You have a content marketing strategy you’re happy with, but could it be better?
It might be worth considering becoming a guest poster on other websites, which involves writing and publishing relevant content while promoting your own brand.
Guest posting can be extremely beneficial for improving your off-page SEO strategy, particularly gaining high-quality backlinks from reputable sources, which can in turn boost your own websites authority and credibility.
Some may feel that guest posting can be counterproductive, as it requires you to put time and effort into someone else’s site and results are not always guaranteed.
However, guest blogging is a popular off-page SEO strategy because it can increase your organic traffic, establishes your sites authority, and improves brand awareness.
So, if you want to improve your link building strategy and boost your domain authority to expand your audiences reach and gain more organic traffic, guest posting is another feather to add to your digital PR campaigns bow.
Continue reading to find out if guest posting is still worth your time, the benefits of guest blogging, and how to find the perfect site for your guest blog.
What is guest posting?
The terms ‘guest posting or ‘guest blogging’ refer to how writers produce content for other websites.
Typically, guest posters will write content for sites which focus on a similar topic or industry to their own.
Guest bloggers will usually be credited for their work with a byline as a ‘guest author’ and receive a link back to their own website.
Authors can further increase their authority by having expertise-driven bios on other relevant sites, which include their experience and other places they write content for.
Not only can such backlinks prove valuable for building domain authority and improving the way search engines perceive your site, but you will also benefit from building long-term relationships with other site owners.
For example, you will be able to:
- post regularly on these sites
- enjoy increased brand visibility
- gain exposure to a wider audience
- experience increased engagement
- receive a boost in referral traffic.
Is guest posting still worth it?
Some of the most common myths surrounding guest posting are that it is only beneficial to the site the content has been written for or that is a dying SEO strategy.
Negativity towards the latter could stem from Matt Cutts famous blog “The decay and fall of guest blogging for SEO.” Taken at face value this could be pretty damning for guest bloggers, however, Matt was actually referring to guest posts which would violate Google’s Quality Guidelines.
So, yes, guest posting is very much still worth keeping in your content marketing repertoire, as long as you are authentic and not sacrificing quality for easy backlinks in large volumes.
As with any marketing tool, guest posting will work for you if you approach it with a realistic strategy, standout pitches, and an open mindset.
Benefits of guest blogging
Building relationships
Guest posting is a great way of putting yourself out there and connecting with other businesses and like-minded individuals. As well as forming a relationship with the site you’re writing for, guest blogging allows you to connect with other people in your industry, which could lead to future projects and collaboration opportunities.
Gain authoritative backlinks
If you feel like your brand or site isn’t quite getting the attention it deserves, guest blogging can be the perfect addition to your link-building strategy.
Increasing the number of links to your website from third-party sites will help Google to see that your site has high authority and deserves to be ranked higher in the search results, effectively giving your website a vote confidence.
Drive high-quality traffic to your website
As we have mentioned previously, the relevancy of the site you choose to guest blog on has a huge impact on your link-building results. For example, a make-up site guest-posting on a high-authority site about technology is less likely receive the same benefits as a technology provider posting on the same site due to relevancy issues.
That is why it is always best to pitch to reputable sites with high-quality backlinks, a good domain authority score, a clear internal linking strategy, and well-optimised content.
Reach new audiences
Sites that offer guest blogging opportunities are the perfect way to expand your reach and tap into new audiences. Connecting with a new audience will help to increase your brand awareness, build relationships, and generate new leads with potential clients.
Increase domain authority
If your site’s domain authority requires a much-needed boost, guest blogging is an easy and effective way to do this. By writing quality content for relevant websites with high authority, this will direct high-quality traffic and links back to your own site. The more reputable your content, links, and traffic, the more trustworthy search engines will deem your site to be.
Grow your profile as a thought leader
Make the most of guest blogging opportunities and see them as a way of establishing yourself as an expert in the topic you are writing about.
