Guest Post Tips for SEO Providers That Actually Work
How to Use Guest Posts to Make Your SEO Clients Happy, Fast
Not all guest post tips are created equal. Most of the tutorials online won’t produce results that make your SEO clients happy.
What you’re about to learn here works for SEO providers.
Getting results makes everybody happy!
The PROCESS
It’s hard to keep clients doing business with an SEO agency long term.
Getting results for them fast is vital to you scaling your agency though.
That’s exactly what you’ll be able to do after implementing the guest post tips on this page.
You probably heard this promise a million times though.
So let me prove to you our system works.
First, A Case Study as Evidence to Prove These Guest Post Tips Work
Our team increased the traffic of a client by almost 123.70% in a single year.
Look here’s proof:
While increasing their revenue from organic traffic a whopping 248%! All from our guest posts!! 🙂
More proof:
Seen enough to tempt you to learn more about our guest post tips? If not, message me and I can send you several more case studies of our happy clients. Our web developer forbids me to post them all on here. Says it waters down our guide.
Are You Looking to Boost Your Clients’ SEO Rankings Fast?
The Steps in DETAIL
Step One: Locate the Websites and Blogs That Will Help Grow Your Clients’ Businesses.
You want to write well thought out articles that appear on websites or blogs that have a strong following in your clients’ industries.
Your goal?
Drive targeted referral traffic to your clients’ websites or blogs AND improve their SEO rankings.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Allow Your Clients’ Customer Avatars to Lead Your Blog Selection Process
Catering your guest post content to your clients’ buyer personas and customer avatars is PURE GOLD.
Why?
It makes it INCREDIBLY EASY to find suitable prospective link prospects for them fast.
Follow through by pitching guest post ideas that would also intrigue those avatars.
If you don’t have customer avatars or personas yet, spend some time creating them.
It’s the most effective way to know who you’re talking to during the writing process.
Identify Businesses and Marketers in Your Clients’ Industries that Maintain Blogs
Content marketing statistics show that business bloggers outsource approximately 14% of their content. Marketers outsource about 18% of their content.
57% of that outsourced content comes from guest posts or other unpaid contributors.
So, you’re not reinventing the wheel.
Sites will love your free content if you follow our guest post tips on this page.
The question is … where do you find the blogs leading your client’s industry?
Simple:
- Searching your client’s niche + “blog” on Google. Some websites will even compile a list of 10, 50, even 100 niche-related blogs that you can reach out to with a guest post pitch.
- Searching for your client’s niche on social media platforms, like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn. Look for the profiles with the most followers and the most relevant content. Don’t forget to check their bios for a link to their official website or blog.
- Check with your clients. Even if your client’s web presence is nonexistent (for now), they likely know the biggest movers and shakers in their own industry. Ask them for a list of their favorite businesses and blogs as you compile your list.
Follow Guidelines
Once you find a suitable prospect, ask about their policies on guest posts. Then secure their posting guidelines if available.
Make sure your article follows their guidelines to the letter.
Keep in mind that some sites are ridiculously lax while others are more strict about what they’ll post.
Sp pay close attention to:
- The minimum AND MAXIMUM number of words per post
- The content and topics they prefer
- Any image requirements, pixel size, file type, etc.
- Whether backlinks are allowed (and, if so, how many?)
- If they ask for a short bio
The post guidelines might look something like this:
Of course, save yourself the trouble. Ask the prospect if they accept guest posts before you spend hours writing one and make your sales pitch.
Easy so far, right?
Guest Post Tips 101: Don’t Waste Time on Blogs that Lack Traffic
You will come across beautiful blogs filled with great content that get zero traffic.
Ignore these.
No matter how on target those blogs are to your brand and message, they’re a waste of time. Until they start to pull in more traffic, they can’t share with you what they don’t have to give.
So, move on.
Not sure if a blog has enough traffic to go around? Fortunately, it’s no longer a Vegas-style ‘roll-the-dice’ guessing game.
SEO programs like SEMRush and Ahrefs have traffic analytics tools that offer invaluable time- and money-saving insight.
Simply type in the site’s URL to pull up the stats.
