What Is Guest Posting and How Do I Do It?
On average, website owners publish 1-5 guest posts per month. If you're not using this strategy, you may be limiting your growth potential. Guest posting can dramatically enhance your search engine rankings while establishing you as an expert in your field.
If you're wondering what guest posting is and how it works, you're in the right place.
TLDR: Guest posting means writing and publishing articles on other websites to generate traffic, build authority, and improve SEO through quality backlinks. The process involves choosing relevant topics, researching high-authority sites, following submission guidelines, creating valuable 500-1000 word posts, promoting published content, and building relationships with other site owners. Always use ethical "white hat" methods, never spammy "black hat" tactics.
Let's explore how to craft an effective guest blogging strategy that delivers real results.
What Is Guest Posting?
Guest posting is the process of writing and publishing an article on another website or blog. The purpose is strategic: generate more traffic to your website, build valuable relationships in your industry, and increase your site's authority.
Guest posts also boost your SEO significantly. When a reputable website publishes your content with a link back to your site, search engines view it as an endorsement. This signals that your content is valuable and trustworthy, helping you rank higher in search results.
How to Execute a Successful Guest Posting Strategy
Creating an effective guest posting strategy involves several key steps. Here's exactly how to do it.
Choose Relevant, Engaging Topics
Start by choosing topics that are relevant to the target website's audience. You want topics that are genuinely interesting and engaging - content that readers will actually want to consume and share.
This increases the likelihood that your post gets published, read, and shared across social media. The topic should also align with the website's niche to attract the right audience - people who are actually likely to be interested in your business.
Don't pitch a random topic just because you want a backlink. Provide real value to the host site's audience.
Research High-Quality Potential Sites
Once you've selected your topics, start researching potential sites that might publish your content. Focus on quality over quantity.
Choose sites with:
Large, engaged audiences that match your target demographic
High search engine rankings and domain authority
Content quality that aligns with your standards
Relevance to your industry or niche
Publishing on high-authority, relevant sites dramatically increases the visibility and SEO value of your guest post. A single post on a respected industry site is worth more than dozens of posts on low-quality blogs.
Review Submission Guidelines Carefully
Before submitting your post, thoroughly research the site's submission guidelines. Every site has different requirements regarding:
- Word count
- Formatting preferences
- Number of links allowed
- Image requirements
- Bio specifications
Following these guidelines ensures your post meets their requirements and significantly increases your chances of acceptance. Ignoring guidelines is the fastest way to get rejected.
Write High-Quality, Valuable Content
Most guest posts range from 500-1000 words, though longer, more comprehensive posts often perform better.
Start by creating a detailed outline. This keeps your post organized and ensures you cover all main points without rambling or getting off track.
Once your outline is complete, start writing. Focus on:
Clear, concise language that keeps readers engaged
Practical, actionable information that provides genuine value
Strategic keyword placement to optimize for search results
Proper formatting with short paragraphs, subheadings, and bullet points
Remember, your guest post reflects your expertise and brand. Make it something you're genuinely proud to have your name on.
Submit Your Post Professionally
When you're ready to submit, contact the site owner with a brief, professional pitch describing your proposed post. Explain why it would be valuable to their audience.
Once your post is accepted, format it according to their guidelines and submit it on time. Include a concise author bio and a link back to your website. This bio is your opportunity to tell readers who you are and encourage them to visit your site.
Promote Your Published Guest Posts
Don't just publish and forget. Actively promote your guest posts to maximize their impact.
Share the published post across your social media platforms. This drives additional traffic to the host site (which they appreciate) while exposing your content to your own audience.
Create supplementary content related to your guest post. This could be social media posts highlighting key points, a follow-up blog post on your own site, or even a video expanding on the topic.
The more visibility you generate for your guest post, the more traffic flows back to your website.
Build Backlinks to Your Guest Posts
Link building involves creating links to your guest post from other websites and your own content. This increases visibility and further improves search engine rankings.
The more quality backlinks pointing to your guest posts, the higher they rank in search results. Higher rankings mean more visibility, which translates to more traffic flowing to your website.
