Is Guest Blogging Part of a Content Marketing Strategy?

Is guest blogging part of your content marketing strategy? If not, it should be! Guest blogging for a content marketing blog can go a long way toward your content marketing efforts. This article will answer any questions you have about guest blogging. It will go over what guest blogging is, how it applies to content marketing strategy, steps to creating the best content marketing blogs, and the benefits of guest blogging, and how safe guest posting is for SEO.

Guest blogging can be a great tool for your business. In fact, 60% of blogs host between one and five guest blogs per month. This article has everything you need to know about guest blogging, content marketing, and SEO for your business.

What is Guest Blogging?

Guest blogging is exactly what it sounds like. Guest blogging is a content marketing and SEO technique that involves someone writing and publishing a blog post on a third-party website or blog to promote their personal or corporate brand. Ideally, you will choose a website or blog that shares your target audience. The top content marketing blogs boost traffic by focusing on valuable content, business leaders, lead generation, research reports, and more. Your guest blog might share the latest industry news or industry trends.

Bloggers can be influential people when it comes to trafficking and building up connections on the internet. Even though guest blogging has to do with getting to know your audience through a third-party website, you may indirectly start to increase your influence in the social media world as well.

Guest blogging also expands your audience. Instead of only having your initial audience, you are now adding the blogger’s audience. If your guest post holds something of value to the blogger’s audience, there’s a possibility that, after they’re done reading, they will head over to your website next for more valuable information. That is the goal of your marketing strategy.

Guest blogging can also benefit your SEO, especially when you post on a reputable and quality blog. By posting on a reputable blog, you can increase your SEO rank, thus, increasing your traffic.

Is Guest Blogging Part of a Content Marketing Strategy?

Yes, guest blogging can and should be part of a good content marketing strategy. It’s important to have a well-thought-out content marketing strategy, which can include strategies like guest blogging. Guest blogging is a successful content marketing strategy because it benefits the guest blogger and the blog. Many of the best content marketing blogs accept guest posts.

Benefits of Guest Blogging as Content Marketing Strategy

Not only does the publisher benefit from guest blogging, but also the author. The publisher wants to give their audience quality content, while the author needs a place to promote their brand. By using a guest blog, the author can show their expertise on their topic and give the publisher free content. (Pst: you might also accept guest posts on your own blog.)

The best way to use guest blogging is to not be overly promotional, but to use guest blogging as a way to educate the audience for your content marketing strategy.

There are several benefits to guest blogging:

• Instant exposure to your targeted traffic: If you write quality guest posts, you can expect to see your trafficking increase.

• Expansion of your personal network: Be active in the community by leaving comments, sharing posts, etc. Also invite your contributors to post on your site.
• Increase social media marketing activity: This includes the number of shares and following you’ll gain on your social media accounts.
• Improve your online authority: Authority is an important aspect in modern online marketing. If you don’t have good online authority, your customers won’t trust you as they otherwise would with great online authority.
• Improve your backlink profile: Many blogs have a rule where you need to include at least one link to their own site. Even though most blogs don’t offer compensation for your extra work, in the long run, it will improve your overall SEO.
• Increase in brand awareness: Try to be unique. When guest blogging, the customer doesn’t want to hear the same thing they can find elsewhere–bring something different to the table. Also make sure you include your brand voice in your guest post, to prevent voice inconsistencies and to sound personal to the customers.
• Receive useful feedback from the community: With guest blogging, you are able to be a part of the community. Part of that includes receiving feedback from both the customers and contributors. Include a call-to-action in your conclusion.

How to Guest Blog the Right Way

In order to reap the benefits, your business needs to know how to use guest blogging correctly.

Many blog owners welcome guest blogging. However, some blog owners publish guest posts that aren’t high-quality, or even relevant to what their blog is about–they accept any guest post that will pay them to publish it.

Guest blogging can also help your off-site SEO through link building efforts. Part of improving your search optimization, you can incorporate link building strategies. This includes, reaching out to guest blogging and PR companies.

How to Find the Right Content Marketing Blogs for Your Guest Post

To start guest blogging, there are two things to do in order to find the right blog:

• Market research: No blog is created equal. You will need to look at their authority score, what type of blog they are (what they advertise), and how many followers that blog has to determine if it’s the right place for your content marketing blog post.
• Contact the editor: If you want to start guest blogging, you’re going to need to contact the blog you want to post on. Some blogs have step-by-step pitching instructions for guest posts. If they don’t, use the contact form to ask if the blog accepts guest posts. If they do and ask for a guest post, send a quality pitch.

