The short version: the best return for a small team is a sourced statistics page, a single-purpose free tool or a comparison table. Original research earns the most links per page but costs weeks. Templates, checklists and case studies are cheap but low-ceiling. Below, 15 asset types ranked by payoff per hour, each with a how-to and a time estimate.
Most content earns nothing. Backlinko's analysis of 912 million blog posts found that 94% get zero external links and only 2.2% earn links from more than one site. A linkable asset is a page built so that writers have a reason to cite it: a number, a tool, a chart or a list they would otherwise have to make themselves.
How we ranked these
- Effort is our estimate of the working time for one competent person, from idea to published page. Promotion is not included; see the section on that below.
- Payoff is the realistic ceiling of referring domains the asset can earn over its life, judged from the formats we have built and seen built. It is an editorial rating, not a measurement.
- Decay is how fast the links stop arriving once a newer version exists somewhere else. The Pew Research Center found 38% of pages that existed in 2013 were gone by 2023, so durability matters more than people think.
- Rank is payoff divided by effort. An asset that costs two days and earns 30 links outranks one that costs six weeks and earns 80.
The ranking at a glance
| # | Asset type | Effort | Payoff | Decay | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sourced statistics page | 2 to 3 days | High | Fast unless refreshed | Any niche that writers cover |
| 2 | Free single-purpose tool | 1 to 3 weeks | High | Very slow | Teams with a developer |
| 3 | Comparison table of real tools | 1 to 2 days | Medium to high | Medium | Software and services niches |
| 4 | Original chart with embed credit | 1 day | Medium | Medium | Explaining one relationship |
| 5 | Timeline of a topic | 2 to 3 days | Medium | Slow | Regulated or fast-changing fields |
| 6 | Benchmark from your own data | 1 to 2 weeks | High | Fast | SaaS and marketplaces |
| 7 | Original survey or study | 3 to 6 weeks | Very high | Fast | Brands wanting press |
| 8 | Glossary or definitions hub | 1 to 2 weeks | Medium | Slow | Technical niches |
| 9 | Curated resource list | 2 to 3 days | Medium | Medium | Niches with scattered resources |
| 10 | Open dataset download | 1 to 2 weeks | Medium to high | Slow | Research-heavy topics |
| 11 | Templates and checklists | 1 to 2 days | Low to medium | Slow | Practitioner audiences |
| 12 | Definitive guide | 1 to 2 weeks | Medium | Slow, needs refreshing | Topics with weak existing guides |
| 13 | Case study with real numbers | 1 to 2 days | Low to medium | Slow | Agencies and consultants |
| 14 | Interactive quiz or scorecard | 1 to 2 weeks | Low to medium | Slow | Consumer and small-business topics |
| 15 | Expert round-up | 1 to 2 weeks | Low to medium | Fast | New sites that need contacts |
1. Sourced statistics page
Effort: 2 to 3 days. Payoff: high. Decay: fast unless refreshed each year.
Writers need numbers and they need them fast. A page that gives them 30 to 50 statistics, each with the year, the sample and a link to the original study, becomes the page they open first. Many will cite the original source, but a good share will cite you, and your page keeps ranking for "[topic] statistics" queries that are searched year after year.
How to do it:
- Pick a topic that writers in your niche cover weekly, not one only you care about.
- Collect 30 to 50 numbers from primary sources: company studies, government data, academic papers. Skip numbers you can only find in other round-ups.
- Open every source and confirm the number is on the page. Drop anything you cannot confirm.
- Group by theme, give each entry the year and sample size, and add a "how to cite" line.
- Keep the year out of the URL so you can refresh the same page every twelve months.
Our own link building statistics page follows this format, and how statistics pages earn backlinks explains the citation loop behind it.
2. Free single-purpose tool or calculator
Effort: 1 to 3 weeks of development. Payoff: high. Decay: very slow.
