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Does Guest Blogging Still Work?

Does Guest Blogging Still Work?

| Apr 6, 2015 | Business Marketing

blog-012-300x225 With Google cracking down on websites that violate its guidelines left and right, webmasters are more fearful than ever of building backlinks. It’s no secret that backlinks remain a prime ranking signal used by search engines, but the wrong backlinks can have the opposite effect by lowering a site’s ranking. This has led many webmasters to disregard guest blogging as part of their overall SEO strategy. Before you call it quits, though, there are a few things you should know about this practice.

What Is Guest Blogging?

Guest blogging is the practice of writing and publishing/submitting a blog post to a high-traffic. The blog benefits from the free, hopefully high-quality content, while the author benefits from increased exposure and traffic. Depending on the blog’s guidelines, the author is usually allowed to include at least one link to his or her website at the bottom of the article. After reading the post, some of the blog’s visitors will likely click on the link to check out the author’s website.

Video: Matt Cuts Talks About Guest Blogging

In the video above, Google’s Webspam team leader Matt Cutts talks about guest blogging as a way to build backlinks. It’s not uncommon for webmasters to use this technique to build links and drive traffic to their sites. However, Google’s algorithm may catch some of these guest blogging, flagging them as spam.

Here are some key points to take away from Cutts’ video:

  • Guest blogging should only be a small part of your overall SEO strategy.
  • Never pay for guest blogging opportunities, as this violates Google’s webmaster guidelines.
  • Avoid using anchor text rich backlinks in your guest blog posts.
  • Focus on quality over quantity.
  • Only publish posts/articles on relevant, high-quality blogs that pertain to your niche.

Matt Cutts also published an article on the topic of guest blogging, aptly titled “The Decay and Fall of Guest Blogging for SEO.” He initially blasts guest blogging, saying it offers little-to-no SEO value, but he later adds that it’s a great way to generate exposure, brand recognition and increased traffic.

“It seems like most people are getting the spirit of what I was trying to say, but I’ll add a bit more context. I’m not trying to throw the baby out with the bath water. 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,” wrote Cutts.

To recap, guest blogging is okay, BUT it should only be done in moderation and with high-quality blogs.

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