Linkable Assets for SEO: Which of the 8 Types to Build First

Chapter 1 of 7

What a linkable asset is, and why it is foundational for scalable link building

Something people actually want to link to: a template, a guide, a tool, a dataset. Other marketers and bloggers feature it because it is useful to their audience, and each mention is a referring domain you did not have to ask for.

Why outreach alone feels like a grind

The same outreach effort, with and without something worth linking to. Illustrative, not measured: the point is where the effort goes.

Cold pitch, no asset“Would you link to our product page?”

Emails sent

Hundreds

Reason to say yes

Weak

Links that compound

Few

Every link has to be asked for, one at a time, and the editor gets nothing their readers want.

Asset first“Here is new data your readers would cite”

Emails sent

Fewer

Reason to say yes

Strong

Links that compound

Many

The asset is the reason to link. Writers cite it, and the citations keep arriving after the campaign ends.

A linkable asset does the heavy lifting while you sleep. It builds credibility and passes authority across your site: connect it to a blog post or a landing page with internal links and the authority flows where you need it most. And the payoff compounds. A good asset keeps bringing in traffic and links for months or years after you publish it, which is what makes link building scalable rather than a monthly grind.

Two things stop that from happening. The first is building the wrong type for your team, which chapter 2 solves. The second is publishing and waiting, which chapter 4 solves.

Chapter 2 of 7

Which linkable asset should you build first?

Eight types exist. You should build two to four, chosen by effort, time, what your team already has and which mechanism earns the link. Start with what the industry says works, then compare.

Which linkable asset earns the most links? Ask 116 SEO leaders

From uSERP’s 2027 State of Backlinks survey: “Which link building tactic delivered your strongest results in the last 12 months?” Original research won by a distance.

53.4%

Digital PR and original researchThe asset that gives journalists a fact to quote

8.6%

Other linkable assets (guides, tools, templates)Useful, slower, and dependent on being found

4.3%

Guest postingNamed the most overused tactic by 40.5%

uSERP State of Backlinks Report 2027, 116 SEO professionals surveyed, 56.9% with more than 10 years in SEO. Single-answer question; respondents picked one tactic.

Which asset should you build first? The eight types compared

Effort, time to produce, who it suits, the mechanism that earns the link, and what it costs to maintain. Pick two to four that fit your team, not all eight.

Asset type	Effort	Time to produce	Best for	Why it gets linked	Maintenance
1. Ultimate guides	Medium	2 to 6 weeks	Teams with strong writers and a topic they own	Writers cite one complete source instead of several	Quarterly refresh
2. Original research	High	6 to 12 weeks	Brands with an audience to survey or data to analyse	A new fact writers can quote without running their own study	Annual edition
3. Industry reports	High	8 to 12 weeks	Category leaders who can repeat it yearly	Quotable benchmarks and charts journalists reuse	Annual edition, recurring theme
4. Tools and calculators	High	4 to 12 weeks, needs a developer	Teams with engineering capacity and a repeatable calculation	Solves a problem on the spot; writers link to tools their readers can use	Low, once stable
5. Infographics	Medium	1 to 3 weeks, needs a designer	Data-heavy topics and visual audiences	Easy to embed; the embed carries the link	Low
6. Templates and checklists	Low	1 to 2 weeks	Any team that documents a process	Ready to use; recommended in roundups and how-tos	Low
7. Case studies	Medium	2 to 4 weeks per study, needs a client result and sign-off	Agencies and B2B brands with measurable client wins	Proof with numbers that other writers cite when discussing tactics	Low
8. Curated lists and resource hubs	Low	1 to 2 weeks	Teams that know their niche’s tools well	Saves readers a search; bookmarked and shared	Quarterly check for dead tools

Effort and time are typical ranges from our own production; yours depend on team and topic. Every row still needs distribution at launch (chapter 4).

What to build first, by what your team already has

Read your situation down the left, verify the middle column first, then act. Two or more of these conditions change the answer, which is why it is a table and not a list of eight.

