When Google’s Matt Cutts recommended that people stop guest blogging and declared it an unrespectable practice, guest bloggers and sites fond of guest blogging joined forces to protest against him. ‘Stop guest blogging, whatever for?’ It was not until we all read further into Cutts’ blog that we realised he did have a point to make and that he may also have been a little too broad in his condemnation – something that he later admitted to himself.
The majority of us use guest blogging as an SEO tactic, one which has, up until recently, always been quite effective if links back to the writer’s website and relevant keywords have been included in the content. However, as guest blogging has increased and more and more people have seen it as a quick way to fill their websites with content, the quality of the posts has declined and a number of guest posts have become filled with spam rather than insightful information. This is why Matt Cutts suggested we no longer use guest blogging as a way to gain links, although that’s not to say that guest blogging should be dismissed completely. There are still some benefits, as we’re about to reveal…
Exposure
What Matt Cutts didn’t mention is that while linking may no longer be as effective as it once was, having your guest blogs posted on other, relevant websites will still gain you a great deal of exposure. When you create content for your website, you probably promote it using social media or via email; posting a guest blog on a website is just another way to encourage more people to locate your website and read your content. The more they start seeing your name pop up along with your posts, the more they will come to rely on your content in the future and start going directly to your website.
Branding
Your content must be used to promote and emphasise your brand image and you can expand on this by guest blogging on websites that are relevant to your brand. If you want your brand to be able to compete against others in the market, it needs to be able to stand out and be recognised. Start posting on enough websites to attract your target audience and yours will be the first name they think of when they’re in need of the service you can provide. You want to be associated with others who can make you look good and who you can make look good in return.
Build your social media profile
By posting on other people’s websites, you’ll start to increase your reach and attract new followers on various social media websites. The more people you start to attract to your social media pages the more people you can direct to your content and to your website. If every time you write a post on your website and create a guest post for another website the content is shared via Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, you are doubling your chances of increasing traffic to your website and also creating a community of brand followers.
Since his blog post, Matt Cutts has added a few extra paragraphs in an attempt to put his words into better context. He explained that a number of guest posts can be ‘compelling, wonderful and useful,’ but that there are some low-quality or spam sites that have latched onto the idea of guest blogging and are using the link-building strategy as an attempt to catch readers out. With that in mind, it is always worth ensuring that you trust the person providing you with guest posts, that their content is relevant to your website and that you approach them with a little caution, and expect others to do the same when you offer to write a post for their website.
At Crowdbait, we’re pros when it comes to creating original, shareable content, and we’ve a great deal of experience in tackling the ever-changing Google ranking system and ensuring our content is always widely read and enjoyed. If you reckon you could benefit from our services or would like to find out a little more about our team and what we can do, get in touch today.