Guest Posting Still Carries Weight for SEO – Do It Properly

Yes! Guest posting does still carry massive weight for SEO campaigns. There have been big discussions on whether the method actually still works in Google’s eyes or whether they pass over and ignore publications. Personally, I know it still works. I know it works because I still do it and achieve fantastic results!

There are some exceptions of course; a lot of people used to write SEO articles and stuff their publications full of keywords and anchor text to try and make Mr G take more notice. This does not work, and it is also painful for the blog owner to read. They will more than likely refuse the article all together and you will lose your slot to write for them. 

Let Your Articles Flow

Do not write for SEO purposes. Imagine you own a blog and somebody sends you a guest post which sounds plain and you can clearly see that it is for SEO purposes, would you accept it? No! Blog owners love their blogs, put their hearts and souls into them, and care about their readership and want to wow them, you should too!

Let the article flow naturally and talk to the readers as if you are having a conversation with them. You want to try and spark debate, so ask questions. Try to go for a new topic or a trend, something that has not been covered. You may also want to stick to simple wording as opposed to attempting to impress them with big words, which makes articles harder to read.

– My Personal Title Ideas

Choosing a “WOW” title is a big must when it comes to creating a piece for a blogger, you have to tease them, tantalize them with the title, make them want to click in and read the rest of your piece. Here are some simple tantalizing titles I use myself, just simply fill in the blanks:

• How Safe Is Your [BLANK] from [BLANK]

– Example : How Safe Is Your Land From Developers With Rich Friends

• X Warning Signs That [BLANK]

– Example: 10 Warning Signs That You Are About To Get Audited By The IRS

• Warning: [Blank]

– Example: Warning: Testimonials Without Proof Can Land You In Jail

• The Shocking Truth About: [BLANK]

– Example: The Shocking Truth About Tiger Woods!

There are plenty of titles you can mix up and some you can even mix together, just look in the media. Most of their titles are hundreds of years old and they are still used today, yet nobody notices. The title must be a wow factor for the blog owner and their readership, so spend time on it.

The Use of Images

Images are another big factor. If you are lazy and just send a bulk piece of text in a file, they are liable to delete it and not even give you an email back to let you know you wasted their time.

Use images and do the work for them, after all it is YOU that is wanting to use THEIR blog and readership, not the other way around. Go and look for some creative commons images, it really is not that hard and it takes a few moments. Resize the images to fit nicely into your publication and also give the correct image credits (just like I have in this publication).

Using images will not only impress the blog owner, it will save them a lot of time searching for their own. Most of the time they will not do this anyway. Images also give that nice little touch to your article and break it up a little bit and make it nicer to read.

The Pitch

I use three rules of thumb when it comes to guest posting and selecting a good blog:

1) Read their guidelines – most blogs that accept guest posts have them!

2) Read the blog – get a feel for their writing style and the angle they are hitting their audience with.

3) Write a draft to send – Many guest posters like to email beforehand on a topic. If you do not know a topic by the time you have read the guidelines and a few posts on the blog, then you should not be writing for them at all.

Blog owners do not like to be bothered about topics for their blogs. It is up to you to pitch them. They are far too busy to be emailing about topics that they can write up themselves.

Once you have your topic and draft, and have added in the images and links you wish to use, then send the article out in document form. Do not forget to grammar and spell check the piece and look at it for a few minutes to make sure it is formatted the way you want it. You should be able to scan the article with ease!

Author: Sophie Eagan

Sophie is an SEO consultant and has been for over 10 years. She believes highly in guest posting as a way of building links, but only if it is done properly. Guest posting is being ruined by those who do not follow the rules. Bloggers are bombarded with emails every day with guest post inquires, which means you need to stand out and be noticed!