Guest blogging

Guest blogging is a powerful link building strategy where you reach an agreement with another website to publish relevant content. This is usually done for free, with the goal of placing links in the content to boost SEO and strengthen your personal brand.

In this case, there are two ways to look at it: from the perspective of the person receiving the article and from the perspective of the person writing it. In both cases, it needs to be mutually beneficial—otherwise, it wouldn’t happen. That’s why it’s essential to know in advance whether the blog aligns with your interests and whether being featured there will actually benefit you.

Without a doubt, the blog owner benefits from getting free content—but is guest blogging really worth it for the writer who contributes for free? The answer is yes — and at the very least, you’ll benefit in the following ways:

• It attracts qualified traffic. The links you add to your website will drive qualified traffic that you can retain — as long as your content is relevant to their interests.
• It helps your personal brand. Building a personal brand isn’t easy, but by signing the article with your name, you gain visibility among the readers of the blog where you contributed as a guest author.
• It attracts new potential clients or users. If the content you publish is relevant and valuable to readers, some of them may become potential clients — following you on social media or subscribing to your blog.
• It boosts your website’s SEO. By publishing content on a different domain, the links you add to your own site help improve its search engine ranking.

In guest blogging — as with any inbound marketing strategy, success starts with a few key steps. The first is securing a spot to publish on other blogs. The guest blogging process is as follows:

• Identify blogs you can collaborate with. It may seem obvious, but it takes perseverance and discipline. Start by building a spreadsheet of blogs where guest posting could bring strategic value. The sites you choose should cover topics that are similar to or complement your own.
• Identify blogs that accept guest contributions. If you find that some of the blogs you’re targeting already include guest posts as part of their strategy, your chances of success are much higher.
• Check the domain authority of the blogs. After selecting your target blogs, evaluate their domain authority and rule out those with low scores, as they won’t contribute to your SEO efforts.
• Create a list of topics you plan to pitch. Think carefully and clearly define the topics you plan to pitch, they should be compelling and relevant to grab the blog owner’s attention.
• Make the initial contact. Reach out via social media, their website’s contact form, or email, and clearly explain your proposal to the person in charge.
• Start writing. You might not succeed on the first try — or even the second — but if your content is valuable and engaging, your proposal will eventually be accepted. Create high-quality content — that first guest post can open the door to many more.