A Guide to Link Building Strategy Using Guest Blogging

Guest blogs are among the most effective ways of creating a high-quality backlink profile. They help establish brand authority in the market, increase organic traffic, and push clicks back to your blog.

Websites want you to connect to material that adds relevance to the reader’s experience, such as a resource that supports the point you’re trying to create. Guest blogging is a more legitimate way to create your backlink profile than spamming editors, and it can help you generate lucrative opportunities.

It has been almost seven years since Matt Cutts, Google’s former Head of Web Spam, declared guest blogging dead as a link-building strategy. Today, though, guest posting is alive and well, with three out of four editors reporting that they write at least one guest post each week. 

Today, a more innovative approach focuses on guest articles with real value to publishers and their followers. If you do it this way, guest blogging is always an effective backlink-building technique.

Busting Myths About Guest Posting

Many people have second thoughts about guest posting for multiple reasons. Unfortunately, most of these reasons are rooted in myths. Here is a list of some common myths and their realities.

Myth 1: Blogs that accept guest posting ultimately lose their identity.

Reality: This is false. Conversely, guest posts make the blog’s content more intriguing and inviting. These posts add more value to the existing content. One of the most important things is having a team of editors who approve these articles before they are published. Guest blogging is one of the most preferred ways of organic link building.

Myth 2: Guidelines of all guest posting sites are the same.

Reality: No, the guidelines for all guest posting sites aren’t the same. Every site is different, and every blog site has its guidelines. You have to identify the audience, study the data they publish, follow a specific procedure, etc.

Myth 3: You require an existing reputation before you start guest posting and SEO link building.

Reality: It is essential to have good writing skills and backlink strategy before starting with guest posting. It is unnecessary to have a reputation or a renowned name in the niche. 

Myth 4: Guest posting only helps an individual, not a company.

Reality: Guest posting helps an individual as well as a company. It depends on what and how you write. Sometimes individuals write for a business to gain some reputation and win customers’ trust.

Myth 5: The results are less as compared to the efforts.

Reality: Undoubtedly, writing requires time and effort and does not necessarily give results. If you have domain knowledge and all the necessary skills, getting results will not be difficult. Quality link building is vital for faster growth.

How Can You Find Guest Blogging Opportunities?

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Before starting guest posting, you must find blogs that accept guest posts. Here are a few opportunities:

• Competitors’ backlinks: You can select your top competitors and go through their backlink profiles. If the guest posting website accepts your competitors’ blogs, then there are chances that they will accept yours as well.
• Social media searches: Social media platforms help you find different guest posting websites–they open doors for opportunities. You can apply filters and sort as per your requirements.
• Google searches: Mostly, all the blogs that allow guest posting have websites and a list of guidelines for the writers.

What Effect Does Guest Blogging Have on Link Building?

Imagine you have started an electronics business recently, but not many people visit your store as they are unaware of it. So, what’s the best way to make people notice you? There are many, and one among them is by writing about your electronics business as a guest blogger on someone else’s site. 

Once you have written a guest blog about your business and attracted readers’ attention, you ask them politely whether they would like to visit your electronics store. Effective link building is an essential aspect of it.

Writing as a guest blogger does two things for you:

1. It connects your name to prestigious businesses that people connect with.
2. It gives your readers a chance to understand the difference you can make in their lives through your business.

When readers discover your writing skills, they want to learn more about you. This is when they link to you. This is how guest blogging impacts your link-building exercise.

Tips for Effective Link Building via Guest Blogging

Guest blogging is somewhat similar to regular blogging

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Guest blogs generate approximately 50 visits from regular referral traffic and 539 visits from total referral traffic. But, what if it doesn’t stop there? When viewers look at your blog and see that you’re doing something different than what they’ve seen before? They’ll undoubtedly link to you.

Once your polished, stunning content shines on a popular platform, the reviews are easy to foresee, and you’ll be able to spot guest hosting opportunities. Readers will come to you if the material is strong. As a seasoned author, you will be remembered. Your blog will develop a following of its own. You’ll even have high-quality backlinks, of course.

Select sites for guest blogging carefully

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It’s important to be selective about sites for guest blogging. Not all blogs are authoritative, and not all authoritative pages are appropriate for you. It is preferable for you to guest blog on a few practical, authoritative blogs rather than many high-profile sites that bring little value to your website. You’re often best off using a platform that corresponds to your service.

Of course, you might post a ton of high-quality, engaging material, but it becomes pointless if it reaches the wrong audience. Examine the site’s success and see if it’s worth guest posting on. 

Metrics such as the Domain Authority (DA) ranking, the number of social followers, usage engagement, and the disposition of readers, among others, may be used. If you want to build long-term partnerships with bloggers and get the results you want, you’ll need to do your homework.

