Guest posts are a great way to drive more traffic to your website, but how do you even start that process? This article will answer questions like “What are guest blogs?” and “Do I have to pay for a guest post?” to help you learn how to take your marketing and SEO strategies to the next level.
What Is A Guest Post?
- 1 What Is A Guest Post?
- 2 Benefits Of Guest Posting
- 3 What Are Backlinks?
- 4 How Do Guest Posts Work?
- 5 Guest Blogging and Content Marketing
- 6 Make Your Guest Post Stand Out
- 7 Other Means of Increasing Website Traffic
- 8 Do I Have to Pay For A Guest Post?
- 9 Guest Blogs with SEO Design Chicago
- 10 FAQ: Guest Posting
- 10.1 1. How much should I expect to pay for a quality guest post?
- 10.2 2. How do I find legitimate guest posting opportunities in my industry?
- 10.3 3. What should I include in my guest post pitch to increase acceptance rates?
- 10.4 4. How many backlinks can I include in a guest post without appearing spammy?
- 10.5 5. How long should a guest post be to be effective?
- 10.6 6. Can guest posting hurt my SEO if done incorrectly?
- 10.7 7. How often should I publish guest posts to see meaningful results?
To begin our discussion of guest blogging and answer the question, “How do guest posts work?”, it is important to first understand what guest blogs are and what they look like.
In simple terms, a guest blog is when you invite another writer outside of your company or team to write something for your blog that you will publish, or when you are invited to write a post for someone else’s company blog. Typically, you can assume that these posts will still have something to do with your business’s scope or line of work.
This practice is much more common than you may think. Roughly 50% of blogs reach out to 1-10 people every month to ask them to guest blog for them. It is a great strategy for content marketing and can have a lot of benefits for both your company and the guest writer.
Benefits Of Guest Posting
So, what are some of the benefits of guest posts? There are plenty that we could highlight here, but we have selected just a few to focus on.
For The Site Host
Benefits of a guest blogger on your website include:
- Relieving some stress from your content writing team
- Building stronger connections within your industry
- Adding a breath of fresh air to your content with new knowledge and a new writing style
- Keeping content fresh and improving your SEO
For The Guest Blogger
Benefits of being a guest blogger for a different site include:
- Building stronger connections and opening yourself up to new potential opportunities
- Expanding your reach with new readers
- Earning anywhere from $50 to $300 on average
- Charging per word to get more control over what you are earning
What Are Backlinks?
Another essential element to understand about guest posts is the way they interact with backlinks. Backlinks are a key part of building your website’s search engine optimization (SEO) and pushing you further up the search engine results pages (SERPs) to attract more site traffic.
So, what is a backlink, and how does it help your website?
In the simplest of terms, a backlink is a link from one website that directs a user back to your website. One of the best ways to grow your business is by reaching a wide audience. If you are a guest blogger on someone else’s website, and you are able to include a link to your own website within your blog post, you are instantly growing your audience and exposing new people to your products and services.
Backlinks and SEO work closely together to help improve your website’s ranking. When you have more credible websites linking to your website, search engines will recognize you as credible and rank you higher on the SERPs. Then, as your ranking improves, other websites will find you more credible and create backlinks to your website.
How Do Guest Posts Work?
The next part of this equation, learning to drive traffic to your website, involves understanding how guest posts work and what you can do to build them effectively.
How To Guest Blog
There are a few steps that go into writing a successful guest blog. Here’s what you can do to stay on top:
- Pick Your Industry: Understand what you will be writing about. Find something that you are knowledgeable and passionate about, and stick with it.
- Build Rapport in Round-Up Posts: Make sure you start building relationships with other guest bloggers and experts in your industry. This can be done through round-up posts. After enough round-ups, you can start working on pitching guest posts.
- Find a Site to Post On: Look for guest blog opportunities! This can be as easy as a quick Google search for guest blogs in your industry.
- Plan Your Post: Even with some experience and authority under your belt, it is important to be thoughtful and deliberate with your first guest blog. Look for a site with good authority and make sure it is factual, well-written, and makes a good impression.
Guest Blogging and Content Marketing
When it comes to the question, “What is a guest post?”, one important element to the answer is the fact that guest blogs are great for your content marketing strategy. There are a lot of key elements to writing a strong guest blog and posting it, including pitching it properly, researching for the right website to host it, and more.
If you are a website looking to boost your content marketing strategy, you may want to start searching for guest bloggers for your website. You may be asking, “Do I have to pay for a guest post?” Typically, the answer is yes, but the benefits are astronomical and can increase your site’s traffic and even your webstore’s profits.
Make Your Guest Post Stand Out
As we have previously discussed, guest posting is a fairly common strategy, with sites reaching out to 1-10 contacts every month on average to commission guest blogs from professional writers. To get hired, it is important to make sure your guest posts stand out for all the right reasons. Here are a few tips and tricks to ensure your blogs are a cut above the rest:
- Research blogs that you enjoy: When your writing shows passion and enthusiasm for a topic, you are more likely to be hired by websites covering that subject.
- Pitch to everyone: It might be easy to aim high and pitch only to big blogs, but don’t limit yourself! Make sure you are pitching to smaller blogs, too; you are more likely to get noticed by working with them.
