Is guest posting still a viable SEO strategy to invest in?
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In 2014, former Google engineer, Matt Cutts, wrote a post in which he pronounced GUEST POSTING for links was OVER.
He was talking about guest posting done to drive a campaign of quick and cheap link building. That’s never successful. What works is: honest, genuine, and relevant link building.
Expert providers of guest posting services knew the nuances of Matt’s message, but most others didn’t.
The post got everyone wondering, “Is guest blogging dead?”
The answer: No. Guest posting is still a viable SEO strategy and you should invest in it.
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How?
Because there is a wide gap between what Matt meant and what people understood.
What Matt meant: SEOs who are using paid, low-quality guest posting to get rank benefits are wasting their time. Google will ignore and devalue those links. And the users of such link-building tactics will get penalized.
What people understood: Guest posting isn’t any good. It is best not to do it.
A little clarity about that came when John Muller from Google took to Twitter in 2020.
His tweet answered three questions:
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Is guest posting effective or Is guest posting good for SEO?
Google devalues links from guest posts. So they aren’t doing any good for you from a ranking perspective.
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Can Google identify guest posting links?
Google has enough data to algorithmically identify guest post links.
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Is guest posting bad for SEO?
Because the algorithm makes sure guest post links don’t help anyone rank, Google isn’t planning on any manual reviews or penalties on guest posts. So, it isn’t bad for SEO.
For SEO, it means: While guest posting isn’t a link-building tactic worth their time, it can still be used for other purposes.
Do you know the reason why editors publish guest posts?
It includes sharing fresh, unique, and expertise content with their audience?
If your guest post is for any of these purposes, you can use it for brand building and referral traffic.
In fact, it is seen that guest posting increases organic and referral traffic by 80%.
As for brand awareness and audience extension, guest blogging is seen to have shown a 174% increase in the metrics.
Guest posting also brings 3 times more leads close to conversion.
All this is enough to prove that…
Guest Posting Is A Gem That You Should Invest In
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Guest posting for backlinks isn’t viable. It yields no results. (No penalties either).
But it is far more valuable than just a backlink.
As is already visible from available data, guest blogging is good for brands and brand owners.
To explain how it helps in SEO, consider the following example.
Suppose you have a car wash center in California. Now you want local Californians to know that you offer the best car wash services at the most affordable rates.
And for that, you decide to publish a guest blog on a local automobile insurance company. The post could talk about how timely car washes can help in car maintenance, which would further help people negotiate better premiums.
Now provided you don’t scrape content off other sites on the Internet and provide real insights based on your domain knowledge and expertise the users will benefit.
Here’s what will happen next:
- People will find your post informative and they’d visit your blog for more content. (Referral traffic? Check.)
- Now that people know that the service you are offering is good, they’d want to avail of it. (Higher conversions? Check.)
- Even if people don’t immediately book an appointment for car washing, they know your brand now.
(Brand awareness? Check.)
That’s the level-1 impact of writing a guest post.
The level-2 impact, which you are likely to see weeks or months after having a guest post published include:
- Your blog readership will expand. People who have found your guest post informative would have visited your website for more and now at least some of them have become your regular readers.
- People spend more time on your website, which signals Google that your site has valuable content.
- Your conversations are also higher, which further gives Google positive signs about your site.
All this, coupled with the backlink you gained from the insurance website results in a ranking improvement.
See how guest posting helps you with SEO?
Now, how can you replicate this hypothetical example?
Remember three simple rules of guest posting:
1. Post on relevant sites
Posting about your laptop repairing services on a food blog? Drop the idea already. If your guest post is on a website that has nothing to do with your niche, you are putting a red flag next to your blog. That’s akin to calling cops on yourself. Google won’t take time to do 2+2=4 that you are paying for that post or not offering content suitable for the audience.
Also, make sure the site you choose for guest posting is SEO-friendly, has a good domain authority and rank, and doesn’t indulge in black hat SEO practices.
2. Post quality content
Spin-off, plagiarized, and low-quality guest posts would waste the reader’s time. And that’s one of the things that irk Google the most. So don’t do that. Offer valuable content based on your expertise. Original opinions and ideas are always great.
If you think you can post a hundred guest posts each month and then get too many backlinks and other SEO benefits, know that Google would soon spot you. Focusing too much on getting multiple backlinks from low-quality domains would do you no good. Instead, focus on legit guest posting. Aim for quality, not quality,
3. Keep your intent clear
If you think you can pay to get a guest post with a link to your site published and then get the benefit of the backlink, you are doing it wrong. Make sure you don’t make guest posts only because of this. Your intent should be to reach a wider audience, enrich them with quality information and get brand recognition and traffic in return.
Investing in Guest Posting – How To Do It Right?
60% of blogs go for 1 to 5 guest posts each month. Now imagine how much time would go into guest posting.
You have to find relevant websites, understand their guest posting guidelines, and then find a topic to write on. And that’s just the beginning.
Then you have to write a grammatically correct, error-free, and information-rich piece.
Though your post might not always get published.
Also, did you know 79% of editors say that guest post content is too promotional? You don’t want to sound too pushy to your readers, right?
So, you have to make sure you also get the tone right too.
Guest posting services can work wonders, when you’re working with someone who knows that guest posting is, essentially, creating value. It can’t exist purely for the goal of getting linkbacks. You create value, find a relevant audience, develop a relationship with a network of blogs, and publish.
Don’t let pessimistic nay-sayers stop you from banking on the returns that investment in guest posting can yield.
Quality guest posts on relevant sites will not get you a backlink but also bring in more SEO benefits.
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