What Is Guest Posting And How To Succeed

Starting and managing a successful website has become quite a struggle today. Just about a decade ago, search engine optimization was simple. As the internet becomes a more widely used technology, more companies are expanding to the online world. People are also creating opportunities that allow them to run an entire business on the internet – from the comfort of their home. 

While these opportunities are beneficial, it does mean you will be facing an increasing amount of competition. As the competition increases, it becomes harder to reach your target audience. Landing that number one spot on Google for a keyword ranking is now tougher than ever before. 

With these in mind, it is time to up your strategy and looks at ways to gain an advantage. One of the most overlooked strategies that can give you a real boost in terms of rankings, traffic, and overall success – that would be guest posting. 

Read on to learn what guest posting is and how it can help your website succeed. We will also look at a few strategies that will help you succeed with a great guest posting strategy. 

What Is Guest Posting?

We will start by looking at what exactly the guest posting is. You should have an idea of what guest posting is, how it works, and understand what to expect from such a strategy. 

You are most likely already familiar with blogging. Content is king – this is a phrase that you have heard before. Blogging is one of the key ways of getting more content on your website. In turn, this helps with your ranking. 

Guest posting is like blogging – but instead of publishing content on your own blog or website, you are rather publishing content on a blog that someone else owns. 

You might be wondering why offer someone else content when you can publish it on your own blog?

The truth is, both you and the owner of the blog you are publishing your guest post on will gain benefits. They get more content for their blog. You, on the other hand, get a link back to your website. This link will be able to drive traffic from the content you post on the guest blog. It will also be picked up by Google – and could give you that push to the top ranks that you have been trying to gain for so long. 

Many website owners are already using guest posting strategies. According to one report, about 60% of blog owners publish at least one guest post every month. An estimated 3% of all blog owners will write at least 100 guests posts on a month-to-month basis. 

Not all blogs accept guest posts. You should also take note that every blog owner has their own set criteria for accepting guest posts. You cannot simply write a low-quality piece of content and expect it to help you with a guest posting strategy. Most blog owners will demand higher quality content that will be able to deliver some kind of value to their audience. 

What You Should Know About Guest Posting

There are a few things that you should know about guest posting before we proceed with a strategy. First of all, guest posting is not a magic ranking wand that you are going to use and gain improvements in your Google rankings overnight. 

It takes effort and dedication for a guest posting strategy to work. In fact, many people need to continue implementing a guest posting strategy for several months before it pays off. The good news – once it pays off, you will surely be thankful for the effort that you did invest in this type of strategy. 

You should also understand that some blogs can be quite strict with their acceptance criteria for guest posting. It can take some time to find a blog in your niche that accepts guest posts.

Once you find one, you need to comply with the terms and criteria that the owner of the blog has decided to implement. Remember that you are going to post on their blog – their audience will see your content – which means the blog owner’s reputation is on the line. 

What Are The Benefits Of Guest Posting?

There are several benefits that you can expect from guest posting. if you do your research and put the right amount of efforts into a guest posting strategy, then you can likely expect the following benefits:

• You have an opportunity to share your knowledge and expertise with a third-party audience. 
• The owner of the guest blog will usually allow you to place at least one link back to your website in the article. 
• You sometimes get an opportunity to add a bio for yourself. This gives you recognition for the work you put into writing the content that will be posted on the guest blog. 
• The backlink can drive more traffic directly to your website. These people are likely to be interested in what you have to offer – giving you an opportunity to turn them into leads or even paying customers. 
• The link you get from the guest blog also counts toward your domain’s backlink portfolio. This means, considering the guest blog has good ranking metrics, the link could push your own website up the ranks in Google. 
• Guest posting can be surprisingly affordable, especially when you compare the strategy to some of the other digital marketing opportunities and methods that are available. 

How To Succeed With A Guest Posting Strategy

Now that you understand the basis of guest posting, it is time to consider how it works and how you can develop a winning strategy. There are actually quite a few ways that you can go about getting started with a guest posting strategy. 

First, you will need to decide whether you want to do the guest posting strategy yourself, or rather pay someone to do it for you. 

Manual Outreach Guest Posting

If you are only starting out and find yourself on a limited budget, then manual outreach might be your best option. This solution will cost less, but it will take more effort and time from your side. 

