Posts

8 Ways to Prepare Before Writing a Guest Post

/0 Comments/in /by
In many ways, writing a guest blog post is just like writing a regular post for your own blog. However, there’s a lot of pressure, especially when there’s more at stake: guest blogging can be a huge benefit to your own website if you are accepted by a publisher, but being rejected is never a fun feeling. When writing a guest post, you should follow the same writing routine you normally do for your own website, but keep in mind a few key differences between a guest post and a regular blog post; most importantly, a guest post is your first introduction to a new audience. Because you are trying to convert new readers instead of appeasing old ones, you need to put your best foot forward. Make sure your post is polished and completely readable. This might mean finding an extra proof-reader or two.

So how do you prepare to write a guest post? Try a few of these steps and see what feels right for you:

  1. Think about your areas of expertise. Guest posts should contain valuable and informative content – if you aren’t teaching something new or sharing something interesting, it isn’t worth it to you or your publisher. Before you settle on a topic, make sure it’s a field that you are totally confident writing about. Besides, you’ll enjoy writing about something you’re familiar with.
  2. Don’t worry about keywords when you are deciding your topic. Trying to rank for keywords on an individual blog post is not worth as much to your SEO as branding. Use guest posts to display your own talent, rather than trying to work the system of SEO.
  3. Once you’ve settled on your topic, then you can start thinking about your angle. Are you writing this from a specific perspective? An example of this would be “time management for parents” rather than just “time management.” Or maybe you’re writing your post for a specific audience, such as people who have some experience but aren’t yet experts. Writing your blog post from a predetermined angle will help you organize your thoughts, as well as make your post fresh and interesting.
  4. Think long and hard about the format of your blog post. In fact, you may even want to try it a couple different ways to see what works best.
  5. Your guest post should be at least 300 words long, but ideally more than 500. Make sure you have a lot to say about your chosen topic.
  6. Grab a friend or other trusted individual to proofread your post. You may even want to read your post out loud to see how it sounds. You and your proofreader should check thoroughly for clarity and readability, not just grammar and spelling mistakes.
  7. Create or find some interesting rich media (pictures, infographics, graphs, videos, etc.) to add to your blog post.
  8. The title of this post is especially important because you are trying to put your best foot forward. To ensure that you are creating a perfect and catchy title, write out 10 title options and pick your favorite one.

Now you’re ready to submit your article to a publisher! Your post will contain valuable content at the same time as remaining SEO-friendly.

What steps do you take before writing and submitting a guest post? Let us know in the comments!

The Dos and Don’ts of Guest Posting [Infographic]

/0 Comments/in /by

Although guest posting has gone through its ups and downs this year, it is still a viable method of reaching a new audience or adding fresh content to your website. However, spammers have used guest posting purely for SEO purposes, creating content that is not valuable or informative; Googlehas caught on to this method and is stricter than ever when it comes to guest posting. Before you guest post, read this inforgraphic to make sure you aren’t falling on Google’s bad side!

Guest Posting | Guest Blogging

Learn more about guest posting at “Guest Posting 101: A Beginner’s Guide.”

How to Guest Post Without Pissing Off Google

/0 Comments/in , , /by

SEO, Link Trading, and Guest Blogging

We all know that SEO affects pagerank, and the purpose of having a high pagerank is to get more visitors to your website, which then results in more money – but what exactly does it mean to have a high pagerank? The real underlying message behind being at the top of a search query is that your website is an authority on a certain subject. What you are conveying to Google is that you are an expert on your keywords, and that the information contained on your website is valuable to readers. Because ultimately, Google doesn’t create SEO algorithms to help businesses or blogs earn more money. Nope – it’s all about the individual user for them, and how they can enhance the searching experience.

This is where linking comes in. When another blog or website links to you, they are passing on some of their “link juice.” So basically, they are signaling to Google to pass on a bit of their authority on to you. Google sees that another website likes you and finds your information valuable, which in turn means that your information must be valuable to the Google user. And that improves your pagerank.