A tool that does one job well gets listed in every "free tools" round-up in its niche for years. The bar is usefulness, not sophistication. A word counter, a redirect checker, an ROI calculator or a schema generator all qualify.
How to do it:
- List the five calculations or checks your audience does by hand or in a spreadsheet.
- Build the simplest one as a single page with no sign-up and no gate.
- Show the result instantly and let people share a link to a specific result.
- Add a short explanation of the method under the tool so the page also ranks for the question.
- Submit it to the round-ups that already list similar tools.
If you build a checker rather than a calculator, how to check domain rating for free shows the kind of page people search for and link to.
3. Comparison table of real tools or services
Effort: 1 to 2 days per 10 entries. Payoff: medium to high. Decay: medium, because prices and limits change.
Round-ups that actually open each product and record the free tier, the limits and the price on a stated date get cited because nobody else wants to do that work. The honesty is the asset: say what you checked, when, and what you could not confirm.
How to do it:
- Choose 8 to 15 tools your readers compare before buying.
- Open each pricing page and copy the free allowance and limits as written, with the date.
- Build a table with name, what it does, free limits and best use. Link each row to the page you read.
- Write a one-paragraph verdict per tool, including who should not use it.
- Re-check every quarter and note the date at the top.
See free email finder tools compared for the format, and best HARO alternatives for a services version.
4. Original chart or visual explainer with an embed credit
Effort: 1 day. Payoff: medium. Decay: medium.
Big infographics stopped earning links years ago, but a single clear chart that shows one relationship still gets embedded, because drawing it would cost the writer an afternoon. Build it from sourced facts, offer it under a plain credit link, and publish the same data as a table below it for people who cannot see the image.
How to do it:
- Find one relationship worth seeing: a trend, a ratio, a before-and-after.
- Source every data point and list the sources under the chart.
- Export as SVG or PNG, with text at a readable size, and add alt text that describes the data.
- Add an "Use this graphic" note: anyone may reuse it with a credit link to the page.
- Ask for a plain credit, never keyword anchor text. Google's spam policies list "keyword-rich, hidden, or low-quality links embedded in widgets" as link spam.
Do infographics still work for backlinks? covers what changed and what still earns embeds.
5. Timeline of a topic's history
Effort: 2 to 3 days. Payoff: medium. Decay: slow, because you append rather than rewrite.
Every niche has a history that writers reference in passing: algorithm updates, regulation dates, product launches, price changes. A dated, sourced timeline becomes the page they link to for "since 2012" and "when Google changed the rules". It also earns links from Wikipedia-style reference sections.
How to do it:
- List 20 to 40 dated events with a primary source for each (an official announcement, a filing, a changelog).
- Write one or two sentences per event: what changed and why it mattered.
- Present it as a vertical list with the date visible, and add a short "what to take from this" section.
- Add new events as they happen, with an "updated" date at the top.
Our history of Google Penguin is one slice of this; the dates section of the link building statistics page is another.
6. Benchmark report from your own product data
Effort: 1 to 2 weeks, if the data already exists. Payoff: high. Decay: fast, so plan an annual edition.
If you run a product, you have numbers nobody else has: average order size, reply rates, time to first result. Aggregated and anonymised, they become a benchmark that writers quote because there is no other source. This is the cheapest way for a SaaS company to produce original data.
How to do it:
- Pick three to five metrics your customers would want to compare themselves against.
- Aggregate across enough accounts that no single customer is identifiable, and say so.
- Publish the method: date range, sample size, what was excluded.
- Lead with one headline number and chart the rest.
- Repeat yearly under the same URL, keeping older editions linked.
Decide what to measure using how to know if your link building is working.
7. Original survey or research study
Effort: 3 to 6 weeks. Payoff: very high. Decay: fast, ages out in one to two years.
The strongest format and the most expensive. A statistic has exactly one source, so everyone who repeats your finding has a reason to link to you. The cost is in recruiting respondents, cleaning the data and writing it up honestly, then pitching it.