The Powerful Benefits of Guest Posting
Statistics show that food, lifestyle, and travel niches have the highest percentage of blogs with over 50,000 monthly sessions - and they also have the highest number of guest posts. This correlation isn't coincidental.
Guest blogging delivers significant advantages:
Increased Visibility and Brand Awareness
When you post content on another established website or blog, you introduce your brand to their existing audience. If your content is interesting and informative, readers are likely to visit your website, follow your social media accounts, or sign up for your email list.
This exposure can result in more traffic, qualified leads, and ultimately sales from people who never would have discovered you otherwise.
Improved SEO and Search Rankings
When you publish content on another website, you create valuable backlinks to your own site. Quality backlinks are one of the most important ranking factors in search engine algorithms.
More backlinks from reputable sites help your website rank higher in search results, resulting in increased organic traffic. Guest posting also lets you establish yourself as an authority on specific topics, which further improves your search engine performance.
Valuable Industry Relationships
Guest posting helps you build relationships with other influencers, thought leaders, and brands in your industry. When you post content on another website, you introduce yourself to their audience and demonstrate your expertise.
These connections can lead to collaboration opportunities, partnerships, speaking engagements, and other valuable professional relationships that benefit your business long-term.
Cost-Effective Marketing
Guest posting is remarkably cost-effective compared to other marketing channels. Unlike paid search advertising or sponsored social media posts, guest posting costs nothing except your time to create quality content.
You can find numerous websites and blogs willing to accept guest posts for free, making this one of the most accessible marketing strategies for businesses with limited budgets.
Direct Lead Generation
When you post content on another website or blog, you're promoting your own business to a new audience. Readers who find your content valuable are more likely to visit your website, sign up for your email list, or purchase your products or services.
This direct lead generation can result in increased sales and customers who are already pre-qualified by the quality content that attracted them to you.
Consider Working With Digital Marketing Professionals
For website owners who don't have the time or expertise to manage their own guest posting strategy, working with digital marketing professionals makes sense.
A good agency can take your marketing strategy and execute it effectively. They'll research appropriate websites, create professional pitches, write high-quality blog posts, and manage the entire publication process.
This frees you to focus on other critical aspects of running your business while still benefiting from the SEO and visibility advantages guest posting provides.
White Hat vs. Black Hat Guest Posting (And Why It Matters)
While guest posting can bring significant benefits, it's crucial to understand the ethical approach versus the manipulative one.
White Hat Guest Posting (The Right Way)
White hat guest posting involves creating and publishing high-quality, relevant content on external websites related to your niche. You provide genuine value to the host site's audience while including an appropriate link back to your website.
This ethical approach is preferred by SEO professionals and rewarded by search engines. It builds your reputation while improving your rankings.
Black Hat Guest Posting (Avoid This)
Black hat guest posting involves creating low-quality content and publishing it on irrelevant websites solely to generate backlinks. Some practitioners use automated software to spam content across numerous sites indiscriminately.
This approach is terrible for SEO and can result in severe penalties from search engines, including complete removal from search results. The short-term gains are never worth the long-term damage to your website's reputation and rankings.
Never use black hat tactics. You might get away with it briefly, but search engines eventually catch manipulative practices and the consequences can be devastating for your business.
Your Website Must Support Your Guest Posting Success
Guest posting can drive significant traffic to your website - but only if your website is ready to receive and convert those visitors.
If you're successfully publishing guest posts but noticing that visitors bounce immediately after landing on your site, you have a problem. A slow, outdated, or poorly functioning website will undermine all your guest posting efforts.
We Keep Your Website Performing Flawlessly
At Your WP Guy, we specialize in maintaining WordPress websites so they perform at their best. We handle all the technical details - speed optimization, security updates, regular backups, and ongoing monitoring.
When your guest posting strategy drives new visitors to your site, you need confidence that your website will make a great impression and convert that traffic into leads and customers.
We ensure your website is always fast, secure, and working perfectly so your marketing efforts actually deliver results.
Struggling with maintaining your website while executing your marketing strategy? We can help with both. Contact us today to learn how we can keep your website optimized while you focus on creating content and building your brand.
Your guest posting efforts deserve a website that performs as well as your content. Let us handle the technical side while you focus on growing your business.
