Guest posting (or guest blogging) refers to the process of writing content for the purpose of being posted on someone else’s blog. This can mean you have written the post for another company’s blog, or they have written one to be featured on your blog. When you write something on your own blog, it’s just known as a post. What makes a post a “guest post,” then, is that it is featured by a fellow business that shares some similarities to your own.

Why is Guest Posting Important?

Guest posting is important for a couple of key reasons. For one, guest posts are extremely valuable tools for reputation marketing and building community in your field. They can get your business mentioned on relevant popular sites as well as occupy branded search query results.

The other and perhaps more important reason for guest posting, however, is to use them to embed backlinks. An important part of marketing, backlinks can gain your business more visibility and engagement when done correctly. You want backlinks to be natural in that they aren’t forced and are relevant to your business’ products, solutions, or services.

The best backlinks are earned from businesses that are similar to yours, reputable, and have a large following. Guest posting, then, is primarily done to get the word out on your business and also earn a link back to one of your web properties (i.e. your business website or social media page) from a well-respected source.

It may sound easy enough, but guest posting is more than just banging out a few hundred words on a topic related to your business. The way a guest post is crafted and executed can make all the difference in how your business is ultimately viewed by potential customers. Some key things to keep in mind about guest posting are:

Guest Posts MUST Be Well-Written

If your guest post is not written well, chances are you and your business won’t gain much credibility. A strong voice, good grammar, and easy readability go a long way, so keep these things in mind when creating and dispatching your guest posts. Be sure to read through your guest post either silently or out loud. Doing so ensures that you haven’t missed any mistakes and that your words flow well and make sense. In addition, have an editor go over your post. One mistake can make your business seem sloppy, which can result in lost credibility, poor growth, and decreased engagement amongst users and potential customers overall.

Guest Posts Should Always Stay on Topic

When guest posting, always be sure to stay on topic. Guest posts are usually about a specific topic related to your business and products or services. Make sure that what you’re writing about is relevant to who and what your business is. Link the topic back to your business by showing how your product or service can solve a common problem your readers may have.

Going off-topic will only confuse or bore your readers, meaning they’ll likely leave the page without further exploring your business or the business your guest posting for. Losing user engagement is the first step to losing a lead and ultimately a sale. For best results, create an outline before ever guest post to help you stay on track.

Guest Posts Must Be Shareable

When a guest post is great, readers are going to want to share it. Most business websites are linked to social media in some way, meaning their content can be easily shared by clicking a link. In addition to this, make sure your guest post is built for sharing. This means it can be read, understood, and summarized in ten to fifteen minutes or less. Sharing increases readership, so do everything you can to enhance this component.

Guest Posts Must Contain Thoughtful Outbound Links

Your guest post should include backlinks, but not just any backlinks. These links must be helpful and relevant to the article, usually offering the reader more in-depth information about the topic or a component of the topic. Be sure that the anchor text over your link is accurate as well. If you link the phrase “a recent study,” make sure that the link takes the reader to a piece of content with more information about the said study.

Guest posting needs to be helpful, well-written, and to stay on topic for the best results. When a guest post is done well, it can generate lots of traffic for your business, potentially earning you more customers over time.

Writing a guest post for SEO takes things just a step further. These articles or blogs must contain search engine optimization strategies to help boost the content (and your business) so that it ranks higher on a search engine results page (SERP). One strategy to always incorporate is a strong keyword strategy. This means identifying keywords relevant to your business and product or service that may match a common search query by a member of your target audience.

Once these keywords are identified, you can use them in your guest post. The average guest posts can be anywhere between 500 and 1000 words, while many more are 2500 words a little longer. The longer your content, the more opportunities for skillful optimization, backlinks, and including important information.

Guest posting is an effective way to gain awareness for your business, and a valuable link-building tool to boost your SEO capabilities. Let us at Directive take a look at your backlink profile and fill in the gaps where needed. Get a free proposal with us today!