What is guest blogging or guest posting? It’s a strategy that involves creating blog content and publishing it on websites other than yours, with a backlink to your domain, in order to increase your site’s authority in Google. While it is quite effective, you must conduct it thoroughly and accurately – extensive, low-quality guest posting might be flagged as spam by Google and lead to a penalty or even a complete removal of your site in SERPs.
In this article, we will discuss this in more detail and explain how to guest post in a way that will help your website, not harm it. Are you interested in learning the ins and outs of guest blogging? If yes, read on!
What Is Guest Blogging?
In simple terms, guest blogging, also known as guest posting, means publishing your content on a different website. There’s one “but” here – you insert a link into the article, hence building up your backlink profile.
You might wonder if it’s even worth it. After all, if you’re creating high-quality content, why not post it on your own website? Well, it all goes down to the potential gains. Guest blogging it’s an opportunity to get a stronger backlink that brings not only SEO power, but also real traffic.
The Benefits of Guest Posting for Your Website
With this short introduction behind us, let’s discuss the advantages of proper guest blogging. What benefits come with this strategy?
- High-quality backlink acquisition – Thanks to guest blogging, you can get better quality inbound links than with other link building strategies.
- Building brand awareness – Unlike many links, which are typically viewed by a limited number of users, guest posts reach a much wider audience, hence having a more significant impact on building your brand reputation.
- Showing your expertise – By guest blogging, you don’t only present your brand but also your knowledge. This way, you can build trust and keep users engaged with your business.
Why High-Quality Guest Posts Matter?
As we underlined in the introduction and above, proper guest blogging can help you reach the top of SERPs, but what about bad guest posting? Well, it can have the opposite effect.
If you do not pay attention to where you post your articles or create low-quality content, Google might see this as an attempt to manipulate the search engine result pages. As a result, your site might get penalized, and you might lose months of work. This is why you have to approach guest posting responsibly.
For example, it’s good to verify the websites that accept guest posts in SEO tools, like Ahrefs or Semrush. There are many sites that are designed purely for hosting such articles, and they usually don’t have high authority, so you need to be wary and verify your choices.
How to Find Authoritative Websites That Accept Guest Posts?
Understanding what is the role of high- and low-quality guest posting, let’s explore the possible ways to find guest blogging opportunities. For that, you can adopt one of several approaches.
1. Use SEO Link Building Platforms Like Linkhouse
The first advice on our list is to utilize a link building platform, such as Linkhouse. Why is it an effective way to find guest posting opportunities?
- You can find numerous sites that will publish your guest posts and check their metrics. Our link building marketplace enables you to explore a large database of sites and verify their metrics (based on the most popular SEO tools) right away.
- You get transparent guest posting. If any of the sites spark your interest, you get all the info right away – including the price for publishing your post.
- You can get the post written for you. We incorporate AI to let you generate high-quality guest posts on the go. All you have to do is insert your input, and the article will be sent to you in a couple of minutes. What’s important is that you have to verify and accept it before publishing, which means that you don’t risk posting low-quality content.
2. Buy High DA Guest Posts
Yes, you heard us right – you can purchase guest posts. However, in this case, you need to find a reliable, transparent service. One where you know what you’re paying for.
For example, if you buy guest posting from us, you choose the parameters and length of the articles. This way, you can be sure that your articles will either be published on high DR/DA domains or on websites that attract regular traffic.
On the other hand, if you see guest posting services that don’t specify much regarding the domains that your posts and backlinks will be placed on…don’t do it. You never know where your articles will end up, so it’s possible that you’ll pay and cause damage to your domain authority. Hence, prioritize transparency if you decide to use such services.
3. Use Google to Find Guest Blogging Opportunities
You might also conduct a classic Google search to find sites that accept guest posts or even advertise the opportunity to publish them. How to do this? Try searching:
- “keyword” + “write for us”
- “keyword” + “guest blogging/posting”
- “keyword” + “contribute”
The main issue with this method is that you will most likely find low-authority domains through it. It’s not a rule – you still might stumble upon some hidden gems, but most such pages won’t have a high DA/DR or traffic.
4. Analyze Your Competition and Niche
It’s also a good idea to find out where your competitors and influencers from your niche post their content. This will help you discover domains that might be worth targeting with your guest post-pitching campaigns.
To do that, follow the industry influencers or…use a link building tool. For instance, our Gap Analysis module lets you compare your backlink profile with chosen competitors and uncover what sites they publish their content on, and you don’t. Surely, this still requires reaching out to the owners of those websites, but it’s a great way to gather additional sites to include in your campaigns.
