Five Great Benefits of Guest Blogging

A lot of experts and professional in the world of SEO are emphasizing the importance of content as one of the important areas to focus on today and in the future.  As a matter of fact, the latest update on Google’s algorithm has highlighted its search for new and unique content. Still, there is more challenge than simply putting in your best unique content on your blog if you want to significantly optimize your presence online.
Guest blogging and posting on other sites are smart tactics to have more followers on your personal accounts in social media and websites. These also help you to gain more credibility and increase your networking prospects.
Many online users are visiting the same blog sites and social networks that are related to their industry. Most of them do this regularly (in fact, daily). So, if they see the same author in several of these websites, they get the idea that this one is probably an expert in their industry.  Seeing the author contributing useful content and publishing it to several respected and useful websites is enough to convince any reader regarding his or her credibility.
It eats a lot of time to do guest blogging but its payoff is infinite especially if one’s goal is to promote company and individual branding. Here are the top five benefits of guest blogging.

Exposure

High and rich quality content has become increasingly significant because more readers are relying online to get the latest news and up-to-date information instead of traditional late night news programs in TV or early morning stories in newspapers. As a result, there is an immeasurable amount of content being circulated online every day and the more expose a person or company is on many websites, the better. This is not only from a reader’s standpoint but also from a search engine’s perspective.
In the world of advertisement, companies are aware that a potential client must see an ad several times before they start to tie positive feelings or subconscious appreciation   of the brand or product.
This is also the same strategy applied in building the online presence of a company and its people.  Aside from getting good exposure on a wide selection of websites, the authors are having more opportunities to form a positive attachment in the minds of readers.

Credibility

Positive linking with brand names is surely the driver to create good credibility for authors and the companies which they represent. If an author is seen and known to publish on respected sites like Marketing Land and Huffington Post, it is most likely that they are seen as more credible in their field of expertise than someone who has not made any guest posts. It can be quite difficult to obtain approval as a guest writer or contributor for top websites of related industry so it is best to start with smaller blog sites and then use them as portfolio so you can show off that you are indeed credible as an author. This is your stepping stone to become a contributor to more popular sites. It also increases one’s credibility if one’s experience is mentioned and it makes the posts look better and more reliable. The author can share with the audience important facts like continuing education (trainings, seminars and certifications) and recent experiences with clients.
By having the opportunity to do guest blogging on well-known industry websites, one can have better chances that are far beyond from posting for more websites and blogs. This often results to real sales of products and/or services, speaking commitments and increased website traffic for both the author and publisher.

Inbound links

Increasing website traffic is one of the usual reasons why a lot of writers decide to pursue guest blogging. Majority of websites allow writers to submit a bio and/or the URLs of their social media profiles at the end of each post. These links create referral traffic, thus, boosting organic search rankings that result to better visibility in search engines for the author’s personal website.
Since a guest blog includes inbound links, it is necessary to provide only rich and high quality content. Link building is most of the time valuable because inbound links have the most important role in the results of search engine ranking algorithm. Also, thought, worthwhile and useful content that is getting traffic and steady engagement will aid you to publish more often at every publisher you work for.

Social Media Growth

Aside from website links, having links to several social media profiles can increase your visibility and online presence. If a reader finds the article interesting, it is highly probable that they’ll become your follower in Google+ and Twitter to get information and updates on what content you have recently published on other sites including you personal website.
Besides attracting new followers, remarkable articles will also be shared numerous times using different social media channels that later improves the author’s visibility. Sharing great content includes using tweets such as “Remarkable article about Google Analytics Custom Reports by @authorsname:  link.” Getting shares like this will lead you further to increase your following in different social media channels while you are also growing your traffic to your published articles and setting up social proof for the authenticity of your content, thus strengthening your Author Rank and let your content achieve higher ranking in search engine results.

Networking 

Apart from direct tweets to promote and share your content, guest blogs also regularly create conversation on social media via the comment section of the post and via email which can help you have successful sales and significant networking opportunities. For example, I usually receive emails from readers who are thanking me for the articles I’d written and are requesting that we connect on LinkedIn.
After sending a response, you have successfully created a positive link with that specific reader. In the next instance that the reader requires products or services, the author’s company and/or business referrals may be the first person they consider to contact.
Aside from potential sales, networking that is produced from guest blogging can also form important industry contacts that are very helpful for business referrals and support. Also, a new contact may request that you write a guest post for their blog.
Through networking, you can also meet other guest bloggers to post for your own site. By adding in regular and great guest bloggers, your site can always have fresh and a better variation of content because the knowledge and perspectives come from several different individuals who belong to different companies. It also encourages support among authors.

Conclusion

If you want to have more exposure, increase your credibility, create more inbound links, improve social media exposure, greater networking opportunities or all of these, you should consider guest blogging since it plays a very important role in content marketing strategy. This takes serious and dedicated approach to assure that your posts are rich in information so you can gain its unlimited benefits. Take advantage of the benefits of guest blogging.