Guest Blogging. Is it a good thing?
-
Hi,
We are looking into guest blogging to get links out there to our site. Is there any pitfalls to avoid? Any good advice to share? Is it actually a good thing to do?
We have seen some site that offer to help for example http://guestblogged.com are these good or a con?
All advice welcomed.
Thanks
Andrew
-
Great answer Tom! Thanks for adding something of value!
-
Hi Andrew
Guest blogging can be a great thing - if done correctly.
I'm never much of a fan of a service that makes you blindly commit, so if you were going to go further with that company, I'd request some samples of their work and websites that they have written for.
But to be honest, I think you'd have better luck in looking for guest blogging prospects yourself. You can do this in a number of ways - MyBlogGuest is a popular place to start finding prospects. I like searching for blogs listed on Technorati as well. Gaz Copeland also put together a brilliant spreadsheet that will combine your target keyword with a number of search terms, so you can search Google for sites that have pages like "write for us" or "contribute to this site" etc. This can be a great way of mining prospects.
Now that you have some prospects, here's how I filter them: the primary feature that I look for is an engaged audience for the industry I am working for. That means, looking at the social shares and comments left on the blog in previous posts. This is key for me, as I see guest blogging as a traffic and relationship builder first and as an SEO tool second - for the simple reason that I believe traffic and relationships are higher converters.
For the SEO aspect, I look at a solid PA and DA score and also I verify their backlinks using Open Site Explorer. Check that the highest quality links going to the root domain look to be relevant and editorial and not just spammed somewhere like in a comment section.
You may have heard from some doomsayers that guest blogging is going to be penalised - these are exaggerated claims but not entirely unfounded. Guest blogging has been spammed by some and you do see some really crap quality articles put together for the sole purpose of getting a link (on equally crap blogs). You want to avoid those. This is another reason why I primarily look for engaged audiences and social media interactions - if you find blogs like these, you're more than likely to have found a place that only wants quality content. Get your content on there and everyone wins.
Hope this helps you to get started!
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Guest posting
HI, I wrote an article for photography life over 6 months ago and was surprised to discover it is placed second in the serps for the keywords "nikon cls" I have just written another 1500 word article for another photography blog and I am wondering if I will serve myself better just writing the content for my own site? Best wishes. David.
Link Building | | WallerD0 -
Other than social media, where are good places to post content from ones website?
I am trying to build links with my content. I always post to social media (Twitter, Facebook, Google + and sometimes Stumble Upon) What are other good choices that may have more staying power?
Link Building | | donsilvernail2 -
Where can I find out influential blogs?
Is there a site or app that can identify popular bloggers? I've heard of one before but can't remember the name! This is just to help with a content and backlinking strategy! Thanks in advance all! 🙂 Alex
Link Building | | zeroabove0 -
Is building a Link Network from scratch a good idea?
My SEO agency are suggesting that they will build a Link network from scratch by buying domains and building blog sites on them. All sites that link to my site would in theory be 'clean' and as we build up their authority we increase the value of the links to my site. One of the upsides is taht we would have complete control of all the links. This does sound a bit spammy but in theory could it work?
Link Building | | Johnnyh
Any input is much appreciated. Regards John0 -
Blogging for backlinks
I have a real estate website. I would like to start blogging on blogs not related to real estate. I like reading web design, html, css, php, word press etc... blogs. I want to start talking to the bloggers using my real name (not keyword anchor text) on their blog. I'd like to have authentic conversations; however, will this confuse google about my site? If I am using my name as anchor text on sites about webdesign and linking back to a real estate website, what will that do to the SEO? It's also important to consider one other detail. I have determined through link building in real estate related fields that it's really hard to find good domains/page rank when compared to the fields above. I could get a dozen great links in 10 minutes on the above subjets AND be legitimately engaging in conversation with my name, not keywords... Does the invention of "author rank" make this more viable?
Link Building | | JML11790 -
What are good companies to buy links from?
I am sure that asking such a question on SEOMoz will bring the world down on my head, but let's be honest, sometimes buying links, especially high quality links from reputable sources does give a nice boost to go along with the rest of the onsite and offsite SEO practices. So, those of you who are so anti-link buying that the very mention of it is anathema, please put some duct tape over your mouths or on your typing fingers and allow people who get my point to respond... I bet there are some really good link sellers on the web - but i do not know who they are. All of them claim to have the fantastic and best way to give me 1000's of wonderful links - but who the heck really delivers? if there is really no one trustworthy and the only way to build is by way of what I am already doing (mid-quality SEO), feel free to tell me. But if there are 3 or 4 amazing companies out there, please give your reasons and testimonials. I would so appreciate it. And apologies to the SEO purists - but my clients do not understand algorithmic changes and slow/steady movements...and i don't blame them. but to all - love, love, love thanks for the advice ben
Link Building | | creativeguy0 -
No-Follow links on clients blog?
I have a client who has a blog with a side bar on each page, in the sidebar there are various links to the site, as well as links to some of his partner sites. I was looking at the recently updated open site explorer, and noticing that their domain authority is way down, a good amount below their competitors as well. The total links compared to the linking root domains is ~3000 to 200. So my question is 1. How can I gain on the domain authority front? (more diverse links?) And if so, 2. Should I no-follow the links on their blog so they don't have hundreds of pages with the same links (most internal) on there site Thanks,
Link Building | | USHoleInOne
Nick0 -
Blog Roll Links - A good or bad thing ?
I Use Blog roll links all the time but recently they seem to be having a lower effect on listings. Is there a limit on Blog roll links you place on a blog. Internal blog roll links and external blog roll links. Also do you rename your blog roll to something such as popular links like we do ?
Link Building | | onlinemediadirect1