Does Guest Posting for Backlinks Really Work?

Intro

Yes and No.

Yes, if you do it the right way.

No, if you are doing it for the sake of manipulating the search engine.

Despite Google's strong messaging in recent years, guest posting remains a favored strategy for building links and achieving positive outcomes.

Backlinks are crucial in establishing your site's authority and gaining recognition from Google's algorithm as a reliable and informative source.

These backlinks act as endorsements.

Now the question comes - how to earn backlinks the right way? What Google thinks about Guest posting for link building.

Let's explore these questions one by one.

What Is Guest Posting?

In simple terms, guest posting involves sharing your content on external websites.

It's a widely used technique in digital marketing, and it can be an effective SEO tool since it allows you to include links back to your own website.

This, in turn, can positively impact your search engine rankings.

What's Wrong with Guest Posting?

The problems arise when guest posting is used incorrectly or with unethical practices. Due to the perceived SEO advantages of guest blogs, some individuals have abused this technique by overusing it.

As a result, Google has repeatedly expressed its concerns to the digital marketing community, emphasizing the importance of adhering to good practices in guest posting.

"overused by a bunch of low-quality, spammy sites". Matt Cutts in 2014 criticized guest posts written for quick links to manipulate Google's algorithm rather than to add value to readers.

While Google's warning didn't imply completely discontinuing guest posting, it emphasized the importance of focusing on high-quality content that engages readers rather than solely targeting search engines.

It's crucial to adhere to Google's webmaster guidelines regarding link schemes and avoid any misuse or manipulation of the system. You can still reap the benefits of the guest posting by prioritizing valuable content and following the guidelines.

Within Google's guidelines, there's nothing wrong with guest posting.

How to Ethically Approach Guest Posting?

When crafting content for external websites, it's crucial to remember that your goal extends beyond obtaining a link. Your primary objective in guest posting should be to educate and provide value to your target audience. By focusing on delivering valuable insights and knowledge, you can ensure that your guest posts serve a greater purpose.

Here are a few effective tips that you must follow when creating backlinks with guest posting:

Choose The Right Sites

It's important to be discerning when choosing websites for guest posting opportunities. Select sites that align with your target audience, ensuring relevance.

Additionally, check the domain authority and backlinks associated with the site before reaching out.

Joining communities can also help find mutual Guest posting opportunities. Consider utilizing a guest post opportunity finder tool to streamline your search for opportunities.

Draft a Convincing First Outreach Email

Writing the right outreach email is as important as composing your first guest post. You should take the time to create an impressive pitch that convinces the guest posting site's editor that you are the right fit for the job.

Research thoroughly about the site you wish to guest post on. You must impress the blog site owner that you know their website and genuinely wish to feature on their blog. You may like to know about the Natural Link Building

Choose The Post Topics Carefully

You may have impressed the blogger, but your guest post will only be accepted if you choose the right topics for the article. You need to choose a guest post topic that is on brand for both your expertise and the niche of the guest blog site.

Also, one must not forget to go the extra mile, suggest more topics, and ask the blog site to pick one. For additional guest post topic ideas, you may take the help of Google Trends or even get inspired by the guest blog's previously published articles.

Follow The Guidelines

You are trying to create backlinks for your website through guest posting, but you should also promote your products in the guest post. Before selecting a site to write a guest post, you should review its guidelines.

If you are okay with the rules, then only reach out to them. Also, follow these rules thoroughly when composing a guest post to get a better chance of getting accepted.

Share Your Guest Post on Social Media

Once your guest post is published, you must share the link on all your social media sites and promote the guest blog article as much as possible.

This will not only help you get even more traffic and contribute to your and the guest blog's site authority, but it will also help you nurture your relationship with fellow bloggers better.

Building connections in the same niche and industry for future opportunities and collaborations is always good.

Here are a few tips to help keep you on the straight and narrow with guest posting.

Don't Abuse Anchor Text

Avoid using exact-match keywords as your anchor text when getting links from guest posts. While anchor text still directly influences rankings, it's important to maintain a natural and varied anchor text profile from external links.

Use tools such as Ahrefs and SEMrush to get a handle on your anchor text profile and maintain a balanced anchor text ratio of a combination of branded and commercial.

Don't Keyword Stuff, and Keep Your Audience in Mind

Write for people, not search engine crawlers! Set out to provide truly useful information to readers. This also means Google won't see your content as unnatural and written specifically to dodge their guidelines.

Don't Mass Produce, and Repurpose Content with Caution

Google's warning specifically targeted large-scale article campaigns. This ties in with a spammy tactic called article spinning. This process involves tweaking and editing parts of a post to have it published on multiple sites.

While repurposing content you have written previously for a different audience is fine, it's not to take that piece of content and rewrite it repeatedly. It's safer and likely to get sustainable results if you write original guest blog content that adds value to your target audience.

So, Is Guest Posting Still Good for Backlinks?

In short, the answer is yes. Guest posting within Google's guidelines is still good for link building. Adding useful content to high-quality, relevant websites can aid backlink building.

Like any other SEO tactic, it can be abused, and if you violate Google's webmaster guidelines, it will go very wrong for you.

What are your thoughts on guest posting for backlinks? Does it have a future? We'd love to hear from you.