And that’s why link trading was such a popular SEO strategy, until Google caught on to people using it for SEO purposes. Once an SEO method becomes well known and encouraged by SEO experts, spammers will swoop in and use it for “evil.” Then Google finds out about it and starts penalizing the spammers and giving things like link exchanging less SEO weight.

Unfortunately, guest blogging may be the next SEO method to fall under Google’s ax. The webspam team leader at Google, Matt Cutts, posted on his personal blog this week that guest blogging is dead. This spells trouble for all the bloggers out there who want to share their expertise, broaden their audience, or publish new content onto their own website. The advantages beyond exchanging link juice are many.

Of course, Matt Cutts later went on to say that guest blogging is still a viable option. His exact words were:

“There are still many good reasons to do some guest blogging (exposure, branding, increased reach, community, etc.). Those reasons existed way before Google and they’ll continue into the future. And there are absolutely some fantastic, high-quality guest bloggers out there.”

To put it simply, Google does not want you to guest blog for the sake of SEO. They want content to be valuable to the user, and so they are doing their best to discourage inauthentic guest posting.

 

How do we save guest posting?

Google has always recommended original, valuable content. Successful bloggers who want to produce quality content are already doing this. Writers should be using their expertise to produce interesting articles that are at least 500 words long. Publishers should field guest post submissions, taking only articles that are worth staking their reputations on.

The very best way to ensure that your guest posts won’t be penalized by Google is to use no follow links. What is a “no follow” link? Basically, when you create a no follow link, none of your link juice will be transferred over to the website you are linking to. When Google spiders your website, it will not follow the link to the other website and register it as one you want to give authority to. With no follow links, you can still produce great content and give credit where credit is due without risking your pagerank. Plus, readers can still click through to the link, giving the website you are linking to a higher readership.

To make a link “no follow,” you need to edit your HTML. Find the original URL. It should be surrounded by < and >. Before the closing bracket, insert (rel=“nofollow”) without the parentheses.

For example, if you were to create a backlink to FreeGuestPost, it would look like this in your WordPress post:

 

The HTML for a nofollow link

For many website owners, simply switching their backlinks to no follow made a huge difference in their pagerank. If you find that your pagerank is suffering, try updating some of your links.

 

Sources:

Rampton, John. “Matt Cutts Clarifies Guest Blogging for SEO (with tips).”http://www.searchenginejournal.com/matt-cutts-clarifies-guest-blogging-for-seo/. (22 Jan. 2014).

Hambrick, Kecia. “Nofollow, Dofollow, and your Google Page Rank.”http://basics4bloggers.com/2013/10/nofollow-dofollow-and-your-google-page-rank/. (22 Jan. 2014).

25 Comment Hacks: A Cheat Sheet for Inspiring Your Readers to Engage with Your Blog Posts

/0 Comments/in /by

Readers visit blogs for many reasons: to learn something new, to discover a new perspective, or to be entertained. But there is one reason that stays the same throughout every other motivation – they come to blogs to connect with other people. Both business blogs and personal blogs always have the prime directive of relating to the reader, because that’s what appeals to the reader the most. One good measurement of how well you are fulfilling this directive is whether or not your readers are commenting on your blog posts. Comments are a way for readers to respond to your blog post and to extend the conversation. So if your blog is struggling to get comments, look no further than this ultimate cheat sheet of 25 comment hacks:

