How to do Guest Blogging

Guest Blogging is one of the most popular forms of active off-page SEO tactics. It can be the foundation of a good link building campaign providing both valuable content and traffic to your site. Here’s an explanation of the practice, how it benefits your business and how to do it.

What is Guest Blogging?

Guest blogging, also called “guest posting”, is the action of writing content, especially articles, for another organisation’s website. In general, guest blogs appear on websites that are related to the industry or niche of the guest blogging company. For example, a mechanic may guest blog on a car club website, or a telecoms company may guest blog on an IT forum. In many cases, the guest blog is related to the main topic but is not necessarily the speciality of the hosting website.

What are the benefits of Guest Blogging?

Guest blogging can be approached from several angles, each with its own benefits and often these benefits are combined. From guest articles you may gain:

• Traffic to your site through any links in your blog.
• A better domain authority or domain ranking if the guest blogging site has a higher domain authority than your site.
• Increased brand awareness especially when paired with social media campaigns.
• Connections within your industry and the potential to work on more projects together.

Whatever your focus, whether SEO or brand awareness, guest blogging should be a part of your digital marketing campaigns.

How to Guest Blog

There are many different guest blogging relationships. Some are paid, some are free. Some guest blogs will require a certain amount of links, while others will allow completely free reign. Here’s how to get the most out of guest blogging, no matter the situation.

Finding Guest Posting Opportunities

So, how do you find blogging opportunities? There are several ways to find websites to guest post on. Here are a few options:

• Simply Google for them. Keywords like “submit guest post”, “guest blog submission” and “write for us” can be used to find guest blogging opportunities. This is not limited to Google, do this on any search engine to find options.
• Reach out to your network. Whether on Linkedin, calling clients or suppliers, or reaching out to others in your industry, you can ask to guest blog on someone else’s site. It’s mutually beneficial for both parties involved.
• Find out where your competitors are posting. Running a backlink analysis on a competitor’s site may highlight their own guest blogging strategy and is a good way to find sites that are already working in your industry.
• Find a guest blogging list. There are many available online plus there are many companies that provide options as part of their offering. I am frequently sent guest blogging opportunities, mainly paid, as a list that I can choose from.

Finding the Right Websites

Now you have the opportunity to find websites to post on, you must select the right ones. Here are the questions to ask when choosing a guest posting website.

• How much traffic does the site get? Are sessions good, do people leave comments, are they very active on social media? – all good indicators of a site that is performing well.
• Does the site have a good domain score? Is it better than your own? A higher domain score will reflect better on your site and likely means the site has lots of traffic.
• Are your competitors using them?
• Is the website in your niche? While they may have a great domain score, there is no point in writing on a site that has nothing to do with your industry. Google is all about relevancy as are end-users, so choose sites that your audience is interested in.

Reach Out To The Right People

Unless the website uses submission forms, you’ll likely have to convince someone of your potential. This is just as much the case for paid posts as well as free ones. If you are planning on sending an email to potential sites, here are a few things to include that can help your chances;

• Find the right person to send the information to. If you can find out who the marketing or website manager is, you’ll get an answer quicker. They will likely be the person who will decide on this.
• Personalise the email to their website and point out articles and content on the site that you admire.
• Be upfront that you would like to submit a piece for their site and provide them with details of the blog piece you intend to write. Or you can provide several options if you are less sure of the content they may want.
• Provide links to other guest blogging or articles that have been produced to give them a flavour of your style. Only highlight your best pieces and double-check they are all up to scratch before sending the email.

Write Your Blog Article

If the website accepts your pitch, now is the time to write an amazing blog article. Guest blogs should follow the same principles as writing a blog on your own site. It should be entertaining, educational or inspirational, and even all three. The grammar and spelling should be impeccable. Plus, it should add value to your site through SEO, trust from users or convert to sales. There are however a few extra things to consider when placing work on someone else’s site.

• Follow any guidelines by the website owner. It doesn’t matter how good your article is, if you don’t stick to their rules on posting, it won’t be published.
• Don’t over-promote yourself. If it is a short article, only use 2 or 3 links to your site. More links can be added for longer articles, but use them sparingly and only if they add real value to the reader.
• Mention the posting website and link to relevant pages on their site. This is beneficial for them and shows you are considering their needs as well.
• Ensure you write the article with their audience in mind. They may have a slightly different market than your own but this is your opportunity to capture some of their audience too.
• Accept additions and changes with confidence. If the host publisher requests changes, adapt the piece. But only do so if it does not damage the integrity of the piece or your company.

Promote, Follow Up & Track

Once your blog is published the work doesn’t stop there. You should promote the piece on your own social media channels and marketing campaigns where necessary. This will provide more social proof of your guest blogging and open the hosting site up to more collaborations. You should ensure you thank the website owners as well, even if it is just a quick email to thank them for the publishing opportunity.

Track your work by marking down when your post was live and follow traffic, domain authority boosts and keyword ranking changes over the coming months. By reviewing what worked and what didn’t you can continue to hone your craft. Guest blogging is not just about setting it and forgetting it. You should also update these guest posts if anything changes such as data or links. Plus, if additional information needs to be added in the future, it can show you are continually improving. Keep a list of all guest blogging and external links.

Guest Blog With Middleton Marketing

If you would like to start guest blogging but need help finding the right opportunities, get in touch. I have a network of businesses and websites I work with for off-page SEO campaigns including guest blogging. I’m all about producing quality pieces that will inspire your readers to take action. Let’s work together and grow your business.