“Be My Guest, Blogger”: Ways to Build Links and Online Reputation with Guest Blogging

Article submission is dead - long live article submission

Some say that article submission is dead. Google's Panda has killed it. Hmm. That depends on what you mean by article submission. Submitting spun articles to hundreds of article directories may be as well half way to its grave. But not white-hat guest article posting!

Today, with Google's Panda at large and content farms suffering PR and traffic loss, it appears to be wiser to focus more on submitting 1-2 quality articles to reputable sources, rather than spamming the already over-spammed Web with more spam.

Find blogs in your niche

The first step to guest blogging is to find authoritative blogs in your niche. Well, if you have been around for a while, you probably know a few names. But still. Do a research and look for all sorts of ratings. For example, search for "top florist blogs" or "best plumbing blogs" or similar.

By the way, an elaborate way to look for niche-specific blogs that are likely to be interested in guest bloggers is by using our link building tool - LinkAssistant. Some time ago, we did a detailed post on how to easily find guest blogging opportunities using the SEO software. So, do check it out.

Once you have a list of blogs, check their Google PageRank and Compete Score to determine the ones that will be the most valuable in terms of link building AND traffic leads.

Establishing contact

Once you know what resources to focus on, find out whether they accept guest posts. This is easy to do, because such sites normally have a "Write for Us", "Submit a Post", "Article Submissions" webpage or similar. If no such section is anywhere to be seen, and you can't see any blog posts either, don’t bother submitting to the blog.

Some SEO's recommend contacting blog admin first and asking them what topic they'd like you to write on. You may as well do that, but, in my experience, very few people have an abundance of blog post ideas in store. So, the person you contact may be reluctant to write you back for this very reason.

The way I normally do this is, I explore the blog, see what topics have not been covered on it yet, come up with an interesting topic to write on, do the research (if necessary), write the post and only THEN do I contact the blog admin.

Where the links go

Most reputable blogs (well, at least this is true of SEO blogs) frown at promotional links in guest posts. However, they are perfectly OK with you sticking a link or two in the author's bio. So, make the most of your bio, write a few catchy words about your business and pay attention to your anchor texts.

You'd normally want to either make your anchor texts descriptive, with your target keywords in them, or make them branded (well, that's if you are targeting branded keywords).

Easy branding

Besides driving PR and traffic, guest posts also help your branding. Most reputable blogs ask you to provide author's picture, name and bio. This gives your blog post unique character and makes it more personal. Such information is normally perceived by people on the emotional level (especially the picture), and, thus, they remember it quite easily. So, say, next time someone needs a reliable SEO services provider, the first thing that will spring to their mind is the name of that guy who writes awesome posts, and provides SEO services.

Rules of conduct

Guest posting is subject to an unspoken CODE OF ETHICS that experienced guest bloggers are normally familiar with. First, establish and maintain the rapport with the blog admin. If you agree on something, keep your word. If you claim a blog post to be unique and promise not to post it anywhere else for the next 10-15 days, do so.

It's also considered to be a good practice to reply to your post's comments (well, of course when they are more than just "great post, thanks!!!"). Actually, this is quite an important part of building a reputation for yourself as a guest blogger AND your company.

Guest Blogging at Link-Assistant.Com

On our Link-Assistant.Com's SEO Blog, we welcome guest bloggers, too. There is a special GuestBox section where guest articles are featured. So, if you’re interested in guest blogging on all topics SEO and Internet marketing-related, here is where you can apply.