SEO Link Building With Guest Blogging: Our Tips and Tricks
We’ve explained how to find sites that accept guest posts, so now, let’s get to the essence – preparing your guest blogging strategy. What steps does it involve and how to approach each of them in the best possible way? Here are some best practices.
1. Start by Making a List of Websites That Accept Guest Posts
The fact that we tackled finding guest blogging opportunities before discussing the whole strategy is no coincidence – it’s because that’s the first step you should take. Before you even consider what you are going to write about or which keywords you want to target, you have to find potential publishers and gather them in a form of a list.
This will give you a better idea of what you can and cannot do in your strategy. After all, if you found a publisher by analyzing your main competitor, and they have already posted their own article optimized for a certain keyword on that particular domain, you won’t be able to do the exact same thing – you’ll need to select a different topic. Knowing that in advance will help you determine where to locate your resources and what key phrases are worth focusing on.
2. Come Up with Guest Blog Ideas
If you already have a list of potential publishers, it’s time to strategize. First, think about the keywords you want to target. What pages do you need to lift in the SERPs? How many guest posts do you want to dedicate to each phrase you’re going to strengthen? These are the questions that you need to answer at this stage.
After you’ve established your SEO strategy, it’s time to think about the content strategy. What should each post be about? Do you want to write it in-house, hire a freelance copywriter, or maybe find a guest post writing service? With these questions answered you’re ready to proceed to the next step.
3. Pitch the Guest Post Sites
With all your plans ready, start reaching out to the publishers. Here, we recommend approaching more guest blogging sites than you wish to. Why? Because some of them might ignore you or reject your offers.
You can also offer the same topics to several websites. In such a case, simply post the article on the site that works best for you. This will provide you with stability and ensure that your guest blogging strategy goes at the desired pace.
4. Write the Content and Start Guest Blogging
With all the above ready, you can finally begin writing your content. Follow the strategy chosen before, and either send the guidelines to freelance copywriters or ensure that your content is created in-house in a timely manner.
5. Promote Your Guest Posts
You’ve created a great guest blog article for a reputable website. Don’t be afraid to share it in your social media or newsletter. This way, you’ll attract traffic to the post, build engagement, and, perhaps, attract new users to your website, who wouldn’t learn about your brand unless they saw the promoted post in their feed.
At this point, you should also monitor the performance of your guest post. Additionally, pay attention to the social features – the publisher’s social media accounts and comment section under the article. Answering questions and engaging in discussion in these channels will boost engagement even further and help you strengthen your brand image.
The Takeaway
You now know what guest posting is and how to conduct it properly. Follow our tips and tricks, and you are bound to increase your ranks in SERPs and drive traffic to your business’ website. If you still have any questions about guest blogging, don’t hesitate to contact us – we will help you dispel any doubts.
FAQ
What are the primary benefits of guest blogging for SEO and link building?
Guest blogging allows you to build links back to your site by publishing content on authority sites, which helps enhance your SEO. By being a guest blogger, you can create valuable backlinks that are seen as natural links by search engines. This practice not only improves your site’s authority but also drives traffic back to your website from popular websites in your niche.
How do I start guest blogging and ensure I pitch to websites that accept guest posts effectively?
To start guest blogging, first find relevant websites that openly accept guest posts. When preparing your pitch, focus on how your guest post can add value to their audience. Make sure your ideas align with the host site’s content to appeal to both the site’s editors and its readership. This approach increases the likelihood that your guest post requests will be accepted by popular link building and guest blogging platforms.
Can guest blogging improve the quality of backlinks to my site?
Yes, guest blogging is an effective guest post link building strategy that can significantly improve the quality of backlinks to your site. By choosing high-quality, high DA websites for your guest blogs, you ensure that the links back to your site are both quality backlinks and viewed as more credible by search engines, which is crucial for boosting your site’s SEO.
What are some best practices for guest bloggers to maximize the benefits of guest posts?
Best practices for guest bloggers include writing high-quality guest posts that provide value to the reader, targeting popular websites within your niche, and ensuring that each guest post backlink fits naturally within the content. Additionally, promote your guest posts through your social media channels to drive more traffic back to the published content, further enhancing its value.
How can I use guest blogging to promote my website and acquire quality links effectively?
Use guest blogging by targeting websites that are relevant and authoritative within your niche. Ensure that every guest post is well-crafted, offers guest post ideas that are innovative, and includes a link back to your site. After your guest post is published, actively promote it on social media and engage with comments to maximize exposure and draw traffic back to your website. This strategy helps build quality links and enhances your online presence.
