Search engines are the portals that help users navigate to the information and ideas they seek online. The goal of these engines is to quickly and effectively connect users to desired content. While the algorithms of these major search gateways are well intentioned, humans tend to take advantage of the system.
Whenever money can be made, there are people who will scrape every last drop of integrity from an industry with the goal of maximizing individual profit. SEO, specifically link building, is no different. Guest posting is a form of link building SEO where writers create content and are compensated in return with a link back to their site. This enhances visibility in the search rankings of major listings like Google, Bing and Yahoo!.
The problem is that although links are and always will be a critical factor in rating a websites authority and popularity, the SEO strategy of link building has been diminished by many to writing spun content with the only goal being to achieve an average link.
This needs to change in order for the industry to continue forward and reach the heights it’s capable of reaching. Below are specific approaches to construct a state of the art guest post, and why doing so is best for everyone involved.
1. Shoot for high relevancy
If you’re writing a guest post for a certain website, the content should be explicitly related to the domain you’re writing for. If you’re writing an article about the best places to fly fish in Idaho, you should always be writing on a fishing website.Even better, it should be a fly fishing-specific URL that exclusively focuses on your niche angling topic Relevancy should be a major focus of your link-building efforts, whether it’s writing for business or for personal authorship.
Why it matters: People want to read relevant content. If someone goes to a fitness website and your guest post about fly fishing is there, everyone loses. You, the webmaster and the user have a shallow experience because the situation is lacking relevancy and doesn’t make any sense when usability is considered. If all guest posters stayed on point with relevancy, the SEO world would see infinite progression.
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2. Make a push toward innovation
Everyone can write the articles like “10 Ways to Save Money”. If they can’t, hundreds of versions are available to look at online. It’s your duty as an online content producer to make a legitimate move toward innovation and true creation.At the very least, people should have enough pride to challenge themselves and try and do right by the internet and the millions of users worldwide. Create something flashy. Create something new. Create lasting discussion in the niche market that you live and breathe.
Why it matters: Fresh content is what keeps the internet beautiful. Without it the web becomes polluted by spun content and regurgitated information that gets blander with each page refresh. It takes determination and calculated focus, but do your best to write something that no one has ever thought about. Some think it’s unmanageable, but it’s not.
3. Be a good Samaritan
The internet is a place of unbelievable opportunity. With that opportunity comes obligation for those contributing to the network. If you’re writing as a guest blogger, make sure you try and actually help people with your writing. Even if your actual motive is to achieve a link, take a second and think about a way you can actually earn that link. Make it count and inspire people to share your content in their circles.Why it matters: Similar to other areas of the economy, there are good and bad ways to go about business operations. In the internet world, the good way is to make your efforts useful for the end user, regardless of motive. If the SEO industry can move away from manipulative strategies, everyone will benefit.
Guest posting is an effective way to build a website’s visibility in search rankings. However, this SEO strategy needs to be handled and maintained with more pride and concern for the common good. Aiming for high relevancy, pushing for innovation and genuinely trying to help people are key focus points of a well-intentioned link builder. Whether you’re doing it for business or for personal authorship, do it right and you’ll be rewarded.
Clay Christeson