Have you been wondering if you really need to write that guest post? The short answer is yes, but let me explain 3 reasons why writing guest posts is good for your blog.
What is a guest post?
A guest post is an original blog post that you write on someone else’s blog.
Experienced bloggers write guest posts or publish a guest post on their blog.
If you are a blogger and have not yet written a guest post for a fellow blogger’s blog, you are missing out on some significant opportunities.
Why should you be writing that guest post?
Table of Contents
Writing Guest Posts Increases Your Blog’s Audience
When you publish a guest post on another established blog, you can reach a larger audience.
You are now getting your post in front of the guest posting audience.
When you write relevant, original content that engages a new audience, these readers will be attracted to your blog.
Follow the guidelines set out by the blog you wish to publish your work. Submit only original content, and make sure that the post you are submitting will not be published on other websites.
The blog post host and you will also share your post across multiple social media platforms.
This will also increase traffic to your blog.
Think of it as co-hosting a party.
The blog you are writing for will invite all their friends.
You will bring entertainment and food.
By the end of the night, you have made many new friends.
These new friends are now checking out your blog and increasing your organic traffic.
But, increasing your blog’s audience isn’t the only reason writing guest posts is good for your blog.
Guest Posting Also Builds Your Blogging Network
While increasing your audience is essential, building a solid blogging network is also critical.
Blogging can be lonely, but it doesn’t have to be.
You build relationships with other bloggers by reaching out for guest posting opportunities.
Having blogging friends is great.
Like having friends at any other job, having blogging friends provides opportunities to share ideas and learn from fellow bloggers. Fellow bloggers understand the struggle and triumphs of blogging.
Also, it is convenient to have someone who will let you know when your website isn’t working, or your posts aren’t posting to social media sites correctly.
Your blogging friends will also alert you to blog posts that might be of interest to you or courses or general information that you might find helpful.
You create a great support system when you build a robust blogging network.
Guest Posting Creates SEO Authority By Building Backlinks
Guest posting is essential for creating backlinks to your blog.
Building backlinks may be the most important reason why writing guest posts is good for your blog.
By creating backlinks, you establish authority in your blogging niche.
Backlinks also show search engines that you are reliable and that other blogs or websites find your content valuable.
By showing search engines that you have authority and that your content is valuable through creating backlinks, you can increase organic traffic to your blog.
For example, let’s compare Lisa’s blog to my blog.
Because Lisa has a well-established blog with a strong emphasis on SEO, she generated 100,000 organic visits in 2021.
This means that 100,000 people found Lisa’s website simply by searching on a search engine.
This statistic is significant when you consider that visits to Lisa’s site through social links only generated 3000 visits.
But everyone is on social media!
And that may be, but when you see numbers like this, you can’t ignore the importance of a good SEO strategy and question whether SEO or social media is better for traffic.
In comparison, my blog had 16 organic visits and 44 social link referrals.
I only set up my Google Analytics in October 2021, which gives us less than three months of data on a relatively new blog.
Another interesting thing I discovered when looking at my Google Analytics stats was that organic traffic was more engaged and spent more time on my blog than the traffic from the social links.
Clearly, people purposely looking for your content are more engaged and interested in your content than the ones mindlessly scrolling social media.
My SEO strategy needs some work and time to see the organic traffic numbers that Lisa experiences.
Until now, guest posting has not been a focused strategy for me.
Besides writing guest posts to create backlinks to your blog, what are some other simple SEO strategies you should be implementing?
Simple SEO Strategies For Blog Posts
There are a few simple SEO strategies that you should be using for every blog post you write. Whether for your blog or a guest post.
These strategies will boost your SEO ranking and increase your organic traffic.
#1 Effective Keyword Research
Effective keyword research gives you valuable insight into the keywords your audience is searching online. Using these keywords in the title and headings of your post and throughout the post itself ensures that your blog post will show up and rank well in search engines.
Be sure to use thorough keyword research when writing guest posts and avoid these common mistakes.
There are many tools and blog posts that cover keyword research.
#2 Internal Links
Internal links help users and search engines navigate your website. They do this by linking the pages of a website together. The more links to a specific page, the more important it appears to search engines, giving that page a higher SEO ranking.
Therefore, internal linking is an essential component of your SEO strategy.
#3 Blog Commenting
There seems to be conflicting information on whether blog commenting directly impacts SEO rankings. While I can not prove this theory one way or another, there are a few reasons why I think you should make it a regular part of your blogging routine.
First of all, commenting on blog posts opens a dialog with others. This dialog is critical for building that excellent blogging network that makes up your support system.
When you actively engage with people through conversation, they are more likely to return to your blog.
Blog comments can contain a wealth of information. I often spend more time in the comment section than the post itself.
Lastly, since there is no clear answer as to whether blog commenting affects SEO and it is a relatively simple, fun task, why take chances?
Make sure you take the time to respond to comments on the guest posts you write.
#4 SEO Plugins
If SEO gives you a headache, use a WordPress plugin or another SEO tool of your choice to make it less stressful for you.