After you discover that your chosen blog is a great fit for your brand, and you have contacted the editor to guest post, there are a couple more steps before you’re finished.

• Wait for the blog’s approval: Blog editors receive many guest pitches, so it might take a couple of weeks for the editor to get back to you.

• Submit your guest post: Once the editor gives you the okay to post on their blog, then you can send in the approved guest post, following any steps or guidelines that the blog has set up. If the blog’s editor wants you to make changes, then continue to edit your post until it meets the requirements.

• Publish your post and plan ahead: Just as your company might have a calendar to stick to, the best blogs have calendars too. Having a set calendar and plan can improve your SEO marketing strategy. You should expect your guest blog to be posted within the following months after it’s pitched. If it’s holiday- or season-related, you should plan ahead, instead of pitching those types of posts within the same month you want it posted.

Content Marketing Blog Post Tips

Whether you’re the company reaching out to blogs, or you’re the blogger looking for people to guest blog, there are a few things to keep in mind to make sure the guest blog is post-ready.

• Quality post: There are several tools to use to check the authority of the blog and the type of audience the blog attracts. If you need help finding tools or checking the authority, SEO Design Chicago can help.
• Only build relationships with repetitive marketers: If you’re the marketing company looking for guest blogs to publish, make sure the content is relevant to your brand, accurate, and well-written. If not, keep looking for a guest blog that will fit that criteria.
• Keep in mind your name: When you use guest blogs, remember that your name is now attached to them, and it’s reflected on you. Never publish on low-quality sites.

Buying Guest Blogs

Many places and marketers are open to guest posts. There are several places to look for buying guest blogs, as well as services that will help you with buying guest blogs. An SEO Design Chicago representative can give you more information or help in how to buy guest blogs.

Finding Guest Blogging Opportunities

If you’re trying to find where to guest post, the first thing you want to do is target what your main goal is and what industries focus on your main goal. Some of your goals may focus on a specific industry, audience, engaged readership, or social media activity.

Is Guest Posting Safe in SEO?

Guest blogging can be safe, or it can hurt your SEO. What matters is how you go about guest blogging in search engine optimization.

Guest Posting and Search Engine Optimization

The main reason why guest posting might be unsafe in SEO are because of the links. For example, Google reminds marketers that being caught publishing spammy links can hurt your search rankings if they find some links are questionable. Make sure you verify that the links have authority. You’ll not only have to build authority and trust with search engines, but also with customers.

A few guest posting practices to avoid include:

• Multiple links back to the promoted site
• Keyword rich anchor text
• Promotional text links within blog posts
• Articles placed on sites that solicit payment for publication
• Articles put on non-SEO sites that have links to SEO sites
• Publishing on website with articles that have low-quality links

The best way to produce a post with high-quality links is to not think about your articles as link-building projects. Rather, think of them as a marketing project. The purpose of the guest blogs should be a way to get your brand name or service out there.

Once you prove that you and your links hold authority, you don’t have to worry about search engines as much. Instead, focus on the people. Also make sure you don’t copy your competitors. Write guest blogs that solve the audience’s problems; don’t repeat what they’ve already heard many times before.

If you are concerned about hurting your SEO with guest blogging, hire professional content marketers who specialize in pitching guest blog posts to help you with your content strategy.

Make Guest Blogging Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy

Now that you know the basics of guest blogging and SEO, you can get started with guest blogging as part of your content marketing strategy! Our professional content marketers can help you creating content marketing blogs, pitch them to the best content marketing blogs, and give you more content marketing advice. SEO Design Chicago is a full service online marketing agency that employs the top digital marketers. We can also help you with more content marketing strategies and other digital marketing services, like social media marketing, video marketing, quality content creation, email marketing, and search engine optimization. Contact us today for more expert marketing strategies!

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I find high-quality blogs that accept guest posts in my industry?

Finding the right blogs for guest posting requires thorough market research. Start by searching for “[your industry] + guest post” or “[your niche] + write for us” in Google. Look for blogs with high authority scores, engaged readership, and content that aligns with your brand values. Check their domain authority using tools like Moz or Ahrefs, analyze their social media engagement, and review their existing content quality. Many reputable blogs have dedicated pages with guest posting guidelines, submission requirements, and contact information.

