Link bait usually means something built to provoke attention fast. A linkable asset is built to stay useful, so writers keep citing it for years.
Do linkable assets need promotion? Yes. Even good assets rarely get found on their own, since most new content earns no links. Plan outreach before you publish.
