Guest blogging or guest posting refers to the act of writing blog posts or articles for a website or blog other than the one owned by the business. A guest blog benefits both the blog writer and the host website. While guest blogging has evident benefits for individuals, but do businesses also benefit from it?
Yes! There are several benefits of guest blogging for businesses:
- Attract targeted traffic to the business website
- Get mentions & backlinks from the host website
- Grows a professional network by interacting with consumers that comment on the blog
- Build social media presence by blog shares
- Build brand authority in the market
- Boost brand awareness by introducing the brand to the users of the host website
- Gain email subscribers & generate leads
- Improved SEO rankings
In order to earn maximum benefits, it is important to follow a strategic approach toward guest blogging.
Here is a stepwise guide to help you start guest blogging and use it for the benefit of your business:
1. Set measurable goals: First step is to lay down an achievable and measurable goal that you want to achieve via guest blogging. Some of the goals behind guest blogging are:
- Increase website traffic by a defined percentage from the guest post
- Improve online visibility or SEO performance by a defined percentage
- Generate a certain number of leads from referral traffic from the guest post
Keep these goals in mind before proceeding further with guest blogging. Make sure to define these KPIs and document them to make it easier to track the results.
2. Choose a host website: When choosing a host website, you would like to guest blog for, make sure to keep in mind your goals. Also, choose a host website that works in the same market niche as your business. Here are some ways to choose a host website:
- Google Search – Create a search string using your ‘Keyword’ and phrases such as ‘write for us’, ‘guest column’, ‘submit an article’, etc. The keyword should be chosen based on your services and products or key search term you want to rank for.
- Check Competitor’s Backlinks – Check the websites that rank higher for your keywords. Analyze these competitor websites to find backlinks that redirect from guest blogs.
- Check Comments – Check the comments under your previous guest posts and shortlist the users that run blogs in your market niche. Send them a script thanking them for their comment and mention a guest post topic you would like to write about.
3. Choosing Guest Post Topic: Most common mistake made by guest bloggers is that they use it merely as a marketing tool.
79% of editors say guest blog content is too promotional.
Source: https://optinmonster.com/blogging-statistics/
It is important to pay attention to the guest post topic and the content you publish in the blog. The topics should be chosen in a way that they help in building the authority of your business in the market niche. Choose the topics and content that would answer user’s query related to the keyword. This will help in building consumer’s trust in your brand and redirect them to your business website.
4. Write a Professional Post: The quality of the guest blog post is of high importance. Make sure that the post is well-written. Research the content very well and try to provide up-to-date information in the blog. Also, pay attention to the grammar, vocabulary, spellings, and formatting of the post. Use identical formatting throughput the blog post to make it easier to read. The language of the blog should be easy to comprehend. This helps in maintaining user interest motivating the users to visit your business website. This also helps in gaining future guest post opportunities.
5. Interact With Readers: Interact with the readers in the comments section of your guest blog post. Make it a point to answer their questions and thank them for their appreciation. Be professional in your replies.
6. Measure the Results: Keep a track of traffic or leads you receive from the guest post. Analyze the results in comparison to your goals set. This will help in understanding if the guest post strategy needs to be updated.
Guest blogging is a key tool and strategy that can help businesses in improving their search engine rankings. For more information on guest blogging, visit Centex Technologies at 1201 Peachtree ST, NE, Atlanta, GA – 30361 or call (404) 994 – 5074. You can also browse through www.organicseoatlanta.com
