Guest blogging is one of the most simple yet difficult things a brand can do to increase their link building. It’s easy because many websites are looking for high-quality content in your niche. And if you have that content to offer, they will happily publish it and link back to your site.
It’s difficult because site owners are bombarded by pitches every day, most of them average or mediocre. Your pitch in the initial email must stand out to capture the attention of publishers and site owners.
So, how do you effectively use guest blogging strategies to receive more links for your website?
Perform Google searches and look for medium to high authority sites in your niche that accept guest posts and have clear guest posting guidelines. Your outreach will make or break your guest post strategy and even harm your reputation if done poorly.
Here are some simple dos and don’ts of guest posting:
Once you land a guest blogging spot, don’t ruin it with a poorly-written or badly edited post. Provide your highest-quality writing. Have someone on your team edit your post and look it over for typos. The more eyes you can get on it, the better. Double-check your facts and use referenced articles that are up-to-date. Also, you shouldn’t use stats from five years ago to illustrate your point. Check the date on articles, and make sure you’ve done your research.
If you have to, pay freelancers to create good content for you.
Even if you use a freelancer, they’ll often ghostwrite for you, so your name is in the byline. This allows you to build a portfolio of content that you can share when you do outreach. Having a list of well-written guest posts will strengthen your pitch. Not to mention you’ll have stronger backlinks, and your site profile will be more reputable.
There are countless places to house this portfolio, but you can even create a page on your website showcasing your content. This displays your expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (the pillars of the Google E-A-T principle), making you a more desirable guest writer.
To build effective links, you need good content on your site to link to. It’s hard to get a link to a product page, but it’s much easier to get publishers to link to your homepage or relevant, well-written blog posts on your site. That content leads to more links, which leads to more guest posting opportunities in places you might not have succeeded at pitching before.
The cycle continues. Good guest posts and content on your site feed each other and can even help you gain organic links without any outreach at all. There are several strategies you can employ, including:
A guest blogging strategy can be a great way to land more links to your site. But it’s all about outreach and quality. Get those things right, and your guest blogs can lead to even more opportunities.
Need help making sense of how guest blogging relates to search engine optimization (SEO) and your overall link-building strategy? Contact us today!