How to do it:
- Ask one question your industry argues about and nobody has measured.
- Recruit 100 to 500 respondents through your list, a community or a paid panel. Smaller samples are fine if you state them plainly.
- Publish the methodology, the questionnaire and the raw aggregates.
- Chart five to ten findings and write a one-paragraph summary a journalist can lift.
- Pitch it to the 20 writers who covered the topic last year.
What is digital PR in SEO? and press coverage without a PR agency cover the pitching half.
8. Glossary or definitions hub
Effort: 1 to 2 weeks for 40 to 80 terms. Payoff: medium. Decay: slow.
When a writer uses a term their audience might not know, they link to a definition. A glossary with one clean page per term, 150 to 300 words each, collects those links across dozens of terms. It also builds the topical coverage that helps the rest of your site rank.
How to do it:
- List every term in your niche that has a "what is" search.
- Write each definition in the first sentence, then one example and one common mistake.
- Give each term its own URL and link them to each other.
- Add the glossary to your footer or resources menu so every page passes it authority.
What is a topic cluster? explains how a glossary fits into site structure.
9. Curated resource list or directory
Effort: 2 to 3 days. Payoff: medium. Decay: medium, since entries go stale.
A complete, checked list of the communities, directories, tools or publications in a niche saves people hours. It earns links from the sites listed, from resource pages and from anyone writing "where to find X". The work is in checking every entry yourself.
How to do it:
- Define the list tightly: "every free SEO community with more than 1,000 members", not "SEO resources".
- Visit each entry, confirm it is live and still matches the criteria, and note the date.
- Give each entry one line on what it is good for and one on its limits.
- Tell the sites listed; many will link back.
What is a resource page link? explains why these pages attract links, and our backlink exchange directories list is one example.
10. Open dataset download
Effort: 1 to 2 weeks. Payoff: medium to high. Decay: slow.
A CSV or JSON file that other people can analyse earns links from researchers, journalists, students and anyone who builds on it. It can be scraped public data cleaned into a usable shape, or a by-product of your own work. The dataset page itself needs a description, a schema and a licence.
How to do it:
- Find public data that exists but is unusable: scattered PDFs, inconsistent spreadsheets, paginated web tables.
- Clean it into one file with documented columns.
- Publish under an open licence with a citation line and a version date.
- Add two or three charts so the page is useful without downloading.
- Update on a schedule and keep a changelog.
11. Templates and checklists
Effort: 1 to 2 days. Payoff: low to medium. Decay: slow.
A spreadsheet, document or checklist that saves someone an hour gets bookmarked and shared. The link ceiling is modest, but these convert unusually well because the people downloading them are actively doing the thing you sell. Keep them un-gated; a gated template earns no links.
How to do it:
- Take a process you already run and turn your internal document into a clean copy.
- Add a filled-in example so people can see what "done" looks like.
- Publish it on a page that explains each step, with the file one click away.
- Offer it as Google Sheets, Excel and PDF.
Our backlink audit guide and 90-day SEO plan are the kinds of processes worth turning into templates.
12. Definitive guide
Effort: 1 to 2 weeks. Payoff: medium. Decay: slow, but needs refreshing.
The most attempted format and the most competitive. It only works where the existing guides are thin, out of date or hard to read. The test is simple: could a writer link to your guide instead of the current top result without feeling they had chosen worse?
How to do it:
- Read the top five guides and list what each one misses, gets wrong or buries.
- Cover the gaps with specifics: numbers, screenshots, decisions, trade-offs.
- Add a table of contents, a summary at the top and a decision section at the end.
- Refresh it every six months and show the updated date.
What is the skyscraper technique? covers this format and where it fails.
13. Case study with real numbers
Effort: 1 to 2 days once you have a result. Payoff: low to medium. Decay: slow.
Writers like citing a worked example with figures: "one agency grew referring domains from 40 to 190 in six months by doing X". Most case studies fail because they hide the numbers or the method. Show both, including what did not work.