Landing a guest post on the site below could get your client in front of an audience of millions within a few short months, though snagging the opportunity in the first place could be an uphill battle:
It can also lean toward the other extreme. The site below, with its questionably high monthly visit boost and 100% bounce rate, could actually damage your client’s online reputation:
The answer is “Goldilocks” — somewhere in the middle!
Resist the Urge to Appear in Blogs that are Irrelevant to Your Client's Business
The blogs that you find fascinating may not always fit with your client’s niche. Go ahead and continue reading for your pleasure. NEVER pitch a guest blog UNLESS you can tap into some element of a client’s targeted market.
If you have a great idea that you still want to pitch, consider doing so for pleasure rather than the business. You never know when a byline could help you get ahead.
Stay Away from Private Blog Networks (PBNs) and “Write for Us” Blogs
Spammy private blog networks house backlinks for sites and could cause your client costly Google penalties in the long term.
Our outreach team also avoids blogs with links asking for guest post submissions for the same reason.
Of course, the old-school method for securing backlinks was simply Googling a niche + “write for us” or “submit a guest post.”
A search like that brings up literally millions of blogs willing to publish articles written by just about anyone.
Unfortunately, they don’t bring much credibility to your client’s business.
Take the shady site below, for example. Not only is it flooded with grammatical errors, but the portion screencapped is a not-so-subtle attempt at keyword stuffing.
When it comes to backlinks, quality is always better than quantity.
Guest Post Tips: Pick Websites That You Would Love Even If Google Ceased to Exist
If you weren’t trying to rank a client’s site high in Google, would you read this blog? That’s the question that you should ask before deciding to send it’s editor a guest post pitch.
Remember that you want to appear where your client’s target market hangs out in LARGE NUMBERS.
You want your client to rub virtual elbows with the biggest names in their industry and stand out as an expert in their trade.
You can’t do that for them with subpar blogs or websites.
Read the Blogs in Your Clients’ Niches Often
If you read blogs related to your clients’ niches, you will often find MANY that NEED A MESSAGE you’re qualified to share.
This of course is YOUR OPPORTUNITY to shine bright for your clients.
Link prospects MUST HAVE quality content on their websites and blogs.
You may find that you (or a client) have the expertise to write something compelling for a particular blog. In other cases, you may notice a gap in the blog’s content that leaves an opening for YOU TO FILL.
Find those needs and fill them with fresh content.
Most established blogs will have a ‘subscribe’ button somewhere along the side panel or ask you to sign up for the weekly newsletter. Now you don’t have to manually check up on these blogs in hopes you’ll find a content gap.
It’ll all land directly in your inbox!
Don’t want to flood your business email account with daily newsletters and blog posts? If you have Gmail, try this:
In your Gmail settings, click over to “Filters and Blocked Addresses.” Then, click “Create a new filter.”
In the “From” field, type in the email address that’s sending the posts.In the “From” field, type in the email address that’s sending the posts.
Select “Skip the Inbox (Archive it)” and “Apply the label.” Create a label for each of your clients’ niches to better organize where each email winds up.
In your left-hand panel, you can now sift through all of the health-related articles in one folder.
All that’s left is actually reading the newsletters and posts that come through.
Step Two: Establish Connections with Link Prospects Before Pitching Content Ideas
Don’t lead with your guest post ideas.
Instead, start by interacting with a blog and its audience as an active participant.
You want to familiarize the owner of the blog with your name. You also want to show that you have a genuine interest in their niche and what they have to say.
It took us close to a decade to figure this out so don’t ignore it.
Note:
Not leading with your pitch is in the hall of fame of guest post tips. It’s that good.Make sure to write it down somewhere. If you do, you’ll start generating more success in your campaigns. We promise!
How to Schmooze Premium Link Prospects Without Being Creepy
Being persistent works when it comes to networking with link prospects and Influencers. These are the guest post tips we use at our agency to accomplish it.
They will work for your agency too.
- Comment on blog posts and follow-up on conversations that develop from them.
- Visit social media pages for the link prospect, leave comments, likes, shares, and retweets. Get them familiar with your name.
- Buy a Kindle book offered by the prospect and leave a review on Amazon in your name.
- Connect with the prospect or other representatives of their business on LinkedIn. Send a connection request and then start reading and commenting on their posts.
- Sign up for the prospect’s newsletter and use it to find more ways to interact with the brand.
