How embeddable content can help grow search traffic and AI visibility

While Google hasn’t specifically said that embeddable content leads to more search traffic, there’s a growing belief among SEO experts that it’s a strategy worth pursuing.

And there are a number of examples that suggest the approach is driving stronger search results.

When I say embeddable content, I’m not really referring to things like social media embeds from Facebook or Instagram but rather unique content like charts, polls and quizzes.

Why might Google like this kind of approach?

Google’s guidance on what it favors in its algorithm is really built around originality and uniqueness.

They’ve repeatedly said they want to reward original, helpful content, not commodity content that simply repeats information readers can find elsewhere.

And SEO companies like Ahrefs have noted that stories built around general information are likely to lose out in search because they don’t offer anything unique, while original content that competitors aren’t producing has a better chance of outperforming.

Often, that’s content that adds another layer to stories, like embeddable information. An example of that are calculators, which Ahrefs outlined in this post as having huge SEO upside.

Semrush analyzed what gets cited by AI and was able to show that content that was easy to navigate and had a clear structure received the most citations. The formats were very much in line with embeddable content.

What are examples of embeddable content?

Before we jump into ideas for embeddable content, I want to share a strategic framework you can use to establish what you want to help the reader do.

Instead of asking in your planning meetings what format or tool you should use, ask what you want the reader to be able to do.

Can they search, compare, calculate, vote, take a quiz or personalize the experience? That will allow you to move from focusing on the tool to the value of the experience you’re creating.

After you do that, you can move into deciding what you’re going to build, so here’s a list of ideas you can use:

• Interactive map
• Data table
• Cost calculator
• Reader poll
• Quiz
• Visual timeline
• Before-and-after slider
• Clickable infographic
• Planning checklist
• Searchable directory

So what are the best tools to use?

Here’s a breakdown of some of the tools you can use to create embeddable content. What I like most is that many of them simply let you upload your content (data) or enter a prompt, then generate an interactive experience you can embed into your story.

• Google Sheets: You can use this to create tables of data that can be embedded directly into your stories.

• Google My Maps: Use this to create interactive maps for festivals, road closures, crimes, attractions and things to do lists.

• Datawrapper: You can make interactive maps, charts and searchable tables with this tool. Flourish is a bit more complicated but allows for many of the same opportunities.

• Opinion Stage: For things like polls, surveys and quizzes, this is an easy-to-use tool.

• Interact: You can take what Opinion Stage does to the next level with this tool which allows for quizzes.

• Outgrow: You can use this tool to create calculators for things like mortgages, vacation budget planners or home affordability.

• Softr: You can use this tool to turn a spreadsheet or Airtable into a searchable directory for just about any business.

• TimelineJS (Knight Lab): This allows you to build interactive timelines and Knight’s JuxtaposeJS  helps you create before-and-after image sliders.

• Typeform: You can create interactive questionnaires and surveys with this tool.

• Google Gemini: This is proving to be a really useful tool for creating infographics, timelines and visual explainers based on your data.

• Gamma: You can turn articles or reporting into interactive presentations or explainers.

• Elfsight: You can make embeddable FAQs, reviews, social feeds, maps, and countdowns as interactive widgets.

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