15 Jun A Quick Guide to Finding Great Blogs
Guest posting has become a powerful tool for building traffic on websites over the past few years. With new Google Algorithm updates, it is a matter of critical importance to make new ways for building links, providing quality content and gaining authority. The implementation of a good guest posting strategy will most certainly help you achieve all of the above and advertise your products, services, as well as fresh ideas to new audiences, which are growing day by day. However, before diving in the ever-growing world of guest posting, it is important to create a list of goals you intend to achieve. The evaluation of your goals and plan building are the first steps you need to make, so that you don’t end up with more misses than hits.
Keep in mind that the quality and relevance of your guest posting content are crucial for your online marketing strategy and it can do wonders for your website if done right. Here are some tips for achieving that.
First Step – Connecting your guest posting to your content strategy
Your content will help you gain rank for specific keywords in various search engines, engage readers and convince them in your field of expertise and it will motivate the readers to act. Basically, guest posts do not differ much from this. Guest posting will help you in building strong links to your website and will help you affirm your position in the world of social media and strengthen the relations with your sympathizers with the same points of interest.
Have you thought about what your content strategy goals are? If not, here are some questions you should ask yourself before diving in the world of guest posting:
- What are the specific keywords you are trying to rank for in search engines?
- Who is your targeted audience?
- Which products, services and/or ideas are your main points of interest?
- Is your goal to increase sale, to inform, or maybe something else?
When you have your priorities settled, you can freely move to the next step which includes finding the perfect spot to focus your content strategy on.
Second Step – keep your eyes open for new guest post opportunities!
It is crucial to find fresh opportunities and slip in your guest posts with low competition topics. There are a few basic strategies which, if well-executed, can greatly help you in achieving this.
The first and the easiest tactic is based on your contact list. If you are in great relations with big players in the field, you will get a great push. However, if not, you should focus on them and try to keep in touch. Research their material, check the blogs that big names visit and engage in discussions and debates concerning topics with a common point of interest. Not only that it will bring more relevance to your profile, but you will also train yourself in recognizing the quality of the content in your field of expertise.
The second strategy which you can employ when finding places to guest post on is based on simple research. You can easily find websites to implement your content by simply searching for the keyword you are specifying and some modifiers such as:
- Write for us
- Freelance writers
- Ghostwriting
- Guest-blogging
- Add a post
- Guest posts
You will most certainly run into many websites which are in need for regular content updates or are open to guest posting. However, you should be aware that not many of these blogs are “blogs in name only” or shorter BINOs. These are not recommended if you want SEO and if you are writing content for clients that pay. BINOs are practically content archives that offer a vast array of topics and content with poor or irrelevant info. Here are some simple tips which will help you in recognizing a BINO:
- “Submit a Guest Post” button is usually located on the home page
- Most of the articles on the blog are submitted by different people
- There is a vast array of topics categories
- Most of the content has poor quality, grammar and relevance
- The links built in the articles are irrelevant in regards to the topic
- There is little or no social content sharing whatsoever
The third strategy which you can implement is to look for free or paid services that may pop up. This way, you can find both bloggers which are in need for content and bloggers which are in need of writers to promote and share online. There are many big players in this game and PostJoint, Elance and MyBlogGuest are great to start with.
The last, but maybe the most important strategy that you can use is – if you have found a website on which you would love to post your content on, don’t be discouraged to try, even if they are in no need for guest posting. If that website has a strong link and will bring great relevance to your content, contact them. The posting of your content is not guaranteed but if your material gets posted, it will do wonders for you.
Third Step – Write content that really stands you out of the crowd
High quality content? Easy for you to say, but make one. It is a difficult task, but you should take your time on it. Include links, insert pictures, videos, comments and quotes from the discussions you made with people who have authority in your field of interest. Review the content several times and do it in parts if you must, just don’t forget to keep it relevant. The best example of high quality content which includes all of this and more is “Search Engine Optimization (SEO), using Google plus” by Martin Shervington. This kind of a mammoth article can really make you stand out in the world of SEO and content writing, opening you doors to many blogs and allowing you to guest post everywhere.
The final step – do not spare time in promoting your content
Once you submitted your content, it is important to participate in any discussion about it and provide feedback to any and all comments you encounter. Share links to your content via Social Networks and throughout your communities – this will help you build traffic and affirm your position in the world of social media and guest posting. If your post is mentioning any person or a website, let them know – they might promote it.