If this is you	Verify first	First response	Do not assume
Strong writers, no data, no developers	Which topic you can cover more completely than anything ranking today	One ultimate guide, then templates or checklists off the back of it	That length alone earns links. Completeness and being found do
An audience you can survey, or data nobody else has	Whether you can reach 100+ qualified respondents or a dataset writers would trust	Original research or an annual report, with distribution budgeted from day one	That publishing is the finish line. Unpromoted research earns almost nothing
Engineering capacity and a calculation your buyers repeat	That the calculation is one people search for and cannot easily do in a spreadsheet	A single focused tool or calculator	That a tool promotes itself. Launch it like a report
Client results you can publish with numbers	Client sign-off, the period, the baseline and what each metric means	Case studies, stated as labelled results, not hypotheticals	That a result on one site transfers to another category

This table supports your judgment. It does not replace knowing your audience, your capacity or your category.

Chapter 3 of 7

The 8 types of linkable assets, with why each one gets linked

Each type with a real example, the mechanism behind the links, the evidence where there is any, and a tip for building it. Effort tags match the comparison table.

Ultimate guidesPillar content that answers every question on a topic

Medium

Ultimate guides, also called pillar content, are the resource that answers every question your audience could have about a topic. Long-form and well structured, they show authority and attract website owners looking for a reliable reference. Readers bookmark them, share them and link to them when they create related content.

ExampleThe Ultimate Guide to Search Engine Optimization

Our own guide to SEO walks from keyword research to link building in one place. It is educational and useful enough to earn links over time without being pitched.

Why do ultimate guides earn links?

People prefer linking to a single, complete source rather than several shorter posts. Semrush’s analysis of blog post length found that content of 2,000 or more words tends to earn more backlinks than shorter pieces, because in-depth guides cover a topic thoroughly enough to be worth citing. They also rank well: each section can rank for its own keyword. Updated regularly, a guide keeps earning links and stays relevant even after Google updates its algorithm, and it gives you a natural place to link to your other content.

Tip: Create one high-quality ultimate guide each quarter that directly supports your content and link building goals. Over time it becomes a reliable traffic driver and one of your strongest assets.

Original researchNew data that turns your brand into the source

High

Original research turns your brand into a trusted source. Instead of repeating what others have said, you share new findings that move the conversation forward. Think of a company publishing a study of the factors that affect first-page rankings: it analyses the results, compares figures, and shares clear takeaways. That content gets cited in articles, blog posts and white papers, and keeps earning links from journalists, bloggers and practitioners long after launch.

ExampleBacklinko’s search engine ranking factors study

An analysis of ranking factors, published once and cited for years because it gives writers a number to quote.

Why does original research earn links?

People link to data they can trust. When you produce original research, writers get something solid to reference without running their own study, so your site becomes the go-to source for anyone covering the topic. Research also earns natural media mentions and referring domains that no outreach email could match. In our 2027 State of Backlinks survey, 53.4% of SEO leaders named digital PR and original research their strongest tactic of the last 12 months, more than every other tactic combined.

Tip: Start small. Run a survey, analyse the results, and tell the story behind the findings. Even one piece of original research can earn referral traffic and links, and each new study makes your brand a more reliable voice in your industry.

Industry reports (“State of” reports)Benchmarks writers cite and readers use to decide

High

Benchmarks turn scattered numbers into a clear picture of a market. A yearly “State of X” report shows trends, gaps and where the opportunities lie. Readers use it to make decisions; writers use it to cite facts. Picture a cybersecurity brand releasing an annual State of Security report that tracks attack rates, tool adoption and response times. It becomes a reference point for podcasts, newsletters and news sites, and attracts media mentions and new referring domains every year.

ExampleSplunk’s State of Security report

An annual benchmark, the 2025 edition being the current example, that trade press and podcasts cite each year it is published.

Why do industry reports earn links?

Editors need timely statistics. Benchmarks give them quotable facts and clean charts to reference, which earns natural links from resource pages, blogs and news. Fresh data also gets shared on social feeds, which widens the pool of people who can link to it. Our own State of Backlinks report is the worked example in chapter 4.

Tip: Pick a recurring theme you can measure every year. Keep the scope focused, the method clear and the visuals simple. Release on a predictable cadence, then run a digital PR push.

Online tools, calculators and interactive widgetsInstant value that solves a problem on the spot

High, needs a developer

Interactive tools deliver instant value: they solve a problem or answer a question right there, which makes them shareable and memorable. Picture a social media management company launching a social media ROI calculator. Users type in ad spend and engagement metrics and see what revenue their campaigns generate. For technical audiences, even a focused document combination example can serve as a practical, reusable asset that earns citations.

