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Originally Posted On: https://bippermedia.com/what-is-guest-posting-and-what-are-its-benefits/

 

It is estimated that there are 1.7 billion websites in existence. This makes the internet a crowded place, that is very easy for your customers to get lost in. If you own a website, then how are you supposed to get found amidst the chaos?

One way is by creating content, but not necessarily for your own website. Read on as we answer the question “What is guest posting?” and how it can help you.

What Is Guest Posting?

Guest posting involves writing content that is placed on websites other than your own. This may sound counterproductive, However, it is one of the best methods of building traffic and SEO juice for your own domain.

This is due to the use of a backlink, which acts as a nod to search engines that your website is informative and useful. As well as that, it positions you as a leader in your given field, increasing brand awareness.

Thus, the reason for guest blogging can be divided into three reasons. They are to increase your authority, build a backlink, or get traffic. People may choose to guest post and concentrate on one or all of these at any time.

Guest Posting and SEO

Guest posting has a huge impact. As it is something external, not to do with the technical or aesthetic aspects of your own website, it is known as off-page SEO. It takes time to get right but will be a huge long-term advantage.

The principle works using backlinks. As a rough guide, the more backlinks you have, the better your SEO. It shows that you are an authority and that other websites vouch for you, and thus search engines send more traffic.

The quality of those backlinks does have a huge impact. For example, a backlink from an established, high-traffic site like the New York Times will be much more valuable than one from your friend’s low-traffic blog. In fact, backlinks from undesirable websites can actually damage your SEO score in the long term.

This means that many people will advise you to target established websites with high domain ratings. However, backlinks can grow and wane in strength. A low-level link may become very strong in a year, or ones that are great now may not be later.

This means you should opt to guest post on a wide range of quality sites. This provides a much more stable longer-term investment.

Quality Guest Posting Guide

Even if you are simply guest blogging for the backlink, you still need to create high-quality guest post content. You never know who will find and read your creation. If it is poor quality then it will look bad on your business.

Always think of the value you are adding for the reader. Be informative, provide information, or answer questions they may have. You should never turn the guest posting into an advertisement, in fact, you should actively avoid it.

Also create a clear, concise author bio. Most websites will place this after your article. If you can convince them to place it at the start you will benefit from increased traffic, as people’s attention often wanes the later down the page they get.

Each article should end with a call to action. This is a sentence that tells a reader what to do next, such as following this link, bookmarking this website, etc. It stops the reader from falling off without making a connection to your product or service.

When published, make sure you promote the guest post on your own social media channels. This will benefit both you and the other website, increasing your reach as an expert in your given field.

Finding Places to Guest Blog

The hard part is finding quality places to do a guest post. Your main aim is to find sites that are relevant to your niche and industry. Make sure the blog is active, with regular posts, and has an engaged audience.

Start by doing a Google search for websites that accept guest posts. From this, you can create a list of ones that operate in your field. You can then email the webmasters asking to submit a guest post.

Many of them may ask for a fee for this. If you accept or not is totally up to you. While it is a practice slightly frowned upon, you will find it is a way to build quality links and you may even be able to find a dedicated guest posting service online.

Another method is to perform an SEO analysis of your competitors. This will bring up a map of where all of their own backlinks come from. You can trace these back, contacting the webmasters and asking to submit your own guest post.

Pitching a Guest Post

You can also pick up some cues as to when it may be a good time to pitch a guest post. Instead of going out searching, these are the times when the chance to guest post may come to you.

Firstly, if you see a blog publish another guest post similar to your niche then contact them. This shows they are actively looking for people to guest post.

Another is when a blog mentions you in a post or on social media. They may have spoken about your product or service. As you have already formed the start of the relationship, it makes it much easier to get a guest post when you approach them.

Starting to Guest Post

Now you can answer the question “What is guest posting?” begin to create some articles. You can then contact guest posting sites and see which they may be interested in. Remember to keep them high quality.

Bipper Media should be the first spot for your SEO needs. We can provide everything from backlinks to website design and building. Contact us here and book your free SEO strategy session.