- Take part in webinars, free classes, and other events promoted by the business, agency, or brand.guest
Engage with a Prospect for at Least a Few Weeks Before Sending a Pitch
Schmoozing this way will give the link prospect time to get to know you and see that you are interested in their niche.
While this is a tactic that many beginners want to skip, don’t make that mistake. You will receive far more rejections than acceptances if you do so.
Online marketing is all about making reliable connections. You can’t do that if you skip this step in the process.
So maybe don’t skip it. 🙂
Make Repeat Appearances to Keep Your Name Relevant to Prospective Blogs
Some rookie guest post tips authors teach to cut corners by leaving comments on as many blogs as they can at a time.
Those turkeys generate a massive flurry hoping it will build lasting relationships (or quick links) for them. That assumption is ALWAYS incorrect. Run as fast as you can from any vendor or freelancer claiming otherwise. You’ll save yourself a heap of trouble if you do.
Most prospects will see a sudden influx of comments from an unknown name as the sign of a spammer. They will delete your comments and may even block you from commenting further. Kind of hard to shine for your clients when your face is stuck in the mud.
Bookmark Your Target Blogs
Go back often to check for new posts and opportunities for interaction.
Make sure that all your comments are valuable and on topic for the guest post. With time, the prospect is likely to remember your name.
Remember, your goal is to build relationships, not only get a guest post accepted. Relationship building always takes time.
But it’s also not rocket science, by any means. In fact, with Google Chrome, bookmarking target blogs can take a matter of seconds.
In the far-right side of the search bar, click the star.
Click “Add bookmark.”
Assign the link a name that you’ll remember, such as the site’s name. Then, click the blue “Done” button.
Choose an afternoon each week (or even a 30-minute time slot each day) where you go through your bookmarks one-by-one to check out the latest posts on each blog.
Step Three: Become Your Link Prospects’ Champion
In the business world, a champion is someone who spreads the word about a brand.
The hero is a frequent buyer or long-term client who believes in a business’s products or services.
Champions often recommend the company to their friends and family members and may even talk about the brand on social media. They are one of the best ways to get the word out about a particular brand.
Premium link prospects covet such individuals. You won’t find it being mentioned in any other guest post tips tutorial either. It’s takes experience to learn that it works.
The more you learn about the brand behind the prospect and understand their mission, the better. You want the prospect to start depending on you to open conversations for their brand.
One way to do that is to leave intriguing questions and comments on social media. Tagging your prospects on these posts will draw them into the mix.
Allow the blogger to expand on the topic and be the star of the social post. Lead them to explain something in more detail while bringing exposure to your brand. Giving them another platform to share their expertise can MAKE YOU AN ASSET to them.
The tweet below is short and sweet. It also captured Brian Dean’s attention enough to respond and broadcasted the respondents name onto a Twitter account with almost 120,000 followers.
Free marketing and a possible guest post in the future? Check!
Next up, we need to discuss how to write your articles to generate traffic to your client’s website.
Let’s jump into that now.
Step Four: Write the Guest Post Article
You should know where you want the guest post to appear before you get to this point.
As stated above, start by finding members of the prospect’s audience that contain one or more of your clients’ customer avatars.
For instance, if your client sells computer software, they may share an audience with a prospect that reviews games.
Once you know the target audiences, your goal is to create a post that helps the prospect’s readers.
It’s the ONLY WAY to win long-term with guest posts.
Write in a Conversational Tone that is Easy to Read
Every paragraph in your guest post must read well. If readers struggle to understand the point of your article, you’re toast.
Why?
Reputable link prospects aren’t going to publish your post if it doesn’t read well.
That’s a sad fact of life, but it’s one you can count on to catapult your clients’ traffic once you overcome it.
So overcome it already.
One simple way to test readability is through the online Hemingway tool. Just copy and paste what you’ve already written into the editor to learn more about your writing style, readability, and sentences that need a few touch-ups.
Take a look at the Hemingway screenshot below.
Hemingway highlighted every word for one reason or another. But take a look at the top-right corner; the readability score is post-graduate.
This paragraph is a perfect fit for a medical journal (which is where it was published). For a regular health blog? Not so much.
Aim for a 5th–7th grade reading level with as few highlights as possible. That’ll leave you with an easy-to-skim article that is easy to understand.
