Once just a personal endeavor, blogging has now become a powerful tool which can be used to attract visitors to your website. It has expanded beyond individual posting to an entire network of link building on multiple sites.
If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve already heard of guest blogging. Whether you’re considering executing this on your own or by using a guest blogging service, here’s what you need to know.
What is Guest Blogging?
Guest blogging or guest posting is a way to attract more visitors to a website. A guest blogger writes content for a similar website in order for it to generate more traffic. In return, they gain exposure and access to the website’s audience: a win-win. This usually works both ways. If you’re considering guest blogging for another site to feature your content, it would be good to show other guest bloggers’ work on your website as well.
Guest blogging has several benefits for your website. Before you make use of it, you need to consider your objectives. Usually, guest blogging is done for the following reasons.
1.Generating traffic for your website
More unique visitors will visit your website if your posts are seen elsewhere. Likewise, if you have other people’s posts featured on your site, it can attract new visitors from a similar audience. Fresh new content will also keep your current following engaged.
2.Establishing brand credibility and authority within your industry
Sharing your content on another website will give you a boost in credibility within your niche. After all, companies and other bloggers would likely only feature someone they can vouch for. The mere exposure on websites, especially those with a large following, will also anchor your authority in the industry.
3.Building backlinks for your site
Having guest bloggers’ content on your site and vice versa won’t just boost credibility within the industry but on search engines as well. The more your content links appear across pages on the Internet, the more search engines like Google will determine that it is legitimate, leading to higher ranks and relevance. It’s also a matter of quality rather than quantity. If your content is shared on a website that consistently receives thousands of unique visitors on a regular basis, search engines will see it as more relevant.
How to use Guest Blogging for Link Building
Identify your niche and set your goals
When you write, who do you imagine is reading your posts? What kind of people do you want to attract to your website? These are questions you should be asking yourself prior to choosing who to guest blog for and which guest bloggers’ to feature on your own site.
Reaching your target audience is important in building your brand and business. For instance, if your business revolves around health and wellness, writing for a financial services blog wouldn’t make much sense. Identify your niche and move forward from there.
Do your research and find opportunities to guest post
There are some relatively simple ways to go about researching guest posting opportunities.
- Research on Google – This is the instinctive thing to do, and by applying a few simple keyword combinations. For instance, instead of “beauty guest posting” you could try “beauty contributing writer.”
- Research on Social Media – In the same way you’d use Google, try searching for something like “beauty guest blog” on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Use a guest blogging service
There are many benefits to using a guest blogging service. The biggest advantage is that you don’t need to go around and find companies and websites to write for. A service has a network, so all you need to do is utilize it and get in touch with prospective sites or companies. This is also considerably cheaper. You also get more exposure by using the service to submit multiple posts to different sites simultaneously.
Guest Blogging: Your business tool
At the end of the day, guest blogging is a tool to help you grow your business. How you approach it depends on the unique needs of your business and the outcomes you want to see. Some might prefer to research and connect with bloggers and companies to partner with. Others may opt for a service to do the work for them.
Either way, choosing to do guest blogging can make all the difference.