In January 2014, Google’s Matt Cutts declared on his personal blog that guest blogging is dead. This turned the SEO world upside down, and it hasn’t been the same ever since. Because of Cutts’s declaration, a lot of people ended up believing that writing guests blogs has become useless and thus no longer use this marketing tool to promote their sites.
But, if you own a website or work as an SEO specialist, don’t make the same mistake. If you take a close look at Matt Cutts’s January 2014 article, you’ll see that he was talking about low-quality guest blog posts that contain spammy links. So, if you’re careful to accept articles only from people you personally know and like, and if you’ll write high-quality articles for other sites, then you won’t have to worry about being penalized or getting poor SERPs results.
Why You Should Give Guest Blogging a Try
You shouldn’t rely solely on guest blogging when promoting your website, but don’t make the mistake of ignoring it completely. This comes from the fact that this marketing tool gives you access to several benefits, such as:
- Making backlinks
If you’ve spent years in the SEO industry, you probably already know how important backlinks are. By creating blog posts for other sites, you’ll be able to make high-quality backlinks and increase your website’s visibility.
- Reaching out to your target audience
When you write guest blog posts for sites that belong to the same niche as yours, you’re essentially reaching out to people who want or need your products and/or services. This can help you generate good leads and increase your sales, and it can assist you in widening your client base and developing more loyal customers.
- Building your credibility
When done right, guest blogging can help you cement your reputation and show people that you’re a thought leader in your niche. These can greatly help your website’s credibility and make it attractive to those who are looking for industry experts.
Guest Blogging Rules to Keep in Mind
- Choose the right sites and people. Accept blog posts only from people whom you personally know and/or whose brand you’re highly familiar with. Similarly, write for websites who belong to the same niche as you do and are known to provide informative and high-quality articles.
- Pick a topic that’s relevant to your niche, and write your article in a clear, simple way. Don’t stuff it with keywords, and make sure to edit it to get rid of grammar and spelling mistakes and ensure it’s coherent. Limit yourself to only one or two links in the article; any more can be considered as spammy by Google.
- Don’t think of guest blogging merely as a marketing tool. Instead, consider it as a way for you to give value to your customers and build good relationships with them.
The act of writing guest blog posts isn’t dead and is still a worthwhile task to tackle. Just stick to the rules mentioned above to make guest blogging work for you.
