Guest Blogging

Guest blogging can be a waste of time and resources but also powerful for growth.

Guest blogging helps with:

Brand awareness
Building backlinks
SEO performance

So in this article, we will learn about using guest blogging as a strategy, including:

Setting goals
Picking topics
Finding guest blogging websites
Guest blogging outreach
Writing posts
Tracking posts

Let’s dive right in.

What is guest blogging?

Guest blogging is part of content marketing which involves writing and publishing articles on other websites.

Bylines as often included in these articles, as well as publication editors highlighting the article being written by a “guest author” or “contributor”.

Publications can offer guest bloggers:

Compensation
A link back to your website or social media accounts

Guest Blogging Benefits

The benefits of guest blogging include:

Industry expert or thought leader profile growth
Personal brand growth
Audience growth
SEO performance
Builds backlinks
Builds relationships and partnerships
Referral traffic
Brand awareness
More leads, users and customers

How to be a Guest Blogger

Set goals

The first step to starting guest blogging is to set goals.

These could be business performance related goals like getting more:

Leads
Clients

Or they could be website performance related goals like:

Improving search visibility
More referral traffic

A few advantages of having a clear goal include:

Picking blog topics to write about
Choosing which blogs to publish on
Deciding how often to write

For example, if I set goals on an increase in:

Referral visits
SEO traffic
Backlinks

Then I know the result of this can be traced back to guest posts.

But it can be difficult to pinpoint the reason for an increase in clients and leads, although more important metrics for a business.

Pick topics

Pick topics that will help fulfil the goals you set previously above.

A few examples of these goals could be:

Referral traffic
SEO performance
Leads or clients

To start, make a list of top web pages on your website that you want to promote and include future guest blogs you’re yet to write as well.

Then for each webpage:

Analyse the webpage like its monthly SEO traffic
Set a goal that you want the webpage to achieve in a certain timeframe
Pick a relevant topic for readers
Then use keyword research tools for future topic ideas

Note: You can have goals for your website and goals for individual webpages.

Find guest blogging websites

Find and list websites for guest blogging, by doing following:

Advanced Search Operators: In the search bar type operators like “intext:submit a guest post”
Google Reverse Image Search: Take a picture of guest bloggers and find where they’ve previously published. These publications accept guest posts
Search for lists of top websites that want guest bloggers to write for them
Check competitor backlinks

Next, filter your list and only go for blogs with the following:

40 plus Domain Authority or Rating
Less than 3% Spam Score
Long and thorough editorial process

Guest blogging outreach

Before sending your guest post ideas, do your research.

This will involve looking for:

The website’s guest blogging guidelines
Topics not previously covered by the website
Angles not previously covered by the website’s articles

Doing this research shows editors that you will put in the work to make good content for them.

And you will contribute value to their website, which is what editors love.

Next, find the website’s contact and reach out.

When reaching out, just be straightforward.

Make sure you’ve done the research and have a portfolio of content.

Note: Some publications want a full draft in the pitch, so always read the guest blogging guidelines.

Writing the post

After picking a topic you’re passionate about and are an expert in, start typing.

Or hire an editor to review and edit your draft.

Because feedback and suggestions always make a good article.

Follow these recommendations for writing blog posts:

Write at least 1,000 words
Use small paragraphs
On-page SEO optimisation
Use images and graphs
Add relevant quotes
Link to your other guest posts
Link to your content
Link to studies, data, thought leadership etc.
Internally link the publishers other articles
Add byline and explain your topic expertise

In your final draft to the editor, include your author details:

Full name
A short bio
Social media links
A headshot picture
Your website

Track the posts

Compare your results to the goals you set.

You can use different SEO tools to track different metrics.

I like to use tools provided by Google.

But other tools give you certain free options like Ahrefs to check:

The number of backlinks
Referring domains
Organic traffic performance
The number of keywords the website ranks for in Google

SEO for Guest Blogging

More than half of digital marketers say guest blogging is the best way to build backlinks.

Guest blogging is popular because websites link back to the authors website, if it improves user experience.

These link are in the:

Article’s Body of the article
Bio of the author

Blog editors put no-follow tags on links from guest authors.

Before these links were seen as low value because they lacked authority.

But now, “no-follow” backlinks are seen as ranking signals by Google’s algorithm.

Note: Make sure your guest blogging posts are quality and improve user experience by educating and entertaining readers.

Guest Blogging Tools

The following types of tools will help in your guest blogging journey:

Conclusion

Now you will feel more confident implementing your own guest blogging strategy.

Remember every industry and business is different.

So test a lot of strategies to see what works best for your business.

And don’t get to tell me all about it.

Let me know in the comment section below.