You can also research where your competitors are guest posting and explore industry publications, trade magazines, and influential bloggers in your space. Remember to prioritize quality over quantity – it’s better to publish on fewer high-authority sites than many low-quality ones.

2. What should I include in a guest post pitch to increase my chances of acceptance?

A successful guest post pitch should be concise, personalized, and demonstrate value to the blog’s audience. Start by addressing the editor by name and mentioning specific recent posts you enjoyed to show you’re familiar with their content. Propose 2-3 specific topic ideas that haven’t been covered recently on their blog but would interest their readers. Include a brief author bio highlighting your expertise and credentials in the topic area.

Attach 2-3 samples of your best previously published work to demonstrate your writing quality. Keep your pitch under 200 words, be professional yet personable, and clearly explain how your proposed content will benefit their audience. Avoid being overly promotional about your own business – focus on the educational value you’ll provide to their readers.

3. How many backlinks should I include in my guest post, and where should they point?

The key to safe guest posting for SEO is moderation and relevance. Typically, include no more than 1-2 links back to your own website in the body of the article, and these should be naturally incorporated and genuinely helpful to readers. Most blogs allow one link in your author bio, which is the safest place for a promotional link to your homepage or relevant service page.

Any links within the content should point to genuinely useful resources that add value to the article – this could be a relevant blog post, tool, or resource on your site. Avoid keyword-rich anchor text and instead use natural, descriptive text for your links. Remember, Google penalizes spammy link-building practices, so focus on creating valuable content rather than treating guest posts as link-building opportunities.

4. How long does it typically take to see results from guest blogging efforts?

Guest blogging results vary depending on your goals and the authority of the sites you’re publishing on. For immediate benefits like brand exposure and referral traffic, you may see results within days of publication, especially if the host blog promotes your post on social media. For SEO benefits, it typically takes 3-6 months to see improvements in search rankings, as search engines need time to crawl and index the new content and backlinks.

Building authority and thought leadership through guest blogging is a longer-term strategy that may take 6-12 months of consistent effort to show significant results. The key is consistency – aim to publish 1-2 quality guest posts per month rather than sporadic posting. Track metrics like referral traffic, social shares, new followers, and brand mentions to measure your guest blogging success over time.

5. What are the biggest mistakes to avoid when guest blogging?

Common guest blogging mistakes include being overly promotional instead of educational, submitting low-quality or recycled content, targeting irrelevant or low-authority blogs, and violating Google’s link-building guidelines. Avoid publishing the same content on multiple sites, as this can hurt your SEO through duplicate content issues. Don’t ignore the host blog’s guidelines or try to sneak in extra promotional links beyond what’s allowed.

Another major mistake is not engaging with the community after publication – always respond to comments on your guest post and share it on your own social media channels. Avoid using keyword-stuffed anchor text for links, publishing on sites that clearly sell guest post placements, or focusing solely on link-building rather than providing genuine value to readers.

6. Should I accept payment for guest posts on my own blog, or only publish free content?

The decision to accept paid guest posts depends on your blog’s goals and Google’s guidelines. If you do accept paid guest posts, you must follow Google’s guidelines by using “sponsored” or “nofollow” tags on any links in paid content to avoid SEO penalties. However, many successful blogs only accept unpaid, high-quality guest content to maintain editorial integrity and avoid potential Google penalties. Free guest posts often result in higher-quality content since writers are motivated by exposure rather than just payment.

If you do accept paid posts, be extremely selective about quality and relevance, clearly disclose sponsored content to readers, and ensure the content provides genuine value to your audience. Many experts recommend focusing on building relationships with quality contributors rather than monetizing guest post opportunities.

7. How can I measure the success of my guest blogging content marketing efforts?

Measuring guest blogging success requires tracking multiple metrics aligned with your content marketing goals. For traffic and exposure, monitor referral traffic from guest posts using Google Analytics, tracking both immediate and long-term traffic patterns. Measure brand awareness through social media mentions, shares of your guest posts, and growth in your social media followers. For SEO benefits, track improvements in your domain authority, search rankings for target keywords, and the quality of backlinks gained. Lead generation can be measured through newsletter signups, contact form submissions, or sales that can be attributed to guest post traffic.

Also track relationship-building metrics like new industry connections, speaking opportunities, or collaboration requests that result from your guest posting efforts. Set up UTM parameters for links in your guest posts to accurately track conversions and ROI from your guest blogging activities.