So you want to become a guest blogger, huh? Getting your content in front of new audiences and building your online authority sounds exciting. Before you start pitching your ideas left and right, you need to know a few key things to ensure you make the most of each opportunity.
Guest blogging can increase traffic, build links, and boost your visibility, but only if done right. Follow these dos and don'ts to become a guest blogging pro, expand your reach, and position yourself as an industry expert. With the right strategy and mindset, you'll be well on your way to guest blogging success and watching your SEO and exposure skyrocket.
Do Your Research and Find Relevant SEO Blogs
You need to do some homework to get the most out of guest blogging.
· Find blogs in your industry or area of expertise. Look for sites with high traffic and an engaged audience. Check the domain authority and page views to determine the blog's influence. The higher the numbers, the better.
· See what they've published before. Study the blog's content to understand their style, depth of posts, and any preferences they've mentioned for guest submissions. You want your pitch and post to be a perfect fit.
· Check if they accept guest posts. Many blogs openly invite guest writers to contribute. If they do, review their guidelines thoroughly. If they don't advertise, you'll need to pitch your idea to the editor. Keep your pitch short and compelling.
· Provide value to readers. Write a post that offers helpful information, insights, tips or resources. Teach them something new or share a new perspective. Entertain them with an engaging story or example. Give them content they can use.
· Optimize for search engines. Include keyword phrases, links to authoritative sources, headers, and an image or two. These elements will help people find your post in Google and rank higher in results.
With the right strategy and execution, guest blogging can be invaluable for building influence, authority, and business exposure. Now, what are you waiting for? Start pitching your best ideas!
Don't Just Focus on Backlinks - Build Relationships
Build Real Connections
When guest blogging, don't just focus on getting backlinks to boost your SEO. Take the time to build real relationships with the sites you write for and their audiences. Engage with commenters on your posts, follow the sites and their editors on social media, and promote their content when relevant to your audience.
Developing mutually beneficial partnerships will lead to more opportunities down the road. The sites you write for may ask you back as a regular contributor or promote your content in return. Their audiences will become familiar with you and may even visit your site.
· Reply to any comments on your guest posts and have genuine conversations. Answer questions and provide value.
· Follow the sites, editors, and contributors on social platforms like Twitter. Engage by liking and commenting on their posts.
· Share the sites' content and promote your guest posts on your social accounts. Cross-promotion helps build goodwill and boosts traffic for everyone.
Don't treat guest blogging like a one-and-done tactic to manipulate search rankings. Think of it as a chance to network and make connections that could evolve into long-term collaborations. The relationships you build will serve you far better in the long run than any temporary boost in rankings. Focus on providing value to your hosts and their readers; the backlinks and SEO benefits will follow.
Do Promote Your Guest Posts for Maximum Exposure
Share on Social Media
Promoting your guest post on social media is key to maximizing exposure. Share the link to your post on all your social platforms like:
· Twitter: Tweet the title, a short excerpt, and a link to the post. Be sure to tag the blog you guest posted on and use relevant hashtags.
· Facebook: Share the link to your guest post on your page and in relevant Facebook groups. Write an engaging caption and tag the blog in your post.
· LinkedIn: Post the link to your guest article on LinkedIn, especially if the content is related to your industry or area of expertise. Mention the blog in your post and write a summary of the article in your own words.
Send an email to your current email subscribers and contacts, letting them know about your recent guest blog post. Give them a summary of the article and a link to read it. Encourage them to share the link on social networks to spread the word further.
Don't Plagiarize or Duplicate Content
One of the fastest ways to get penalized or banned from guest blogging is by plagiarizing or republishing duplicate content.
Never copy and paste content from other websites to use in your guest posts. Search engines are very good at detecting duplicate content, which will hurt your site's rankings and the site you're guest blogging for. Always create 100% original content for your guest posts.
Do not republish a blog post you've already used on your or another site. Again, search engines will recognize it as duplicate content and won't provide any SEO value. Take the time to research and develop a unique article for each guest blogging opportunity.
Even if you don't intentionally duplicate content, you need to double-check that you haven't covered very similar points, topics, examples or used a lot of the same phrases in another recent post. Accidentally duplicating content can happen easily, so review other posts you've written in the last 3-6 months to ensure your guest post will be unique. Guest blogging works if you work it, so get going and start reaping the rewards.