- Promote your own guest blogs: Talk about posts before they even go live, then take advantage of the publishing day. Pin the post to your socials and keep highlighting it for a couple of weeks after it comes out!
- Focus on quality over quantity: Quantity is still important, but never compromise the quality of your work simply to finish another writing piece. Find the maximum number of pitches you can send per week and focus on doing them well.
Other Means of Increasing Website Traffic
One of the main answers to the question, “How do guest posts work?” is that they increase your website’s traffic. A guest post is a great way to pull new audiences to your website and get new demographics to interact with your products, services, and blogs. However, blogs are not the only way to increase your website traffic. Here are a couple of other suggestions for how you can boost your site traffic to the next level:
SEO: Boost your traffic through SEO tactics such as:
- Writing strong meta descriptions
- Writing proper title tags to match search intent
- Focusing on local SEO
- Adding internal links to your website
Content Marketing: A hard-hitting content marketing strategy can include:
- Writing a blog
- Producing podcasts
- Investing in email marketing
- Engaging organically on social media
Paid Social Media Ads: Put your site in front of your ideal customers by placing ads on:
In-Person Traffic: If you have a physical storefront, you can boost your site traffic by:
- Encouraging customers to connect online
- Participating in local events
- Making QR codes
Do I Have to Pay For A Guest Post?
A common question about guest blogging is whether you have to buy guest posts. Typically, if you are a website looking to hire a guest blogger, you will have to commission a writer for a short-term project. However, if you are a blogger, you can often contribute guest posts without paying to publish. Here are some websites where you can pitch your guest blogs for free:
- Search Engine Watch
- EZ Rankings
- CyberChimps
- HubSpot Blog
- Blogging Wizard
- Main Street Host
- Mashable
- Social Media Examiner
- GoDaddy
- Harvard Business Review
Guest Blogs with SEO Design Chicago
After answering the question, “What is a guest post?”, it is important to learn how to use guest posts to drive traffic to your site. If you need an extra push to pitch your blogs or to find the right candidates for guest posting on your site, SEO Design Chicago can help. Our team can help you achieve the best outcome for your blog and writing. Contact us today.
FAQ: Guest Posting
1. How much should I expect to pay for a quality guest post?
Guest post pricing varies significantly based on the writer’s experience, website authority, and content length. On average, you can expect to pay $50-$300 per guest post, with experienced writers charging $0.10-$1.00 per word. High-authority websites may charge $500+ for guest posting opportunities. However, many smaller blogs accept guest posts for free in exchange for quality content. Consider the website’s domain authority, traffic, and audience alignment when evaluating cost versus potential return on investment.
2. How do I find legitimate guest posting opportunities in my industry?
Start with Google searches using terms like “guest post,” “write for us,” or “submit a guest post” combined with your industry keywords. Look for websites that regularly publish content in your niche and have good domain authority. Check competitors’ backlink profiles to see where they’ve guest posted. Join industry forums, LinkedIn groups, and Twitter chats to network with other professionals. Many websites have dedicated “Write for Us” pages outlining their guest posting guidelines and requirements.
3. What should I include in my guest post pitch to increase acceptance rates?
Your pitch should include a brief introduction of yourself and your expertise, 2-3 specific article ideas with compelling headlines, a brief outline for each proposed topic, examples of your previous published work, and an explanation of why your content would benefit their audience. Keep pitches concise (under 200 words), personalize them to each website, and demonstrate that you’ve read their existing content. Include your author bio and any relevant credentials or achievements in your field.
4. How many backlinks can I include in a guest post without appearing spammy?
Most reputable websites allow 1-2 contextual backlinks within the content, plus one link in your author bio. Avoid excessive self-promotion – focus on providing value to readers first. The links should be naturally integrated and relevant to the content topic. Some websites have stricter policies allowing only author bio links, while others may permit more if the content is exceptionally valuable. Always check the website’s guest posting guidelines before submitting.
5. How long should a guest post be to be effective?
Most successful guest posts range from 1,000-2,500 words, with 1,500 words being a good target for most industries. The length should match the hosting website’s typical content length and provide comprehensive coverage of the topic. Focus on quality over quantity – a well-researched, engaging 1,200-word post is better than a thin 2,000-word piece. Check the host website’s existing posts to understand their preferred content length and depth of coverage.
6. Can guest posting hurt my SEO if done incorrectly?
Yes, poor guest posting practices can harm your SEO. Avoid low-quality, spammy websites with poor domain authority, sites that sell links openly, or websites unrelated to your industry. Don’t use exact-match anchor text repeatedly, and avoid posting the same content on multiple sites. Google penalizes manipulative link building, so focus on earning placements on reputable websites through high-quality content. Quality over quantity is essential for maintaining your website’s search engine reputation.
7. How often should I publish guest posts to see meaningful results?
Aim for 2-4 high-quality guest posts per month for optimal results without overwhelming your schedule. Consistency is more important than frequency – it’s better to publish one excellent guest post monthly than four mediocre ones. The key is building relationships with website owners and establishing yourself as a reliable contributor. Track your results to see which publications drive the most traffic, engagement, and conversions, then focus your efforts on similar high-performing opportunities while gradually expanding to new websites.
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