How Does Content Generate Back-Links?

In a search engine optimization exercise, content can really be more use than just supply information related to a particular subject. One has to be more meticulous in exploring how he/she can use content to extract more than one benefit from it in search engine optimization terms. For example if the content is automatically being virally spread across the internet, it is more beneficial from the search engine optimization perspective than a static content on the website which is being read by search engine crawlers but is not being circulated around.