Lisa and I both use Yoast. I find it quick and easy to use, as well I know I am not missing any critical SEO components. At least with my on-page optimization.
Yoast will even tell you if you have too much of a good thing. Such as overusing your keyword.
By implementing these four simple yet effective SEO strategies for all blog posts, you should be well on your way to increasing organic traffic visits to your blog.
Conclusion To Guest Posting
While SEO may not be your favorite part of building a successful blog, I hope this post illustrates the importance of needing an effective SEO strategy to attract organic traffic to your blog.
Your SEO strategy doesn’t have to be complicated, and writing guest posts is a good strategy for building necessary backlinks.
By following these few simple suggestions, you will be well on your way to establishing a solid SEO ranking and watching that organic traffic climb.
What are you doing for your blog’s SEO strategy today? We would love to hear from you in the comments below.
- Writing Guest Posts is Good For Your Blog-3 Reasons - January 6, 2022
Hi SharlaAnn
This is super detailed and helpful!
But here is one concern…
How do you suggest getting into guest blogging if you are just getting into blogging and do not have too many credentials quite yet?
Regards
Mohit Bhargav
You have to build them up Mohit, it can take years so hang in there. Engage with other bloggers like you are doing here by commenting and on forums or social media. It takes time. Thanks for your question 🙂 Have a great day.
Hi SharlaAnn,
Guest posting has so many benefits and you have explained them so well. I’ve done many in the past and it was not only great for SEO purposes, but the comradery shared is of so much value. We gain a closeness to the other blogger which I enjoy so much.
We must remember that we are in front of a new audience and have to be prepared to write something that will help others. Like you did right here! I am so happy you mentioned internal linking. That is a must do.
-Donna
Hi Donna,
While SEO is necessary, I would have to agree, the relationships you build with fellow bloggers are priceless.
It is essential to be mindful of the person you are guest posting for and their audience for sure. I was more nervous writing this post than I was when I published the first post on my blog.
I have noticed I have a couple of orphaned pages on my blog that I either need to rewrite and make useful or delete because internal linking is also important.
SEO can be so scary and confusing for beginners, but if you take the time to learn and don’t obsess over it gradually over time, it starts to become apparent. Now I can go back and fix stuff.
You can always go back and change or fix things. While it might be painful and time-consuming, it isn’t the worst thing out there. That is the other thing people need to keep in mind.
Thank you for the comment, Donna.
Take care,
SharlaAnn
Hi SharlaAnn
Thanks for explaining nicely the importance of guest post to increase the traffic of any blog. No doubt it has become a necessary activity to gain higher ranking in various search engines. Both ON Page and Link building strategy equally matters for over all growing of organic traffic.
Hello Vikas,
Building backlinks and on-page SEO need to be a consideration for sure when looking at your overall traffic strategy. While on-page SEO is readily incorporated into your blog posts (once you understand it), building those backlinks takes a bit more time and work.
If organic traffic is your focus, then paying attention to SEO does matter. When you look at the analytics, you can’t deny that.
Thanks so much for your comment.
SharlaAnn
The guest post is one of the best ways to connect with the blogger community and build high-authority links. But the problem is to find the best platform to submit a guest post. For the newbies, it is quite difficult to find free guest post submission sites. So, if you have knowledge related to it then it’ll help the beginners like me. By the way thank you for this information.
Hello Ritik,
Guest posting should be a follow-up to regular, genuine engagement with fellow bloggers in your niche. For example, I regularly read, share, and comment on Lisa’s blog posts. As a result of that Lisa tagged me in her Tweet about analytics that was the inspiration for this post. You can see the Tweet above.
When the idea for the post came to me I wrote an outline, emailed it to Lisa, and she accepted my offer of writing the post for her blog.
So my suggestion would be to connect with fellow bloggers by reading, commenting, and sharing their posts. You can also connect on your social media. Start to build relationships with them and the opportunities to write guest blog posts will come.
It can be harder to get posts accepted by people who haven’t heard of you but if that is the route you want to take I would suggest following the advice of established freelancers.
Hope this helps.
SharlaAnn
Hey SharalAnn, I always read blogs related to guest posts and better content writing. But I never found something like this you just said to me. I can’t express how important this information is for me because I’m a beginner.
So, I just took Screenshot and Bookmarked this URL for future reference.
Thank you thank you thank you sooo much for this…. Means a lot.
And, yes… I’m going to follow you on Twitter for more knowledge.
Ritik,
I am so happy this information has helped you.
If you are patient and work on building relationships with fellow bloggers the rest becomes easier, so hang in there.
Happy Blogging,
SharlaAnn
Hi SharlaAnn
I have been blogging for more than 2 years now and I never thought about guest posts.
Thanks for spreading awareness about guest posts, will surely consider your points and start guest blogging.
Amit Garg
Hello Amit,
Guest posting isn’t only helpful to your SEO ranking and a great way to build a robust and supportive network of fellow bloggers.
It is also one more way to step out of your comfort zone, learn something new and grow as a blogger.
Thanks for your comment. I look forward to hearing how guest blogging goes for you.
SharlaAnn