A Guide to Guest Blogging

Guest blogging, also known as guest posting, is one of the most effective content marketing strategies out there right now. Whether you’re a business owner, a content creator or an SEO marketer, guest blogging can help you to build authority, improve your website’s search engine rankings and grow your audience, to name just a few benefits. In this article, we’ll be providing you with a simple guide for guest blogging so you know how to do it right.

What is guest blogging?

Guest blogging is the practice of writing and publishing an article on someone else’s website or blog for your own advertising and exposure purposes. It’s a mutually beneficial SEO and marketing strategy that results in website/blog traffic for both bloggers involved. In addition, the host blog gets new content, and the guest blogger enhances their credibility and trustworthiness by simply appearing on another domain. 

What are the benefits of guest blogging?

There are numerous benefits to be had by embarking on the marketing and SEO journey of guest blogging, including:

• It builds authority – Publishing on respected blogs establishes you as a thought leader in your niche. Readers are more likely to trust your insights if you’re featured on credible platforms
• It drives targeted traffic – a well-written, relevant post can direct qualified traffic back to your website. This audience is more likely to convert since they’re already interested in your niche
• It improves SEO & backlinks – quality guest posts often come with a backlink to your website. Backlinks from reputable sites help improve your site’s domain authority and search engine rankings
• It expands your network – guest blogging helps you build relationships with bloggers, influencers and editors in your industry. It can lead to collaborations, partnerships and future opportunities

How to execute guest blogging effectively

Guest blogging can be tricky, especially if you’ve never done it before or haven’t got much experience in this particular SEO and marketing technique. With this in mind, here’s a simple way in which you can execute guest blogging effectively, in a way that benefits both yourself and blog host:

Define your goals

Decide what you want to achieve with guest blogging. Do you want to boost SEO through backlinks or do you want to raise brand awareness? You might want to get more leads or increase website traffic, for instance. Think about your goals and what you want to achieve, solidify them and then go from there. This is because your goals will influence the types of blogs you target and the topics you write about. 

Find the right blogs to post on

It’s important that you’re posting your content to websites that are relevant and have some level of authority in the online world. If not, then your blog post simply will not be seen by those who are interested. For example, you wouldn’t post a blog post about gardening to BBC Good Food. You need to choose the host blog carefully to get the most out of it.

You should look for websites that are relevant to your niche, have engaged existing readership, accept guest contributions and have high domain authority. In addition, utilise online tools, such as Ahrefs, Semrush or BuzzSumo to identify good targets. Finally, and for good measure, use search queries like: 

• “Write for us” + [your niche]
• “Guest post guidelines” + [industry]
• “Submit a guest post” + [keyword]

Pitch your ideas effectively

Before you reach out to host bloggers or website owners, you must first read their content to understand the tone and the audience that follows it. You also need to check if they have guest post guidelines before getting in touch. Once you’ve done this, send a personalised email with a brief introduction, an explanation as to why you think you’re a good fit, 2-3 content ideas to pitch and a link to your portfolio. Just make sure you aren’t pitching generic ideas and make sure your topics are actionable and specific.

Write high-quality content that’s also value-driven

If your host blogger has accepted your pitch, there are things that you will need to start doing to make sure your content gets as much exposure while on the site as possible. With this in mind, you should:

• Follow the blog’s formatting and style guidelines
• Offer fresh insights or unique data
• Include relevant internal and external links
• Use visuals or examples to enhance readability 

It’s also worth noting that you aren’t overly self-promotional. You should be subtle, using an author bio with a link to your site or social media, which is usually enough.

Promote the content & engage with it 

After the post has gone live, it needs to be shared on your social media and email list. Engage with comments or feedback as well, as and when they’re received. This helps to build credibility and trustworthiness. Finally, it’s good etiquette to thank the host blogger for the opportunity they gave you to post on their website. This helps to strengthen your relationship and increase the chances of future collaborations.

Are there any guest blogging mistakes to avoid?

Yes. In short, there are mistakes that can be easily made when it comes to guest posting, or guest blogging, as it can also be referred to. Guest blogging isn’t just a way to gain backlinks and exposure, it’s a strategy to establish your voice, credibility and presence in your industry, which is why it’s important that you’re aware of the mistakes that can be made, so that you can avoid them. Here are the guest blogging mistakes to avoid:

• Spamming multiple blogs with the same content
• Ignoring the host blog’s audience or guidelines
• Overpromoting your own products/services
• Using low-quality or AI-generated content without editing
• Failing to follow up or build a relationship with the site owner

At Kumo, we provide customised digital marketing solutions to businesses throughout the UK. Located in the heart of Nottingham, our skilled team offers expertise in SEO, PPC, content creation, and website design, among other core services. Interested in learning more? Contact our approachable and knowledgeable team today – we’re always happy to help.