ExampleSprout Social’s social media ROI calculator

A single-purpose calculator that saves time and gives a quick answer, which is exactly what bloggers and journalists like to link their readers to.

Why do tools and calculators earn links?

Tools offer something beyond text: action. Users interact, test and see real outcomes, which keeps them on the page and gives writers a reason to send readers there. Unlike an article, a tool is hard to replace with a competitor’s version, so the links it earns tend to last.

Tip: Start with something simple that fits your niche: a savings calculator, a quiz, a grader. Launch it, gather feedback and refine it. Then promote it like a report; tools do not find their own audience.

Infographics and visual assetsComplex data made easy to embed

Medium, needs a designer

Infographics turn complex data into something a reader grasps at a glance, combining text, visuals and statistics to tell a story quickly. They stand out because they are simple to share, embed and reference. You could design one on the latest trends in search engine usage or SaaS SEO statistics; journalists and bloggers often include visuals like this when explaining data-heavy topics.

ExampleStatista’s chart on digital media’s share of media sales

A single chart designed to be embedded, with the source line built in. The embed is the link.

Why do infographics earn links?

They tap into two things people respond to: simplicity and visuals. Mailchimp’s guide to visual content makes the case that visuals engage people faster than text and leave a longer impression. For content creators, a good infographic is a ready-made resource to drop into their own article, and the easier it is to embed or share, the more links it earns.

Tip: Create infographics that solve a problem or summarise valuable data, make sure they read well on a phone, and share them with a short post of their own so they keep attracting links after publication.

Templates, checklists and worksheetsPractical downloads people reuse

Low

Templates and checklists are the assets people download and reuse. They give readers something practical to apply right away, simplify a process and save time, which is why they earn links so reliably. Say your agency publishes an SEO checklist for on-page optimisation. It helps readers plan, track and optimise their work, and when other sites recommend useful resources, they link back to the original.

ExampleuSERP’s on-page SEO checklist

A step-by-step list a reader can work through, which is the kind of resource other how-to articles recommend and link to.

Why do templates and checklists earn links?

Ready-to-use resources remove friction: they give users a clear path to follow. They also hold attention, because visitors spend time downloading or exploring related material, and they get recommended in roundups and how-tos as the practical next step.

Tip: Build templates or checklists that solve one specific pain point. Make them accessible without unnecessary sign-ups. Small assets like these can drive consistent links, leads and brand awareness.

Case studies and client success storiesReal results, stated with numbers and periods

Medium, needs a client result

Case studies turn real-world results into stories that prove your methods work: what you did, how, and the outcome, backed by data. That transparency builds trust and makes your brand more link-worthy. Readers see measurable results and practical steps; other writers link to case studies like these when discussing tactics that work.

A uSERP client resultRemote: 314% year-over-year organic traffic growth in 12 months

74,334 new organic keywords and 1,695 new top-3 positions, engagement from April 2023, as published in the Remote case study. Remote also worked with uSERP’s sister agency, Codeless, on content. Client-reported; results depend on the site and category.

Why do case studies earn links?

They offer credibility and storytelling together: results with numbers, screenshots and timelines, which is what a writer needs to back up a claim about a tactic. They earn links from guest posts and industry roundups when cited. Backlinko’s 2024 B2B Marketing Statistics guide found that around 42% of B2B buyers count case studies, alongside user-generated content and product reviews, among the most appealing content formats, which is why they do double duty as proof for buyers and as something for writers to cite.

Tip: Turn your best client wins into stories that educate. State the period, the baseline and what each metric means, get the client’s sign-off, and focus on the challenge solved and the takeaways. A result written as a hypothetical does almost no work.

Curated tool lists and resource hubsConvenience that gets bookmarked and shared

Low

Curated lists bring value through convenience. Instead of readers hunting for dozens of tools or resources, you gather them in one place, which saves time and positions your brand as a trusted source of recommendations. A link building agency, for example, can publish the best outreach tools for link building, covering prospecting, email automation and backlink tracking.

ExampleuSERP’s best outreach tools for link building

A roundup organised by use case with a short summary of each tool, so readers can compare quickly and writers can point to one list instead of ten.

Why do curated lists earn links?