Manual outreach essentially involves looking for blogs that you can guest post on yourself. You will then contact the blog owner yourself and discuss the opportunity with them. A price may sometimes be asked for publishing your content on their website. You will also have to write the content that will be published on their website. 

It may seem a little daunting, but if you are low on budget, then this is an excellent opportunity to help you get started. 

We will look at a step-by-step guide below to help you with a manual outreach guest posting strategy.

1. The first step is to find blogs that you can guest post on. For this, you will need to consider the niche that your business is targeting first. If you sell multivitamin supplements, then you are targeting the health industry. If your code and publish Android games, then you are targeting the gaming industry, of course. Look at what niche would best fit your business. 
2. The next step is to find blogs that you can guest post on. Not all blogs accept guest posts. You will need to look at a few blogs that are popular in your industry. Consider blogs that are already ranking high in Google – this gives you a higher-quality backlink. 
3. Make a list of these blogs and then see if you can find any information on the website about guest blogging. Many blogs that accept guest posts will have a page that describes the criteria for posting guest posts on the website. 
4. If you do not find any information about guest blogging but are interested in posting content on the website, consider reaching out to the blog owner. Most blogs will have a contact page. See if you can find a contact form or an email address.

Once you find a blog that allows guest posting, you will need to compile a high-quality post to publish on the blog. A great blog post starts with some planning. Plan out the layout of the article and know exactly what you are writing about. 

You need to add a compelling headline. One that will attract readers. The introduction should also be compiled with effort. It should be entertaining and draw the reader in – then give them the body of the article. Share as much useful information in the body. Add some pictures to the post, if possible, and end it off with a quick summary of what the post was about. 

If you struggle to find blogs, turn to Facebook, Twitter, and even Instagram to find opportunities. There are many bloggers on these platforms that you could negotiate with too. 

Guest Posting Services

Many people lack the writing skills to produce great content or simply do not know where to start when it comes to manual outreach. If this sounds like your scenario, then there is an alternative option you can consider. Guest posting services are not only popular and commonly used by even some of the top bloggers, but these services are also incredibly helpful. 

Guest posting services refer to people or agencies who allow you to outsource the process of adding content on a guest blog to them. These professionals will deal with the entire process. They will help you find a great blog to guest post on – and then even assist with determining the perfect topic to write about. 

Many guest posting service providers also have their own network of blogs that you can take advantage of. This reduces the need to search for a blog to post on – which can take quite a significant amount of your time. 

There are different types of guest posting services available and many providers. Not all of these services provide the same level of quality that you would need to truly benefit from guest posting. 

Some platforms that you can turn to when you are in need of guest posting services include:

• Upwork.com
• Freelancer.com
• Guru.com
• PeoplePerHour.com
• FatJoe

These platforms allow you to find both agencies and freelancers. One of the greatest features of these platforms would be the fact that you are given access to reviews and a portfolio for each individual or agency that you might be interested in hiring. 

By gaining an overview of the service provider's reviews and ratings, you get a better understanding of the service quality they are able to offer you.

Take a particular interest in reviews related to guest posting services that these providers have offered clients in the past. Look at good and bad reviews. See if you find any complaints – but also look at the positive things previous clients have to say. 

When you are considering the use of guest posting services, the budget will also have a large role to play in what you will be able to gain access to.

Guest posting services come with a large variety of price tags – sometimes you get a provider that can offer you a guest post for under $10, but the quality would be inferior to a service that costs $100, for example. 

If your budget does not allow too much during the earlier stages, however, you should continue doing research. There are still a few providers that can offer you a high-quality service that is budget-friendly. 

Sites such as FatJoe offer a variety of services at different budgets, allowing you to pick up DA10 outreach post from just $50, all the way up to DA50+ coming in at a whopping $480+ per post. 

It's always worth noting, when it comes to guest posting, quality usually comes with a higher price tag and will always beat low quality. 

What Is Guest Posting And How To Succeed - Conclusion

Digital marketing is getting more competitive. Many online business owners are finding it harder to reach their target audience and increase their profits. Guest posting is an excellent opportunity for gaining more traffic and boosting a website’s ranking in Google. It also helps a business establish more authority in its industry.

If you are new to guest posting, simply follow the tips we shared in this post to help you come out at the top.