How to do it:
- Pick one project with a before-and-after you can prove with screenshots.
- State the starting point, the actions, the time spent and the result, in that order.
- Include one chart and the raw figures behind it.
- Say what you would do differently.
How to measure SEO ROI and how to report link building results give you the metrics to include.
14. Interactive quiz or scorecard
Effort: 1 to 2 weeks. Payoff: low to medium. Decay: slow.
A "how good is your X" scorecard that gives a result people want to share earns links from forums, newsletters and the occasional round-up. It is a lighter version of the free tool, and it works best for consumer and small-business audiences who will not use a calculator.
How to do it:
- Write 8 to 12 questions that map to a clear score and three or four result bands.
- Give each band a specific next step rather than a sales pitch.
- Make results shareable with a result-specific URL.
- Publish the scoring logic below the quiz so the page has text to rank on.
15. Expert round-up
Effort: 1 to 2 weeks of outreach. Payoff: low to medium. Decay: fast.
Ask 20 to 40 practitioners one question and publish their answers. The links come mainly from the contributors sharing their inclusion, so the payoff depends entirely on who says yes. It ranks last here because the ceiling is low and the content ages quickly, but it is a good first asset for a new site that needs contacts more than links.
How to do it:
- Ask one specific question with a numeric or yes/no element, not "what are your top tips".
- Pitch people who publish regularly; they are the ones who will link back.
- Edit answers down to the one useful point each and group them by theme.
- Summarise the pattern in the answers at the top, so the page says something on its own.
Does HARO still work for backlinks? covers the reverse version, where you are the expert quoted.
Which one should you build first?
- No developer and little time: statistics page (1), then a comparison table (3), then a chart (4).
- One developer for two weeks: free tool (2). Nothing else on this list keeps earning links as long.
- A product with usage data: benchmark report (6), repeated yearly.
- Budget for press: original survey (7), with the pitching time planned in.
- A new site with no contacts: curated list (9) or expert round-up (15), because both create reasons to email people.
Whatever you pick, promotion is half the work. Backlinko's analysis of 12 million outreach emails found 8.5% get a reply, and one follow-up lifted replies by 65.8%. Budget a day of outreach per asset, and read backlink outreach that gets replies first.
Assets earn links slowly at first, and a site with few referring domains struggles to rank them at all. Ahrefs found 96.55% of pages get no Google traffic, mostly because nothing links to them. Trading in-content links with related sites through Backlinkster is one way to get the first referring domains that let an asset start ranking; each swap is verified by API, and the free plan includes five a month.
Frequently asked questions
What is the easiest linkable asset to make? A sourced statistics page. It needs no developer, takes two to three days, and writers in every niche search for "[topic] statistics". The work is in verifying each number at its original source and refreshing the page yearly.
Which linkable asset earns the most backlinks? Original research, because a new statistic has one source and everyone who repeats it has a reason to link to you. It is also the most expensive at three to six weeks, and it ages out within one to two years unless you repeat it.
Do linkable assets still work in 2026? Yes, with the same caveat as before: most content earns nothing. Backlinko found 94% of blog posts have no external links, so an asset only works if it offers something a writer would otherwise have to make themselves, and if you tell people it exists.
How long does a linkable asset take to earn links? Expect the first links within a few weeks if you promote it, and a slow trickle for months or years after. Tools, glossaries and timelines keep earning longest. Statistics pages and surveys earn fastest but stop once a newer version exists elsewhere.
Should I gate a template or tool behind an email sign-up? Not if you want links. Writers do not link to a form. Publish the asset openly and, if you need leads, offer an optional extra such as a filled-in version or a notification when it is updated.
Related: What is a linkable asset? · How do statistics pages earn backlinks? · Link building statistics (2026) · Do infographics still work for backlinks? · The best ways to get backlinks in 2026 · Backlink outreach that gets replies