If you are unfamiliar with the ins and outs of guest posting, this article is here to enlighten you. Guest posting is a great technique for improving your SEO and can even get your brand featured on big authority SEO web marketing company sites. But what is it exactly, and how do you implement it?
What is guest posting?
Guest posting refers to the process of writing and publishing content onto another businesses’ blog or website. It allows you to include follow links to your website, which means it is a great way to generate traffic and increase your brand’s reputation, audience and authority. Guest posting is also a wonderful way to build relationships with other businesses and bloggers, and develop your portfolio.
How is it different to a sponsored post?
A sponsored post is a piece of content which is explicitly promoted as an advertisement. Generally, they cost money to buy. Sponsored posts can also increase traffic to your website, but as they only include a no follow link, you won’t get any SEO value through them.
Ways to do a guest post
Broken link building
This is a technique in which you locate a broken link (a link which sends you to a missing or “dead” page with no content) on someone’s website, rewrite the content yourself, contact the person with the broken link and suggest that they replace it with your new link. It is important that the article you have written is of a high-quality, so that you are more likely to get published.
The benefit of this tactic (assuming the website’s owner accepts your proposal) is that it allows you to generate more leads to your website and increase your search engine rankings.
Find suitable targets
Besides contacting websites and bloggers that you already know and love, there are other ways to find guest posting opportunities.
- Google search: Google is a great tool to find websites to submit to. Some possible search strings include: “submit content”, “guest post opportunities”, “become a contributor” and “guest blogger”.
- Twitter search: Another great option is to use Twitter. Search “guest post” with any particular niche you’d like to write for and contact the websites that appear!
- Contact bloggers who have commented on your articles: If a blogger comments on one of your posts, reply and suggest a guest post idea you could write for them. They might just say yes!
- Use the backlinks of your competitor’s site: Consider what backlinks your competitors are using and pick out any which refer to guest posts. This is a good way to find websites which don’t openly state that they accept contributions.
Send a great pitch
The pitch can either make or break your chances at getting published.
- Make sure you’re pitching for the right reasons – know why you’re doing it.
- Follow the guest post guidelines of the site you’re writing for.
- Choose your topic before you pitch. Make sure it works within the theme of the website you’re pitching to – if it’s a vegan lifestyle website, don’t write about the benefits of eating beef. Try to choose an interesting angle, too.
- Write your pitch well. Personalize it to them, make it brief and engaging, and send it from a business email address, not a personal one.
- Follow up if you don’t get a reply after a few weeks.
Conclusion
Guest posting is a vital tool to use for improving your SEO and building community and a reputation for your brand. Hopefully this article has enhanced your understanding of the topic.
