The focus of this post is to give you ideas for finding data to create an infographic. Infographics are a powerful tool to build natural links for SEO. There are hundreds of infographic tutorials, but most of them are related to the design and abstract details of the thought process. I want to help you with the data discovery process.
There are a lot of research firms that release data and statistical reports. However, I will be focusing on government reports & statistics websites. I will also show you an example of a statistical report that was turned into an infographic.
Here are some sources of data that may be helpful in creating your infographic:
- http://www.bls.gov/home.htm
- http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Reference_Shelf/Data.shtml
- http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/
- http://transition.fcc.gov/statistical-reports/
Here are some Utah sources for infographic data. Check for similar sites for your state.
Here is an example of an infographic from Utah.gov regarding ‘Where Utah State Dollars Come From.’
- Infographic: http://www.utah.gov/data/infographics/infographic-statedollars.html
- Specific report from the Site: Page 6 – 2011 Budget Summary Book (extremely large pdf file)..
Another tip is to search google for the topic of the inforgaphic.
Your search could look something like this: “employment intitle:statistics inurl:.gov” – without the quotes.
The final tip I have for you is to do your homework. Find out what types of infographics are getting the most attention, you can do this by checking out the delicious tag for infographic. Nearly all infographics have a source of data listed. See where they are getting their data and build a list of sources to brainstorm.
If you know of any really great sources of usable data for infographics, please post below.
