What is Guest Posting? Everything You Need to Know

In today’s competitive digital marketing world, link building has become crucial in boosting SERP (search engine results pages) rankings.

Gaining backlinks to your website helps boost brand authority, and brand awareness, and can also increase traffic to your site.

According to a survey, 65.2% of link builders said that links will have the same or higher impact on rankings in 5 years. The importance of link-building can’t be denied and guest posting remains one of the most effective and popular link-building tactics.

So what is guest posting and how can you use it effectively for link building?

Continue reading our comprehensive guide on all you need to know about guest posting and how to use it effectively in 2024.

Let’s get started.

What is Guest Posting?

Also called guest blogging, it refers to publishing articles on other websites as a guest author.

Guest posting aims to build links, improve SEO ranking, and reach new audiences.

Why is guest blogging important?

Guest posting benefits both the host site and the guest author. You get an avenue to reach a new audience and increase brand awareness, while the host site gets fresh content.

The Benefits of Guest Posting

Writing guest blogs on other sites offers major advantages. I’ve listed the key ones below.

Generates Traffic

One of the main goals of creating content is to drive traffic to your website. Guest posts are perfect for achieving this.

Writing guest posts gives you access to a new audience. Even more, when you create relevant content on other blogs and it appeals to the readers, they’ll check out your website and maybe engage with your web content.

With guest posts, you can get relevant referral traffic.

You can use Google Analytics to analyze your site’s referral traffic. Here’s a sample report.

Image via Megalytic

Boosts Brand Authority

Apart from gaining referral traffic, writing guest content can also establish you as an expert in your niche.

The more people come across your content on popular blogs, the more they see you as an authority.

With relevant and consistent content, you can demonstrate your expertise to a new audience and carve a name for your brand.

Improves Brand Awareness

Getting more people to know about your brand can be tough, but with the right guest post, you can do it.

Here’s how.

With a relevant guest post on a popular website, there are more chances of people coming across your brand. This means your audience will not be restricted to people who visit your site directly.

Just write a guest article on a trusted website and see the magic.

Link Building

One of the reasons for and benefits of writing guest posts is link building. By sharing high-quality content on authoritative websites, you can get high-quality backlinks that can help boost your domain authority.

Here’s an example of a guest post with a backlink to the author’s site.

Image via ProBlogger

This can help your Google rankings.

A quick warning, though.

When trying to get backlinks, it’s important to not overdo it. Google’s algorithm can detect attempts to increase backlinks through low-quality content or by spamming your content on multiple sites.

However, when done right, guest blogging is a sure way to build high-quality links to your blog.

Helps Build Industry Relationships

Guest bloggers in a niche can build industry relationships that will be beneficial in the long run. Writing and publishing guest posts on related sites can be the start of a business opportunity.

For example, other blog owners who come across your guest blogs might be interested in working with you. With a new partnership, you and other website owners can build backlinks in a mutually beneficial manner. You can also invite other guest bloggers to post on your website.

Disclaimer: This content contains some affiliate links for which we will earn a commission (at no additional cost to you). This is to ensure that we can keep creating free content for you.

7 Guest Blogging Tips

Here are seven expert tips to help you make the most of your guest posting efforts.

1. Determine Your Objectives

First things first, for your guest blogging strategy to be effective, you need to set clear objectives.

What does this mean for you?

This means you should set clear outcomes you are gunning for. Choose objectives that align with your overall marketing goals.

There are many possible objectives. You can adapt guest posting to improve your brand awareness. The objective can also be to establish yourself as an industry expert.

There’s more.

Guest blogging objectives can also include improving your social media presence or obtaining quality backlinks.

Defining your objectives will help you choose the best guest posting sites and the most suitable content. You can then proceed to the next step.

2. Look for Guest Post Opportunities

Once you’re clear on what goals you want to achieve and what kind of content you want to create, look for the most suitable sites to publish your content.

You can get guest blogging opportunities through various means.

First, a simple Google search can help you find guest posting sites in your niche.

For example, after keyword research, you can insert a keyword and add “Write for us” or “Accept guest post” to your search query. You can also add queries such as:

• Your niche + “guest post guidelines”
• “Write on our site” + high-authority websites
• “Guest blogging opportunities” + intitle:”blog”
• Competitor URL + “write for us”
• “Guest post contributor” + relevant keywords

Check out an example below.

Image via Google

There’s another way.

You can also contact the popular bloggers in your niche or check their websites to see if they’re interested in working with a guest blogger. If they are, then you can pitch your ideas and collaborate with them.

You can take your search further by analyzing the top competitors in your niche. Find out where they get backlinks from.

To do this, you need to identify your main keywords first. With Google Keyword Planner, for example, you can view the top results for the keywords.

You can then view the domain-level and page-level competitors using a backlink analysis tool. This will show the link profiles of your top competitors.

Pro Tip: Use SEO tools like Semrush or Ahrefs to find high-authority websites in your niche when looking for guest posting opportunities.