People bookmark and share well-organised collections. Curated lists solve a discovery problem and simplify a decision, which is why other creators reference them. In Backlinko’s 2019 analysis of 912 million blog posts, list posts generated 203% more shares than infographics and 218% more than how-to articles. Shares are not links, but the finding shows that “best tools” roundups travel further than most formats.

Tip: Build and maintain a list of tools or resources for your niche. Organise by use case, price or category, add short summaries so readers can compare, and check it quarterly for dead tools. Kept current, it is an evergreen asset.

Chapter 4 of 7

Distribution: the half most guides skip

“Earning links on autopilot” describes year two. Year one is a launch. Here is the playbook we run on our own asset, with the numbers, so you can copy the mechanism.

Our own linkable asset: the State of Backlinks report

We run the same playbook we sell. One annual survey of SEO leaders, published as a citable report, then distributed. Here is what three editions did for us, with the mechanism behind it.

Survey more than 100 heads of SEO each edition, with questions the industry argues about.

Package the findings as a long-form report with native charts, expert quotes and a nine-tile summary a reader can scan in a minute.

Make every chart free to reuse with credit. A “share this graphic” button under each one downloads a PNG with the source line on it. This is the mechanism behind most of the coverage.

Distribute on launch: journalist outreach, our newsletter, social, and link building to the report, then a digital PR push each time a finding gets picked up.

Repeat yearly so the report becomes the reference writers return to, and so last year’s coverage links to this year’s edition.

Three editions, 2024 to 2026

331unique press mentions, including Shopify, HubSpot, Semrush, Search Engine Land and Search Engine Journal

706backlinks earned across the three editions

$1.15Min clients won who named the study as the reason they reached out, tracked in our CRM

~$25Kper edition to research, design and distribute

Our own results on our own site. Attribution counts closed clients who cited the report, 2024 through 2026, and excludes influenced deals, referral traffic and ranking gains. A client campaign depends on the category, the story and the distribution behind it. Read the 2027 edition.

The transferable parts: give journalists something they can reuse without asking (charts with the credit built in), lead with the one finding that contradicts what people assume, put the report in front of the writers who already cover the topic within days of launch, and treat every pickup as a new outreach angle. None of that requires a big team. It requires deciding, before you build, who is going to see the asset and how.

Have data worth publishing?Want a research asset built and distributed, with the links guaranteed?

Thirty minutes with Jeremy, Brad or Gordon. Bring the question your market argues about and the audience you can reach. You leave with a read on whether a study would earn coverage in your category, what it would cost, and whether you should build it yourself instead.

Book an intro call

Chapter 5 of 7

What to measure: which signals can decide what

Linkable assets are usually judged on referring domains and authority scores. Both are easy to count and neither is the outcome. Here is the hierarchy.

Measure what each signal can tell you

Five levels, from the easiest to count to the one that matters. Authority scores are third-party proxies, not search signals; use them to compare, never to declare success.

Signal	What to watch	Decision it supports	What it cannot tell you
1. Referring domains Activity	New domains linking to the asset, and which of them have real readers and organic traffic	Whether the asset is being cited at all, and whether distribution worked	Whether any of it moved rankings
2. Authority scores Proxy	Domain Rating or Domain Authority of the linking sites, and of your own site over time	Comparing the quality of two link sources	Anything on its own; Google does not use either score
3. Visibility Visibility	Rankings and impressions for the asset and for the pages it links to internally	Whether earned authority is reaching the pages you need it on	Whether the right buyers are arriving
4. Traffic Evaluation	Organic sessions to the asset and to the money pages it supports; referral visits from the links	Whether visibility turns into visits	Whether the visits are worth anything
5. Qualified leads Outcome	Sign-ups, demos or deals that cite the asset, or that come through the pages it feeds	Whether to fund the next edition or the next asset	Which single link caused it

Set a baseline before launch: referring domains to the asset and to the pages it will support, their rankings and impressions, and the leads those pages produce. Review monthly for the first quarter and quarterly after that. Judge distribution on level 1 in the first month, the asset on levels 3 and 4 over two or three quarters, and the program on level 5 before you fund the next edition.

Chapter 6 of 7

FAQs about linkable assets

Short answers to the questions in-house teams ask most, including the ones about us.

What is a linkable asset?

A linkable asset is a page, tool or resource that other sites reference because it is useful to their readers: a guide, an original study, a benchmark report, a calculator, a template, a case study or a curated list. The link is earned because the asset gives a writer something to cite, not because you asked.