Some tips:

1. On Google, use search operators to locate guest blogging opportunities. For e.g., you might look for “submit a guest post” in sports.
2. Find out which are the most influential blogs in your field.
3. Use software to look at the rivals’ backlinks to see when they publish material.
4. Use social media to look for guest blogging opportunities.
5. It’s best if you also look for resources that syndicate guest-post-accepting websites.

Refine the target list

You’ll need to refine the list until you’ve found websites that welcome guest articles in your niche. Why? Since some of them may not be up to the task of assisting you in developing high-quality backlinks.

What exactly do you look for? Here are several criteria you should use to narrow down your website list:

1. Domain Authority: Every website with a Domain Authority (DA) of more than 50 is a decent place to launch. The higher the amount, the better. In general, you can avoid attacking domains with a DA of less than 40.
2. Content quality: Check the site’s content quality and see how much they publish and what type of content they post. If you think their material is helpful as a reader, add them to your list. Often, look at how many people are commenting on their stories. The more feedback and shares you have, the more accessible it is.
3. User profile: See how the author’s bio is prominently shown in the guest articles on these pages. Check out some of the other guest contributors’ profiles to get a sense of their DA and standard.

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Grab the editor’s attention

Guest blogging on well-known websites can be difficult. In reality, you have a slim chance in most places with a strong DA. So, what’s the trick here? Strive to get the editor’s eye so that it becomes difficult for them to dismiss your content. 

For instance, conduct research to determine which subjects receive the most coverage. It’s time to pitch the writer until you’ve decided on the proper subjects. Instead of pitching to the company, you should pitch directly to the publisher. 

It would be best to inform the editor of your profile, which will aid in forming connections that will help you gain favor and acceptance priority.

Check to learn from other users who have been guest blogging on the forum as part of the study. Spy on them and know everything from their blogs and websites to help you land a guest blogging gig.

Make a list of content suggestions

Your key goal is to create material that people want to read. The content should benefit both the publisher and the consumer while still driving traffic back to the website. In other terms, it needs to be a win-win-win condition for the pitch to be considered.

Looking at guest articles that have been popular for the publisher in the past is an excellent way to start while exploring content ideas. One way to do this is to use resources by reviewing the publisher’s website and identifying the best blog entries, and using Ahrefs, BuzzSumo, and Rank Tracker for suggestions.

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Contact the publishers

Keep in mind that there are only so many appropriate content partners available in the market. You can’t afford to flood them with bland messages, or you’ll run out of leads before you get started. It’s more critical to create long-term partnerships than to score a single content placement.

Develop a relationship with prospective publishers

Before you make your content proposal, it’s a good idea to be friends with the publisher. Engage with the publisher’s material by liking and responding to their social media messages, leaving comments on their site, and signing up for their newsletters. It would help if you asked about possible partnerships until the two of you have developed some rapport.

Send your ideas through email

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It’s time to test your pitch after familiarizing yourself with the publisher’s site and gathering your thoughts. The aim is to be as genuine as possible while still assuring the publisher that you will offer high-quality material.

Create content that would entice readers to read

Guest blogging aims to provide a route for fans on other blogs to come to yours. This is nothing more than enticing them to purchase your goods or services. It will help if you write high-quality articles that establish you as an authoritative figure.

Always bear in mind that readers are frequently searching for answers on the internet. As a result, provide them with suitable options to help them stick out from the crowd.

It also helps if you have a catchy title that grabs the reader’s interest. This is where you could once again use your imagination. To get more users to read on and maybe drive traffic to your blog, you’ll need to use correct material language and volume.

Analyze the data and make changes as needed

Give your content plan some breathing room. Great content and collaborations don’t necessarily provide immediate outcomes. Set a six-month to one-year evaluation period for yourself. Adapt the guest blogging approach to changing industry patterns as well. 

Your content strategies can evolve in tandem with changing patterns. Current events, reporting, and changes in the industry can lead to a change in direction. Guest blogging is an excellent way to put these changes into action. 

Conclusion

Creating great guest blogging posts is no easy feat. This is what makes it all the more special. Only a few of your competitors will have the resources and patience to get their content published on top-tier sites. 

Of course, if you’re using guest blogging as a mere source to build backlinks, then it’s not a viable option. However, if you use it as a part of a broader marketing strategy, it can give you top-notch backlinks. The only thing you need to ensure is to publish guest posts on authority sites, and with time, you will see a significant rise in your traffic and rankings. 

Guest posting is not tricky, but it requires effective strategies. You must use the best SEO strategy, and the blogs should also be interesting.