Did you know that guest posting can actually hurt your blog’s SEO if it’s not done the right way?
Like most things involved in promoting your blog, there’s a wrong way to use guest posting and a right way to do guest posting – and a lot of it has to do with what blogs you publish your guest posts on.
Before you waste your next guest post – Consider these points.
The Wrong Way to Do Guest Blogging
Guest blogging has a long and colorful history with Google. When guest blogging first came on the marketing scene, it was a relatively unknown tactic. Then, webmasters realized they could get a lot of backlinks by guest posting. Soon, this tactic started becoming abused. Webmasters would pay $2 for poorly written articles to be published on brand new blogs. This expanded to the point where Google started taking action against those who abused the system.
Google started punishing low quality blogs, as well as the webmasters who used them for SEO. Then Google penalized MyBlogGuest.com, the largest guest blog exchange platform at the time.
So, does that mean guest blogging is a bad strategy? That Google doesn’t like guest bloggers? Absolutely not. Google doesn’t like low quality guest posts. Guest writers who write high quality content for high quality websites can still do very well. As proof, one just has to look at Huffington Post. Its website is written by virtually 100% guest posters – and it’s one of the highest trafficked websites in the world.
As, as a rule of thumb, avoid writing for low quality sites. Avoid writing for brand new blogs. Avoid writing for sites with spammy links. Avoid buying space on blogs. Avoid PR0 blogs. Of course, there are exceptions. Use your best judgment of a site’s quality. If a site is high quality, even if it seems to have a PR 0, go for it. Just make sure you’re writing for sites that you personally want to be associated with.
The Right Way to Do Guest Posting
So how do you get blog owners to agree to let you write for them?
Start by having a high quality website yourself. Invest some time (and money) into design. Have at least 5-10 content-packed articles on your site. When a site owner comes to check you out, they should like what you’re doing.
Once your site is setup, reach out to bloggers in your space. Personalize your messages. Let them know how you found them, why you like them and why you think you two could be a good match. It often helps if you can suggest 3-5 topics for them to choose from.
It’s generally most effective to reach out to tier 2 or tier 3 bloggers. Tier 1 bloggers are often so busy they can’t respond. But tier 2 or tier 3 bloggers are much more receptive and would generally be grateful for the free content.
Guest posting can be a fantastic way to get big exposure quickly – all without spending a dime. Just make sure you’re being published on quality sites!
Have You Tried Guest Posting? Did it work well for your blog?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Great points about carefully selecting sites to guest blog about. I’m preparing an article for a site because it fits in my niche and it does receive lots of comments on its posts. So I figure that will drive some traffic.
Bakari Chavanu recently posted..Ask Mac Automator: Automating Safari
That’s great, Bakari!! Good luck, we hope it’s accepted!
Nice post. Simple and straight forward for those who are just beginning.
Thanks, Mahesurya! We’re glad you liked it. 🙂
This is a great post with more important points about guest posts.Most bloggers think guest posting is the sure way to get a backlink,but they don’t know the bad side of it on the eyes of Google.
Amila recently posted..iHerb Affiliate Program #Review
Thanks so much for commenting, Amila! You’re absolutely right – it is important to know both sides of something before just jumping in.
This post is going to be a great help for newbies who lacks of knowledge in guest post. Certainly it does to me as well. Thanks for the essential tips.
You’re very welcome! We’re glad you found the post so useful. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Really great post. Now i learn new things in the social media opportunity to growing business. Thanks for this article.
Education Essay recently posted..Parents Guide to Writing Private High School Application Essays
Great Article… I love to read your articles because your writing style is too good, its is very very helpful for all of us and I never get bored while reading your article because, they are becomes a more and more interesting from the starting lines until the end.
We love hearing this, abiyacarol!! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment. 🙂
I never thought about a bad side to guest posting but havent had a chance to guest post quite yet. What makes a site tier 1 2 or 3? Thanks for all the help!!!!
Hi Cindy – Great question! This post explains tiered content – let us know if it helps. http://backlinko.com/the-definitive-guide-to-guest-blogging
thank you, i like your article
Oh, thank you for this. I am just starting to do more guest posting, so this is right on time.
That’s great to hear!! Good luck with guest posting, Forest!
Nice post, thanks i will now apply this
Obaoye Adekunle John recently posted..By: rasaki oyedele Raheem
nice article
Thanks, Priya!
I appreciate you writing this post plus the rest of the site is really good.
Great post ! I’ve seriously had this open in a tab for months now.
I like how you talked about having goals around your guest blogging efforts. I think this is something that is often times forgotten as SEOs are quick to jump on the “next big link building tactic” and they forget why they are doing it.
We’re so glad you found our post so useful, Matthew!! Goals are so important in whatever area you want to advance in, they help you see what you want, and how to get there. Thanks for commenting!