  1. End your blog post with a question. Questions show the reader that you are interested in their thoughts, rather than just a one-sided conversation.
  2. Respond to the comments you receive. Even just a quick “thanks for stopping by!” shows commenters that you value their contributions.
  3. Use a contest to motivate readers to comment. The comment can be the participant’s entry into the contest.
  4. Ask readers to share a picture in the comments of something that relates to your post. If you’re talking about organization, ask them what their desk looks like and request proof!
  5. Make commenting as easy as possible. This might mean that you have to endure a certain amount of spam, but that’s better than losing potential commenters partway through the process.
  6. Write about a controversial topic. Take a stand.
  7. Use a plugin or widget that allows readers to “upvote” or “like” other comments. This will motivate readers to read through many comments to see who they agree or disagree with, which may further inspire them to comment themselves.
  8. Try not to delete comments, even if they are negative. You can delete spam and inappropriate material, but if someone doesn’t like what you have to say, let them express that. This will show other commenters that you are willing to listen – and it may inspire commenters who side with you to comment in opposition to the negative comment.
  9. Be positive in your own comments, even to the negative ones. You need to put on your most diplomatic hat. For positive comments, make the commenter feel good with praise or admiration of their thoughts.
  10. Comment on other blogs. This will gain you easy exposure, and the blog you comment on may return the favor.
  11. When you are writing your blog post, remember your audience. Write to them. If your audience feels like you are talking to them, they will be more likely to respond.
  12. Use the WordPress plugin “CommentLuv.” When readers comment on your blog, their latest blog post title will automatically show up with their remarks. That kind of free, easy publicity is hard for your audience to pass up.
  13. Create a poll that readers can vote on.
  14. Use insightful comments as a jumping off point for another blog post. Readers might have useful questions that you can answer, or new observations to flesh out your previous thoughts.
  15. Weed out spam. Seeing spam on someone’s blog post is like seeing garbage – people stay away from it. So while you should make commenting as easy as possible, you should also use an approval system, widget, or plugin so that you can moderate comments. If you moderate comments, just be sure to approve the good ones as quickly as possible.
  16. Open up other methods of communication. It’s easier to comment on social media or send a quick email, but having other lines of communication available eventually paves the way for readers to comment on the actual blog post.
  17. Allow users to comment anonymously.
  18. Create a comment policy and allow readers to access it easily. Comment policies can include what type of language is allowed, how commenters should interact with other readers, whether or not a backlink is allowed, etc. Then stick a link to that policy right next to where readers can submit comments.
  19. Install a plugin or widget that gives commenters the option of subscribing to the comments. This feature will notify readers if any other comments are made so that they can return to add more to the conversation.
  20. Publish a post from a guest. The other writer will publicize the blog post in different places than you usually do, inviting new traffic to your website.
  21. Create a numbered list post and ask readers to add to it. This is an especially compelling tactic if you leave your list incomplete.
  22. Have an approachable persona. Readers resent someone who acts like a know-it-all. A good way to accomplish this is to write about shortcomings or mistakes as well as successes and expertise.
  23. Invite readers to share their stories and experiences. If you’re sharing a bad travelling story, ask your readers to comment with one of their own.
  24. Ask visitors to subscribe to your blog. You can do this with an RSS feed or email newsletter(though email newsletters generally inspire more engagement). Consistent reminders of new posts will entice readers to visit more, leading to a higher probability of them commenting.
  25.  Write compelling content!

What strategy for gaining more comments would you add to the list? You know where to share it …

Sources:

Poh, Michael. “7 Splendid Techniques To Encourage Comments On Your Blog.”http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/encourage-blog-comments-tips/. (8 April 2014).

Hines, Krisiy. “5 Essential WordPress Plugins For Comments.”http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/essential-wordpress-comments-plugins/. (8 April 2014).

“How to Encourage Comments on Your Blog.” http://www.theblogmaven.com/how-to-encourage-more-comments-on-your-blog/. (8 April 2014).

Reiter, Grechen. “5 Ways to Get More Comments on Your Blog.” http://heartifb.com/2013/05/03/5-ways-to-get-more-comments-on-your-blog/. (8 April 2014).

Kingston, Charlene. “7 Tips to Increase Your Blog Comments.”http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/7-tips-to-increase-your-blog-comments/. (8 April 2014).

