Guest blogging is one of the most valuable link-building strategies…when done correctly. That said, failing to put the time in to understand guest blogging best practices will invariably result in you wasting a lot of time, effort, and money.
With that in mind, these are the biggest mistakes that businesses make when guest blogging and how you can avoid them…
1 – Not having a guest blogging strategy in place
This is the big one: if you are planning on guest blogging and building your audience, brand awareness, and back-link profile then you need to have a strategy in place before you get started.
Are you trying to rank for specific keywords? If so then you should be creating high-value content that supports those focus keywords and creates opportunities for you to add relevant inbound links.
Don’t ball in without a plan. Take your time and plot your trajectory!
2 – Reaching out to the wrong blog sites
Not all guest blog websites are created equal and as such, you should take your time to identify the very best that will ultimately add the most value to your guest blogging strategy. Here are a few things to look out for:
- Industry relevant blogs (a New York City SEO company guest blogging on a Food Blog about the importance of page load speed is not ideal).
- OR some industry-overlap (using the same example as above, only posting on a self-improvement blog about how to start an eCommerce business, convert traffic into customers, and achieve financial independence can work).
- Reputable blogs with a respectable PR (Page Rank is another important factor. You should aim to guest blog on the most reputable and well-respected blog sites in your niche. This will invariably increase the ‘link value’).
- Don’t neglect lower PR sites if they are ‘up and coming’ (you can find a balance between high and low PR so long as the lower PR sites are set to grow in the future. That way, your link strength will improve over the coming months which can be a shrewd investment indeed).
3 – Not tracking your outreach
Another costly mistake is failing to track your outreach. It might seem like a non-issue, but if you end up reaching out to the same blog sites over and over again, it’s going to be an unnecessary waste of time.
Not only that, but it’s a sure way of creating a name for yourself. There’s nothing more off-putting to a blog manager than someone who apparently can’t take no for an answer.
Instead, create a spreadsheet so that you can easily track your progress. There are countless guest blog websites out there, many of which are of a high quality and will gladly accept your submissions (provided the quality is on point of course).
4 – Paying low-quality writers
It doesn’t matter how good a guest blogging website is if your writers aren’t up to scratch. Not only do you run the risk of having multiple articles rejected (which can be costly), but even if the content does get approved, if the content is low-value, nobody will be interested in reading or sharing it.
On the other hand, if you invest in gifted writers who are knowledgeable in your field and can create genuinely helpful and authoritative content, you’ll increase your chances of your guest blog content having greater engagement.
Demonstrate your authority and write with clear intention: to improve lives. This is one of Google’s primary ranking factors and it translates wonderfully into the guest blogging arena.
People first!
5 – Failing to write for the blog’s audience
This is another reason why it is so important to share your content on industry-relevant websites (or those with reasonable industry-overlap); because you may struggle to appeal to the blog’s audience.
When developing content for a guest blog, you must ensure that their readers will enjoy and can ultimately benefit from the information that you wish to share.
Remember, you are a ‘guest’ on their website and as such you must act accordingly. This means abiding the house rules and appealing to their readers.
Final thoughts
Here’s a quick recap on the biggest guest blogging mistakes to avoid:
- Not having a strategy.
- Targeting the wrong websites.
- Failing to track your outreach.
- Paying low-quality writers.
- Not writing for the blog’s audience.
If you avoid the above mistakes and commit to posting quality content on reputable and industry-relevant websites, you’ll have a much easier time climbing the rankings. After all, if you’re going to do it you just as well do it right!
