This is a guest post is by Ann Smarty, founder of a community of guest bloggers: My Blog Guest and first contribution as part of a new My Blog Guest – Splashpress Media partnership.
I used to be highly advocative of guest blogging as an effective link building strategy. I used to tell people that this way they could get a quality link back from a high-authority website for free. I used to say, these links (coming from high-quality content) are well-deserved and thus can’t be frowned upon by Google.
But now I wish I hadn’t said that.
Like many other things done online to promote yourself, the concept of guest blogging as the way to build links is being so much abused that it makes me shudder.
People go around spreading poor-quality content (even paying sometimes to get it posted on the blog) and call that “guest posting”. They send spam guest posting pitches and tell you they would “guest post for you for free” (never trust a spammer offering you anything for free. Spammers have nothing of value to offer!).
Now I am telling you: Don’t build links using guest posts. Forget about links.
Why Guest Posting Is NOT Effective for Building Links:
This is actually easy. Your effort spent creating a post and trying to get it published on a blog is going to be wasted:
- Focusing on links, you are not going to create good content. Poor-quality content will be rejected by all decent blog owners (especially if they notice you are using them to build links. No one likes being used!);
- You may still be able to get it published on a low-quality blog but the link will be worth nothing: the post will go in archive and you’ll see no value from your effort (no matter which aim you were pursuing).
I am sorry if I sound harsh. But I really feel pity for those who try to misinterpret the concept of guest blogging by using it in spam emails and offering it as link building service.
Your effort would be much better spent if you were just buying blog reviews and sponsored posts. You are saving your time and money then.
The problem is, by focusing on links, you are missing the real value of guest blogging.
So What Guest Blogging Is Actually Useful for Then?
Is guest blogging a time-waster then? Certainly not! But it is valuable only if you understand how things work!
- You will only be able to drive value if you get your posts published at high-quality blogs with “real” active readership. Links from those blogs will give you much more than just “virtual” link and PageRank power:
- They will drive actual followers to your site and promoters to your business.
- They will “indirectly” result in dozens (maybe hundreds) of links from people who will be citing you, including your posts in round-ups and bookmarking your article at social media sites;
- They will position you as expert and build your authority and brand awareness.
- This is only possible if if you focus on quality of your posts, if you sincerely try to provide value and get people interested.
That being said, if a backlink is the only thing that really matters, guest posting is the least effective of all other link building tactics. It is not worth your time and money.
Only get engaged into guest posting if you are looking for more benefits, if you care about your brand and business image and if you want to reach out to targeted audience.
This is a guest post by Ann Smarty, the owner of My Blog Guest – the ethical community of guest bloggers. If you are serious about guest posting, join us!
Post image by hmerinomx