Urban, Diana. “9 Ways to Encourage People to Comment on your Blog.” http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/8906/9-Ways-to-Encourage-People-to-Comment-on-your-Blog.aspx. (8 April 2014).

3 Guest Blogging Myths That Haven’t Died in 2015

/0 Comments/in , , /by

You may have heard the rumors, but guest blogging isn’t dead.

Many successful bloggers continue to use it as a strategy to gain credibility and attention for their own sites and online marketers believe it’s here to stay. Floating misconceptions about guest blogging halted its popularity last year, but with the right intentions, it is still an effective marketing tool.

Late January of last year, Google engineer Matt Cutts declared on his blog that guest blogging was over. He later revised his statement, clarifying that he was referring to ‘spammy’ posts written solely for SEO purposes. However, his post still created a hesitancy toward guest blogging in general, resulting in a steady decline in what was once a growing practice just a few months earlier.

The timeline below details Google searches for the term “guest blogging” over time. It spiked when Cutts wrote his post, and you can see the decline still continues today.

Guest BloggingDoes this mean guest blogging isn’t as effective as it once was?

The answer is of course not – when used properly, guest blogging is just as effective today as it ever was. In Cutts’ revised statement he said:

“There are still many good reasons to do some guest blogging (exposure, branding, increased reach, community, etc.). I changed the title of this post to make it more clear that I’m talking about guest blogging for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes.”

The reason guest blogging took such a hit in popularity is because many people were using it as a spam service or to get links for their own website. A rising number of spammers published generic or irrelevant guest posts to boost traffic and get links

To combat this problem and offer better search results to its users, Google updated its algorithm to weed out sites that misuse guest blogging. Joshua Steimle, CEO of the internet marketing agency MWI, wrote that he believes Google will only devalue low-quality posts that contain an abnormal amount of links and keyword-rich text.

If guest blogging isn’t good for SEO purposes, then how will it benefit my site?

 Guest blogging still offers plenty of benefits to publishers and writers, but only if they avoid reproducing the ‘spammy’ posts mentioned above. Links are still a valuable source of traffic, but that doesn’t mean your posts have to be full of them to work.

Marketing writer Louis Gudema was able to take his company’s website from being buried under millions of search results to being number one by guest blogging. He wrote for several authoritative sites and built connections with other site owners (and their followers), which generated a huge push of traffic to his site.

Guest blogging is a win-win scenario. For writers, it offers free publicity, added credibility, and social media shares from followers of sites that have a large following in your niche market. And with some editing and selectivity, site owners benefit from guest posts as they will have less to write each week and can easily curate diverse content for their blogs.

But won’t my site be penalized for guest blog posts on Google’s search rankings?

It’s a commonly held misconception, but Google has no intention of penalizing authors for gaining traffic from quality, original content they’ve written for a relevant site. However, it is possible for your site to be penalized if you’re writing for links or less-than-credible sites.

The easiest way to avoid being penalized is to stop thinking about how you can get links from other sites, and instead think of ways you could increase your website’s traffic through guest posts. More traffic will lead to more links in the long run, so don’t worry if your blog post is published with a “nofollow” link.

When asked about the role of guest blogging in 2015, Blogging.org founder Zac Johnson had this to say:

“If you are guest blogging on other sites, make sure the quality is there. Don’t worry about the link back, as you should always have a full author bio at the bottom of the post. Focus on article quality and always link to real resources and examples. Follow these tips and you will continue to see guest blogging be one of your best marketing and branding platforms.”

The Big Picture

Guest blogging isn’t dead, if anything it’s been revived. Guest posts will become more valuable in 2015 as they are chosen selectively by publishers, crafted by experts in their field, and are written for content rather than SEO purposes. If you want to increase your audience and outreach for your website, consider guest posting effectively. You can’t be punished for great original content, and your website will benefit from the added visibility of a site with a larger following.

We’d like to know your experience as a guest blogger – What did you learn from the experience? Any advice you’d like to share to fellow bloggers? Let us know in the comment section below!