Some of the things you can do to build up your profile as an expert include, participating in discussions, adding your knowledge to LinkedIn articles, and referencing any relevant credentials in your author bio.
This can help to further build relationships with other industry experts, as well as your audience, who will see you as a credible source of information.
The best tools to use for guest blogging
- AhRefs Content Explorer – can be used to find popular topics that generate links, as well as finding guest posting sites and their domain authority, so you can make an informed list of who to pitch to.
- SEMRush – useful for carrying out a backlink analysis on competitors to find out what sites they are targeting and receiving links from.
- BuzzSumo – highlights current trends, provides insights on content engagement, and helps identify outreach opportunities.
- Answer the Public – can help you think of content ideas based on questions people are frequently asking.
How to find your ideal guest blogging opportunities
Before you begin, here are the questions you should ask yourself in order to find the best guest blogging opportunities for your brand.
Does the website accept guest posts?
Firstly, you need to establish if your target website is open to guest posting. There are a few different ways you can do this:
- Google – A simple Google search of “write for us” or “accepting guest posts” should bring up a list of sites that accept guest post contributions. Alternatively, you can Google the names of bloggers you already follow to see where they have posted, as these sites may be a good fit for you too.
- Social media – Hashtags such as #guestpost, #guestblogging, and #guestpostingsites will bring up relevant posts from guest bloggers themselves or sites open to guest posting.
- Guest post platforms – It is always worth checking the websites that are dedicated to advertising guest posting opportunities.
- Competitor backlinks – You can also use SEMRush and AhRefs to look at the URLs of your competitors and find out where they are acquiring their backlinks from to target those websites, as you will now know that they accept guest posts.
Is the website relevant?
When researching websites you would like to write guest blogs for, it is important that they match your intent. In other words, they should focus on a relevant topic and have a similar audience to your own.
Does the website have a good authority score?
You’re producing high-quality content, so this needs to be published on a site that Google deems to have good domain authority. If you’re unsure about a site’s authority, use the free domain authority checker on Moz to find out a website’s score.
Other things to look out for include the quality of the content, the sites domain strength , what their audience engagement is like, and whether they have good-quality backlinks directing to the site.
How to craft a successful guest posting pitch
Equally as important as the content itself is the initial pitch you will make to the host website. Use the following points to help you craft a winning pitch:
- Always address your email to the owner of the blog
- Check the guidelines for pitching posts
- Make sure your email has a clear subject line that states your intention
- Introduce yourself and explain what it is you would like to write about – be direct
- Show you’ve done your research
- Include samples of your work with hyperlinks for easy access
- State why you’re the best person to write this guest blog
- Include any wins your site has had, such as high traffic levels, to build credibility.
- Build a genuine connection – remember, you’re pitching to a person behind the screen
- Include both your telephone number and email address
- Proof your pitch and make sure your contact details are correct
- Remain positive – every pitch is more experience, even if you don’t win it first time
How to write your guest post
- Before you start writing, research the site and look at other posts that have previously been written. Look at the writing style and tone used; how does it fit the target market? Do they use engaging features such as images or videos?
- Make the most of on-page SEO and integrate your post into the site by including internal links to relevant blogs and pages on the website, as well as incorporating images which helps support your content.
- Show off your expertise and make sure that your content is relevant, useful to readers, and matches their search intent. If you’re struggling with where to begin, Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines are a useful starting point for producing helpful content.
- Ensure your content is accessible, i.e. that your images have ALT text, there are clear and detailed subheadings, and that your content has a good readability score.
- After publishing your guest post, make sure you continue to track its progress, engage with comments, and make sure your off-page SEO is taken care of by promoting your blog on social media.
Need help with guest posting?
If you need further advice on guest posting or you just don’t know where to begin – get in touch with us today, and we will see what we can do to help.
Alternatively, book in for a Free Acquisitions Workshop, where you can receive free, personalised advice from our marketing experts, a tailored action plan, and resources you can implement right away.
