Guest blogging, which is also called guest posting, should be a vital part of your internet marketing strategy. If it isn’t, I’m confident that it will become part of your marketing program after you learn a little bit more about it. Take a look at the 5 best reasons to start guest blogging right away.
5 Best Reasons to Start A Guest Blogging Strategy
Safely Build Backlinks
I’m starting with the top reason for submitting guest blogs to safely build backlinks. This is important because Google loves websites that are often cited as high-quality and authoritative sites. When other websites backlink to your website, Google perceives you an authority. This is called Domain Authority and it has bearing on where you rank in Google’s search results.
However, Google frowns on unsafe methods of obtaining backlinks. Unsafe methods including submitting to link directory sites, links from irrelevant websites, and paid backlinks from spammy article directories. These are quick methods but will get you penalized.
Guest blogs are a safe method of building backlinks to your website. Here’s what it looks like.
You submit a valuable, original, well-written article to a website or blog that’s relevant to your industry. In exchange, they will allow you a backlink or two to pages on your site. They get valuable content and you get those backlinks that help you in the eyes of Google. It creates a winning scenario for everyone involved!
Exposure to A Wider Audience
Second, you will gain exposure to a wider audience when you guest blog. You have a certain number of subscribers that read your blog posts or visit your website each month. When another blogger hosts your content, you will reach a whole new audience–theirs!
Because you are submitting to sites that are relevant to your industry, it’s easier to get their readers to opt-in to your newsletter or offer than someone who has no interest in the content.
Here is an example. A large window manufacturer needs to guest post, and a roofing company agrees to host his content. The roofing company is visited by homeowners who need to update their home exteriors–the same people who the window company is trying to reach! This puts the window company’s name in front of all those extra people.
Just think of how this increased exposure can help boost your inbound marketing over time!
Valuable Social Media Content
Social media is a daily task that most business owners do because they have to. In some cases, it’s a full-time job. For other businesses, it’s a chore that they avoid until the absolutely must face the music.
Why the avoidance? Because it’s hard to think of engaging content every day.
Guest posts make great social media content. Just embed the link to the article in your post with a little note of appreciation to your host. Don’t forget to tag the host site! It’s instantly shareable social media content, especially if your post included images or videos.
Be Seen as an Industry Authority
People trust experts. But what makes one person an expert over another one? It could be advanced training, college degrees, and great volumes of professional experience. But in cyberspace, it’s often a matter of how you market yourself. Guest blogging allows yourself to position yourself as an industry authority. Two things happen as a result: search engines and humans start to trust your experience.
First, consider the search engines. Due to the sheer volume of content when somebody searches for you or your company, you will be perceived as an authority by Google. Remember that Domain Authority?
In addition to search engines, humans will also begin to perceive you as an expert or authority in your industry. This comes from well-written content that they can relate to and trust. According to marketing experts, you should always write your guest blogs with humans in mind, first and foremost.
In fact, my colleague, Matej Markovic, owns an e-commerce marketing company. When he’s assigning writing projects to me, he jokingly reminds me, “Write for human readers. After all, they are the ones who have the credit cards in their wallets!”
Increases Social Channel Followers
Just as exposing your company to that wider reader audience can drive your e-mail marketing list plus earn you some valuable new website subscribers, it can also increase your social channel followers and viral content.
You have probably spent valuable time and resources on social media advertising campaigns. As much as they promise “up to x# of views,” they always seem to fall short of delivering that number to you.
Here’s why. Social media followers are just that–social. They are more likely to “like” or “love” something posted by a trusted source whom they already follow than a random ad that annoys them in their social feed.
When you’re working out the terms of your guest post with your host, offer them social shares and inquire if they will do likewise. They will probably love the content and the reciprocal exposure to your followers.
Summary
In closing, a guest blog strategy is a vital component in your internet marketing. Because it has these positive impacts, you will see your domain authority and website traffic rise within a few weeks.
On a final note, remember that quality is everything and they say that content is king. Getting backlinks from higher ranking websites will trump lower ranked ones every time. Set your sights on producing high-quality guest posts for highly ranked blogs, and you’ll be on your way to guest blog success.
