As we all know, link-building is one of the most important
aspects of your SEO efforts, however, there is a right and a wrong way to go
about it.
Too many people make the mistake of believing that all links are good links. This is not the case. In fact, poor-quality links obtained from
cheap link farms can cause serious damage to your rankings and reputation.
As such, it is crucial that you develop a quality link
development strategy – and one aspect of that larger strategy should include
guest blogging.
But, what is guest blogging and just how valuable is it for
your SEO? Is it truly worth the effort? Let’s find out!
What
is guest blogging?
Guest blogging, as the name suggests,
refers to the process of developing a piece of content and publishing it on a
different website to your own, typically a guest blogging website.
This is generally an industry-relevant blog site (e.g., a New York City
SEO company would benefit from guest blogging on digital marketing, web
development, tech, business, and entrepreneurial blog sites).
All that being said, the process is much easier said than done:
● You need to identify relevant websites
that are reputable, receive a decent amount of traffic, and have a respectable
PR (Page Rank).
● You then need to make contact with the
blog site and see if you are eligible to share your expertise and post for
them.
● Following that, you develop a piece of
high-value content for them to review and (hopefully) publish).
Is
guest blogging valuable for SEO? Can it improve your rankings?
When guest blogging the right way, you invariably create a link
back to your website from content
that is developed around your focus keywords.
The fact that this is coming from a reputable and
industry-relevant website will carry a lot more weight.
Not only that but if you are committed to creating
‘high-value’ content written by talented writers, your links will be even
stronger.
Remember, Google rewards high-performing content and while
guest blogging is an SEO practice, if you make a point of guest blogging for
the audience
first, it will have a positive impact on your overall link value.
The key is to offer valuable information that your readers can
put into practice, thus demonstrating your industry authority.
Is
there a wrong way to guest blog?
There is indeed a wrong way to guest blog. Some people make the
mistake of buying into cheap link farms. This is where they purchase thousands
and thousands of links for a few hundred bucks from some random “agency” and
hope for the best.
These “links” are built from fake websites and have garbage
content written by the cheapest possible content writers (usually non-native
speakers with very little experience – or Ai generated with poor prompting).
Invariably, these links bring very little value, drop off, and
often result in penalization.
Instead, you should be identifying the most reputable and
industry-relevant blog sites and produce high-value content of your own.
While PR is very important, there’s no harm in posting on ‘up
and coming’ blog sites with a low PR as they will invariably grow in the months
and years to follow, thus increasing the overall link value as time progresses.
Similarly, you can post on websites that aren’t directly
‘industry-relevant’ as long as there is some overlap.
Conclusion
In conclusion, guest blogging is a very valuable SEO
link-building strategy – when done correctly. Find the best websites, create
high-value content, and watch as your link profile goes from strength to
strength.
