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Hey 1902,

I'm a small business owner, with little to no experience in SEO. I've learned the basics just by doing research online and reading a lot of articles. I rely on my website to get new clients and generate pretty much all of my business. When I first got started, I avoided trying to get backlinks by writing articles and guest posting on other sites because I thought it was too time consuming and difficult to write "kickass" content. I didn't think I had anything amazing to say and didn't think I'd ever be able to get published on sites with really high domain authority. After spending a lot of money on pay per click campaigns, I finally decided to try it.

Before I really started focusing on writing articles (about 3 months ago), my site was showing up on page 5 or 6 of organic search results on Google for my focus keywords. After about 2 months of focusing solely on writing, my page is now showing up on page 1 for several of my focus keywords. Guest posting on other sites has by far been the best return on investment for me in getting meaningful backlinks that have increased my organic presence on Google.

It did take time, but it wasn't as hard as I thought. I just started Googling reputable sites that posted articles relevant to my industry. I emailed those sites and asked if they accepted guest submissions for publication. A lot said no (or didn't even respond), but enough said yes. I'd say I have about 5 solid sites that I can now submit content to and they provide a bio in each article with do follow links back to multiple pages on my site. These key sites have domain authorities of 60 and above--the best sites have domain authorities of 82 and 92. My content is not anything amazing or groundbreaking. My articles probably aren't going to become the go-to authority on their topics. But they are relevant and they are publishable. I thought it would be nearly impossible to write for the really reputable sites, but I'm now a regular contributor to U.S. News. All I did was email and ask if they'd be willing to accept guest posts and submitted a writing sample on a suggested article.

Moral of the story is that, at least for me, writing articles to get back links has by far been the most effective way of boosting my site. Definitely worth the effort and not as intimidating as I thought it would be. I saw significant results after just a couple months of focused effort. Hope this is helpful. Best of luck to you!

I've got a Wix site that I'm pretty happy with. There have definitely been some frustrations, and it does seem like I've been missing out on some customization options that would help with SEO, but for certain key words my site is now showing up on Google in the top 3 of local results and page 1 of organic results. I'm admittedly pretty clueless regarding SEO, programming, and most of the stuff talked about on Moz, but I feel like Wix has been an easy and inexpensive way to get a good looking site that gets results.

Had the same question, these answers are helpful, thanks!

I've experienced the same thing, but it wasn't very long before the MozBar caught up. Sam's answer was helpful too!

I should probably be doing the same thing as Eric with my site. What is silo and why is it a good strategy? Also wondering if it's better to have anchor text links or to use "Learn More" buttons? Not sure if that matters for SEO or if it's more just about what works well for the consumer?  Thanks!

Awesome, great link, thanks!

Yep, what Bryan said. I've also had a lot of luck with guest posting for other reputable sites that are willing to give me a dofollow link. In fact, guest posting has given me the best ROI on my SEO efforts so far. It's required a fairly significant time commitment, but other than that it's been free. I'm happy to share more on what's worked for me if you like.

Sure, happy to share! I'm definitely not an SEO expert by any means, but this worked for me. For the past 2 months the only link building I've done has been through guest posting. When I started, my site showed upon in Google organic results on page 5 for one of my main key words. As of 2 days ago, I now show up at the very bottom of page 1 for the same key word.

I got started just by researching reputable sites on Google and checking their DA using to Moz toolbar. I contacted any sites that I liked and asked if they accept guest submissions. A lot weren't interested, but enough said yes. I spent a good amount of time on this, and on writing articles, but it's been worth it. My content isn't anything amazing, but it's relevant and publishable. I probably only have about 5 articles published with sites that have a DA of higher than 50 (I think the highest DA is 82), but it's already made a huge difference over the past 2 months. As soon as my site got on page 1 (2 days ago), I've been getting significantly more calls from potential new clients.

Another thing that's really helped me get new clients is the local results on Google. I now show up in the top 3 local results for the same key word I was talking about. I started having clients leave Google reviews (which I hadn't done in the past) and I immediately noticed my position climb in the local results.

So I haven't really done anything fancy. I've just spent the time to make contacts and write articles, but it's definitely been the best ROI for time I've spent on SEO so far. Now I have some good contacts that are will to accept regular submissions, so I'm definitely going to keep at it!

Thanks Wyatt, I was curious about author tags as well.

Thanks Bryan! As of this morning, I'm now the very first listing in the organic results for my targeted key word!