Breathing life back into guest blogging
You might have heard it, but that doesn’t make it true. “Guest blogging is dead.” That’s what Matt Cutts of Google led us to believe in 2014 when he announced, “Stick a fork in it: guest blogging is done.” The marketing world was in outcry, speculating the uncertain future that comes after such a statement. Cutts said that guest blogging had become too spammy and that was the reason for its demise. And he wasn’t entirely wrong. However, five years later, the future is less uncertain than his statement might have originally suggested.
After all, guest blogging is still very much alive.
Matt Cutts did later reword his statement. He claimed that only the link-building purposes of guest blogging were dead. But guest blogging to build communities, increase reach, and brand and expose businesses was still going strong. Indeed, this way of guest blogging is as relevant today as it ever was.
Writing guest blog posts is extremely powerful. It is an especially strong source of SEO. When written the correct way, guest posts ooze credibility through natural and valued inbound links that drive readers to your blog. Multi-author blogs have a stronger authority with the credibility of various writers behind them.
In one way, Matt Cutts was right. For people writing guest blog posts the wrong way, you only get shoddy, spammy writing. But for people writing guest blog posts the right way, guest blogging is not only alive, it thrives.
How to avoid bad guest blogging: Spam Link Building
Guest blogging is no longer the best technique for SEO and link building. A lot of people just didn’t know what they were doing. The result was that the good idea of link building became connected with spam-filled content. Luckily, these days, there are experienced experts in the field of SEO link building. Companies such as WebAce turn the confusing act of link-building into an understandable art, organically connecting your brand with your target audience.
Instead of link building, in 2019 a guest blog post is best used to help control the volume of work that comes with maintaining a blog. This is how to submit a guest post the right way by accepting copywriting from contributors and marketing companies who want to pay for published posts to promote their clients. The combination of quality writing and relevance to the blog, guest blogging works for everyone. And so guest blogging has jumped to the next level. No shoddy, spammy writing. Just quality, relevant posts.
Of course, this level of high-standard writing sometimes slips. That’s when the writing turns into a post stuffed with spam links. These kinds of posts shouldn’t be accepted in the first place if they are not quality or relevant. Not only is this annoying for the readers, who expect a certain standard and topic, but it is often rejected by search engines that declare the links to be spam. That’s why it’s important to accept quality writing by professional writers who link marketed posts naturally to the original blog, such as those at decent paid guest posting sites.
Another blogging trap to avoid: Guest Blog Networking
Setting up blog editors who want content with people who want to submit a guest post sounds like a great idea. But it wasn’t. This was the concept of guest blog networks. But instead of screening and quality checking the content, people were free to write substandard posts full of spam links. The networks became filled with spammers and small companies with no knowledge of successful SEO skills. In fact, many of the posts weren’t edited at all. And so spammy links infiltrated guest post blogs with ease.
Guest blogging step by step
So, as we’ve established, the world of the guest blog post is very much alive. So how do you do it right? Read ahead for our step-by-step guide.
Step 1: Research
Research good magazines that public high-quality content. Find sites with strong reputations that publish freelance writers and have similar topics to the one you want to cover.
Step 2: Talk to the editor
Set up contact with the person running the blog and make yourself stand out. Put yourself out there through direct contact and ask whether they accept guest posts. If they do, ask for the pitch process, explain your experience, and submit something thought-out and well written.
Step 3: Wait to hear back
Many people pitch to editors about guest blogs so be patient. It might take weeks until they reply to your pitch. If it takes months, then consider pitching something new or submitting your original idea to a different blog.
Step 4: Submit
So you’ve been approved? Now is time to follow the format given to you by the editor, writing the content, and submit it within the timeline offered to you. Continue to edit your piece until it fits all requirements and make any changes necessary.
Step 5: Publish!
Once your submission is approved, it will be published onto the blog. Just be sure to consider the date of publishing when you are writing. It might be a month or more after you have written it. So bear in mind any seasonal changes that might impact the content.
Extra Advice
The big buzzword for paid guest posting sites these days is quality. Shoddy content might have passed beneath the radar a decade ago. But with so much writing on the web now, it simply won’t fly anymore. A guest blog post must be of a high standard. Whether you collaborate with a talented individual or a professional service, that’s the only way to build organic SEO content.
Another important thing to remember is building relationships, but specifically with marketers with a good reputation. Marketing a client through guest posts is a legitimate technique. But only if it is done the right way. Make sure content is well-written, useful, accurate, and still in keeping with the purpose of the blog.
And finally, don’t be afraid to re-contact old blog editors and change your links to nofollow or request for them to be removed. You don’t want your name associated with substandard websites or those that are full of spam links.
Whether you are part of the world of paid guest posting sites or you are looking to submit a guest post yourself, the rules are the same. Do a guest blog post the right way, with authority, quality, and respect to your readers.
