Guest Blogging: Beginner’s Guide

verb. Writing and publishing an article for another website or blog

Created by Lauren AtwellLast Modified: 1/30/2013

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Why?• Drive traffic to client’s site

• Improved online presence, search engine rank & client reputation/brand = Happier client with a more profitable business. – Ok, but HOW? Answer: Produce content w/ external link

• Internal linking: Posting a blog on client’s site that includes a link navigating to another page on the same site

• External linking: Posting blog/other content on different (yet credible) site & including link that navigates to relevant content on AE client’s website.

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Up  Your  Game• Posts should be around 500 to 1,000 words —

this is a pretty standard. It ensures the guest blogger is providing an insightful article, not just trying to get a link on your site. (Which you are in one aspect)

• This does not mean you can:– Stuff weak words into a sentence to make it longer– Go off on pointless tangents or ramblings (very tempting

when trying to meet a word count)• Ultimately, it just leads to weak content.

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Why Your Writing MattersWell-written content is what search engine spiders feed on, and quality content is the key to improving rank.

Content (aka your writing) is the absolute #1 draw for both search engine spiders and its users: humans. If your content is badly written and isn’t relevant to what your clients wants to be found for, then client site is neither search engine-friendly or user-friendly.

Content must use targeted keywords and phrases (but not unnaturally so). Well-written content is what search engine spiders feed on, and content is the key to high rankings.

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Again, your writing matters. So you matter.

Isn’t that fabulous?6

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No  one  cares.

You’re  was7ngmy  7me.

#omgboring

#UghNothingWorse

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NEED IDEAS FOR CONTENT

GENERATION? LOOK @ TRENDING

TOPICS

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• Do not write for low-quality sites. • What constitutes low quality?

– Low-quality sites are deemed by Google to be “spammy” or illegitimate. If these sites have a link to your client, Google could “penalize” your client.

• How am I supposed to know? Answer: Domain authority

• Domain? That sounds technical. Answer: It’s just a technical way of saying website. (www.agencyentourage.com is our domain)

– Domain authority: • Domain Authority: The number of (Number that reflects (# & quality) root domains which

link to different pages on your website (rather than getting all links pointing directly to your homepage).

• Domain authority is a measure of the power of a domain name and is one of many search engine ranking factors. Domain authority is based on three factors: Age, Popularity, and Size.

Site  Quality

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Iden7fying  Quality  Sites  • Download SEOmoz toolbar

– http://www.seomoz.org/seo-toolbar

– Whenever you “Google” something, all results will have the toolbar underneath each result giving you the site’s page authority (PA) and domain authority (DA) (Just focus on DA for now)

• It’ll look like this on results pages:

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Iden7fying  Quality  Sites:  Domain  Authority

• Analyzing DA can get a little more complicated, but for guest blogging purposes, determine site quality with these numbers:

• High quality: DA 40+• Medium quality: DA 18-35• Low quality: DA < 15 (Don’t. Just.....don’t.)

– Domain authority is based on a scale of 0-100. The only sites with DA of 100 (or even close) are Twitter, Facebook, Wikipedia, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.

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Examples

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If  you  get  a  link  from  a  site  with  DA  50+  (totally  achievable-­‐btw)  Lauren  Jake  will  do  this...

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Promise!!!

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Questions so far?

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Outreaching  is  Similar  to  a  Sales  Pitch  • Be determined. Every guest blog you write must be published.

• Be confident. You’re supposed to be an authority.

• Make it very clear they will need to include the link that leads to www.yourclient.com/page-that-is-relevant-to-anchor-text-slash-blog-topic

– (If you included another link b/c it navigates to helpful, authoritative content, [the only reason you should link to a site other than client’s] it’s ok if they remove it.)

• Do NOT sound desperate. (Even if you are...)

– Factors that will make it impossible to get published:• Your article (especially headline) is boring, unoriginal, or generic. • Content that is obviously written to promote a business. Fit client

naturally into the topic.– If you write a cheesy blog that is obviously an attempt to get a link, the

blog owner won’t want it. It only makes their blog and its reputation suffer.

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But  you  shouldn’t  be  desperateb/c  you  should  have  produced  AMAZING  content.

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(One  of  MANY)

“Plan  B”*  Outreach  Tac7cs• BloggerLinkUp (BLU) Sign Up• You can offer your guest posts (see next slide) and they

will appear in one of the issues within a couple days. Issues are emailed out Mon., Wed. & Fri.

20*Not  the  morning-­‐a\er  type

Plan  A  is  to  contact  prospec7ve  blogging  opportuni7es  directly(through  Google  searches,  research,  etc.).

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Sample  Submission  Form

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What  a  BLU  Email  Looks  Like..

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Hi!  I’m  Cathy  from  BLU.  I  loveshoulder  pads  even  more  than  Blogger  LinkUp.  I’ve  alsofound  that  overheadshots  make  double  chins  disappear.    

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More Blogging Platforms

triberr.com

blogdash.com

blogsynergy.com

grouphigh.com

guestblogit.com

myblogguest.com

guestr.com

Find even better ones & spread word to AE team!24

Qualifying  Leads

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BAD!  That  means  they  accept  duplicatecontent  &  duplicate  content  =  VERY  BAD  

Good.  They  pass  STEP  #1However,  DA  was  only  16  -­‐  try  &  aim  higher

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Other  Tips  on  Qualifying  Sites• Try starting with resource lists along the lines of: “Top 10 Blogs

about [Niche]” These will point you toward reputable blogs in the industry

• Consider starting by asking this question: “Where is the go-to place for my target audience? Is it possible for me to get a post there?”

• AVOID: Blogs that accept all content sent their way with the obvious goal of publishing as much content as quickly as possible.

• AVOID:Blogs that have no clear target audience or subject matter.• AVOID: Blogs with guest post guidelines that are easy to meet with

minimal effort.• AVOID:Blogs that do not get updated regularly.

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Stay  Away  From:

• www.website.blog.com

• www.website.blogspot.com

• www.website.blogger.com

• DA will say 100..98..etc. but that is blogspot.com’s DA. Not the blogger’s page. Blogger’s page has (basically) zero value.

• So just......don’t. Your guest post will be a waste.

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Dig  a  Lihle  Deeper• Just because a prospective credible blog

doesn’t advertise that they accept guest posts, doesn’t mean they don’t. Find out how to contact the blog’s editor/webmaster/etc. and ask them in an email.–Most “high-authority” blogs (ex: CNBC’s

Finance Blog, etc.) don’t - even though they accept them.

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Qualifying  Sites  (Resource)• This article is very recent & written by a

top trusted source in SEO. Author lists 20 “Dos” and 20 “Don’ts” related to qualifying possible sites for guest post opportunities.

• http://www.seomoz.org/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-advanced-guest-blogging

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Keep Updated RecordsAlways keep a list (Excel?) of sites you have reached out to.

(Even sites you haven't yet contacted, but would in the future for different post.

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Before  You  Send  Content..• Make any edits webmaster may have requested• Submit to SEO dept. for editing & approval• Remind webmaster that you would like to know (at

their soonest convenience) if they decide to post or not. – (Why?: It’s not going anywhere else. You have to make sure a blog is

or isn’t getting published before you send content to someone else.)

• If so, they should give you a publishing date.–Even better - publishing date & link

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The  Last  (Very  Important)  Step

• Promote published content through social media platforms!–Mention this to blog owner/editor

when you outreach to them. They like hearing that you plan to promote (and drive traffic) to their site!

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The End

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