Which type of linkable asset earns the most links?

Original data. In uSERP’s 2027 State of Backlinks survey of 116 SEO leaders, 53.4% said digital PR and original research delivered their strongest results in the last 12 months, against 8.6% for other linkable assets and 4.3% for guest posting. Research gives journalists and writers a fact to quote, which is the strongest link mechanism there is.

Do linkable assets earn links without outreach?

Rarely at first. An asset nobody has seen earns nothing. The ones that earn links “on their own” were put in front of the right writers at launch, through journalist outreach, newsletters, social and existing relationships, and then kept earning because they were cited. Budget for distribution when you budget for the asset.

How long does it take for a linkable asset to earn links?

Distribution-led assets (research, reports) earn most of their links in the weeks after launch and then at a slower steady rate. Guides, tools and templates build more slowly and keep earning for years if maintained. Judge an asset over quarters, by referring domains first and then by what those links do for the pages that matter, as in chapter 5.

How many linkable assets should we build?

Two to four types that match your team’s skills, audience and goals, not all eight. Use the comparison table in chapter 2 to pick by effort and time to produce, then build one well before starting the next.

Does uSERP build linkable assets?

We build and distribute one kind: original research and data-led reports, through our digital PR service. We design the survey, write and design the report, run distribution, and earn the editorial links. Guides, tools, templates and case studies are your content team’s work; we can earn links to them through our link building programs but we do not produce them.

What does it cost to have uSERP build and distribute a research asset?

Digital PR campaign packages start at $15,000, one time, covering research, expert interviews, the designed report, distribution and guaranteed editorial links in one scope. Ongoing link building to existing assets starts at $5,000 a month on a three-month initial term. Every scope, quantity and price is in writing before you sign.

Chapter 7 of 7

What uSERP does with linkable assets, and who it fits

We build one of the eight types and earn links to the rest. Here is the scope, the terms, what we do not do, and how to tell whether you need help.

How uSERP fits

Original research built, designed and distributed, with the editorial links guaranteed

What we buildOne asset type: original research and data-led reports, through our digital PR service. We design the survey, interview experts, write and design the report, run distribution, and earn the editorial links. The State of Backlinks report above is the same playbook.

What we earn links toAssets you already have. Our link building programs earn editorial placements to guides, tools, templates and product pages through in-house outreach to publications your buyers read.

TermsDigital PR campaign packages from $15,000, one time, with research, the report, distribution and guaranteed editorial links in one scope. Link building from $5,000 a month on a three-month initial term, then month to month. Every scope, quantity and price in writing before you sign.

What we do not doWe do not build tools, calculators, templates or your pillar guides; that is your content and engineering team’s work, and we will say so. We do not promise coverage from specific outlets, and a study only works for brands with a proven offer and an active marketing team.

331press mentions for our own State of Backlinks report across three editions, with 706 backlinks earned 314%year-over-year organic traffic growth for Remote in 12 months, with 74,334 new keywords 42published case studies with the traffic, rankings and pipeline numbers behind each one

Our own and client-reported figures from the linked pages. Results depend on the category, the story and the distribution behind it, and are not typical of every campaign. Ranked #1 link building company by Clutch, Growth Ramp, Single Grain, Codeless, SEO For Growth and Respona, 2021 through 2025.

You may need help if

You have a question your market argues about and an audience or dataset to answer it with, but no capacity to run the study
You have published assets that earned almost nothing because nobody promoted them
Your team can write and design but has no journalist relationships or outreach capacity
A one-time campaign from $15,000, or links from $5,000 a month, fits the pages you need authority on

Build it yourself if

Your first asset is a guide, template or checklist; chapter 3 is enough
You want a tool or calculator; that needs your developers, not an agency
Your offer is still being validated or there is no marketing function to distribute to
You want guaranteed rankings or a fixed timeline; no honest provider offers either

Keep reading

Earning links to what you build

Once the asset exists, the work is outreach and distribution. Our guides on outreach link building and the best outreach tools cover the process, and the link building statistics page has the numbers behind what works.

Outreach link building

Working with uSERP

Bring the question, not the asset

Book an intro call with the finding you think your market would argue about and the pages you need authority on. Jeremy, Brad or Gordon reviews your category before the call, and you leave with a read on whether a study would earn coverage and what it would cost.