3. Choose the Right Websites

This step is highly crucial as it can make or break your guest blogging strategy.

You can’t just choose any random blog. You’ll need a blog that suits your objectives and meets the mark.

When choosing websites for guest posting, ensure they fit your niche and have an audience similar to your target audience. A website that caters to an entirely different niche and audience from yours will offer little to no benefit.

Why?

Since the audience is different, there’s no guarantee that they’ll be interested in your content.

Another factor to consider when choosing a website is domain authority. Choose websites with a higher domain authority than yours.

The domain authority (DA) score plays a huge role in how sites rank on Google search results, so it’s best to opt for sites with high DA.

Also, ensure the site is known for top-notch content in a niche and gets enough monthly traffic. You’d want a site with good editorial control and excellent content practices.

Social media following is also an important factor to consider since many blogs rely on social media traffic. With these tips, you can select a website that will make your guest posting strategy worthwhile.

4. Come Up with Content Ideas

After you’ve selected the websites you’re interested in, the next step is to come up with content ideas.

Before sending a pitch, it’s best to be prepared. This will ensure you don’t come off as a novice and that you can offer solid benefits with your guest post.

Go through the website to get a feel of their content as well as their writing style. Also, you can look through their top posts to see what makes them unique.

Look for content gaps, such as a topic that has not been well explained or areas with little information. After getting a feel of their style and voice, and their requirements, you’d have what you need to create a pitch.

Use a tool like Semrush to find topic ideas and keyword gaps. It has various tools that help with keyword research and can help you find the best topics to pitch to a partner website.

Get an idea of the style and voice of a site to create a pitch that has a high likelihood of getting accepted.

5. Reach Out with a Pitch

Next, come up with a brilliant pitch. Mention the topic in your pitch, with an explanation of how you plan to add value to the target site.

Your pitch should be professional, concise, captivating, and explanatory.

You can offer various relevant ideas the website owner might be interested in. If you’ve published posts on other blogs successfully, adding the proof can help.

You can send in your pitch through different methods. For instance, locate the contact page on your target blog and check if there’s a contact email address.

After locating their email address, also check if there are guidelines for sending guest blog pitches. Your message should be personalized and should have a catchy subject line.

Many blogs include a form on their website that you can fill out to send your proposal. If you have a relationship with the blogger or you’ve interacted with them frequently, a direct message won’t hurt.

Ask if they work with guest bloggers first and then offer your pitch.

After reaching out with your pitch, wait a few days for a reply. If there’s none, you can send a follow-up email. However, make sure you’re not pushy.

Pro Tip: Tailor your guest post pitch to suit the target site’s editorial style and audience. Ensure you go through their blogs first before sending a pitch.

6. Write the Guest Post

Your pitch has been accepted. Great news!

The next step is to create an excellent guest post. Ask the website owner for their writing guidelines and read them thoroughly.

Also, you’ll need to research the topic. A good first impression is important.

Again, remember to stick to the rules.

While writing guest blogs, your focus should be on providing value to the reader instead of being overly promotional.

Here are some quick tips:

• Choose a naturally fitting topic, don’t try to force your content on the target site.
• Add relevant images to make your article engaging and easy to read.
• Include relevant internal links and backlinks to your guest post.
• Proofread and proofread again. Make sure the post is rich with information while following the target site’s guidelines.
• Always add an author bio. It offers readers brief information about you and your areas of expertise. It should be in the third person, brief, and professional. Here’s an example.

Image via Copyblogger

7. Follow-Up

After sending in your post, ask for feedback. You should also send a thank you message after your post goes live.

The next step is to promote the post on various platforms. Also, monitor the comments and respond to them promptly.

Lastly, you can use data analytics to see how your guest posting strategy has performed. Google Analytics is a good tool for tracking your referral traffic.

FAQs

Q1. What is guest posting?

A. Guest posting refers to publishing content on other websites to gain backlinks, build awareness, and generate referral traffic.

Q2. What are the benefits of guest posting?

A. Guest posting boosts web traffic, increases brand awareness, boosts brand authority, helps generate high-quality backlinks, and more.

Q3. Is guest posting worth it?

A. If done properly, guest posting can help boost your site rankings, build high-quality, backlinks, and drive referral traffic to your website. So, yes, it’s worth it.

Q4. Does guest posting affect SEO?

A. High-quality backlinks can boost domain authority, which in turn affects SEO rankings.

Q5. How do I get guest posting opportunities?

A. Look out for relevant websites in your niche that accept guest posts. You can also conduct a keyword search or analyze your competitors to locate high-ranking blogs.

Ready to Get Started?

Guest posts are highly effective in generating traffic, building backlinks, boosting brand awareness, building brand authority, and creating business relationships.

Remember, the first step is to have clear objectives before looking for guest blogging opportunities. Offer valuable content on the right blogs, choose the right website, follow up, and you’ll see the results in no time. Good luck!

Disclaimer: This content contains some affiliate links for which we will earn a commission (at no additional cost to you). This is to ensure that we can keep creating free content for you.