Basic Guest Post Tips to Creating Premium Articles
Break your post into short paragraphs and sentences.
Don’t try to sound super, educated, or sophisticated. Stick with smaller words that are precise in meaning.
Always make sure to edit for spelling, grammar, and sentence structure. If you can’t do this, hiring an editor or outsourcing to a writer is a must.
Use subheadings, bullet points, and numbered lists so that readers can scan your post fast.
Freelance platforms like Upwork, Problogger, and Fiverr are somewhat of a writer and editor hub. Simply post a job listing that explains the project in detail (including your budget).
Then, weed through the applications to find the perfect freelancer.
The ad below is short, sweet, and to the point.
Also, use subheadings, bullet points, and numbered lists so that readers can scan your post fast.
Walls of text can be disastrous for prospective readers and send them running in the opposite direction. They’re intimidating and, if you’re on mobile, you’re almost guaranteed to lose your place at least once.
Compare a flood of text like this:
… to this:
Which one would you rather read? We said the second one too!
Breathe Life into Your Blog Posts with Storytelling
Storytelling rocks around campfires.
It also works to get links from premium prospects and is one of the guest post tips on this page we recommend you master, fast.
It is THE BEST way to stand out from the crowd. Ten people can write a blog post on the same topic, but they will all offer something different. If the writers incorporate storytelling, this fact becomes even more pronounced. Your goal here is to tell a story or present an anecdotal reference. Doing so makes the technical elements of your post more natural to understand. Consider a blog post discussing the best swimsuits to wear to a water aerobics class.
You might start your post by sharing something personal. Like the time your tankini top fell off during an aggressive class. You can then lead to the mechanics of a sturdy bathing suit. Then you can end with your swimsuit recommendations.
What if your prospect’s blog does not allow the first-person narrative?
You can still use storytelling to get your point across.
Try incorporating more action words and story scenarios in the text.
Storytelling Example
“Imagine walking into your local grocery store. Noticing all prices in the fresh produce section are on sale for 50% off. You load up your cart with apples, oranges, grapes, and plums without breaking your budget. That may seem unrealistic, but it’s possible when you use the following shopping apps.”
That opening creates the impact of a story without going into the first person.
You can also create stories in this fashion if you don’t have a true story that you can present in the first person. Never lie to your readers but do engage their imagination.
Make Sure Every Element of Your Blog Post Provokes Your Readers to Think
Getting your readers to think is one of the most straightforward guest post tips to get prospects to value your content.
Make sure that the basic idea for your post facilitates thought.
You can brainstorm a long list of topic ideas until you find the right one for your client’s target market. That process may lead you to more ideas to pitch to the same or different blogs.
There are a few ways to find the right topic for your next guest posts:
- Looking at the “People also ask” or “Related searches” sections on Google to find topics people are searching for within the niche. The results below are for a simple “painting” keyword search.
- Searching for the most common niche-related Google searches with a search tool like AnswerThePublic. Simply key in a 1–2-word keyword related to your client’s niche for a little extra topic inspiration.
- Looking at what their competitors are already writing about! This tip is purely to get those creative juices flowing and spark new ideas. If the competition has a post called, “How to Remove the Front Wheel of a Bike,” don’t write an article explaining the same exact thing.
Sit down, fill your coffee mug, and brainstorm ideas until you have a full list of 10, 15, or even 50.
Create Blog Posts that Fit Your Clients’ Professional Personas or Brands
All of the guest post tips we share will be pointless though if it doesn’t help grow your clients’ businesses. Few things spark growth like great branding.
Ensure that your topics, tone, and links also send the right message about your client’s business.
The goal is to get more people to click through to their websites and blog posts.
Your writing team’s job is to make sure that those people don’t feel misled or tricked once they get there.
Have them show who your client is through the guest post.
Drop All Useless Content
Ask yourself whether each word, sentence, paragraph, and section you use are necessary.
If you aren’t sure, cover that part of the text with your finger and read what’s left out loud. If you can cut the covered piece without losing the power and meaning of your work, then it’s not needed.
Even if it’s your favorite line or a quirky word that you like using, cut it.
This process should leave you with tight writing that is concise and meaningful. It will ensure that you never waste a reader’s time.
Stay Away from Off Color Topics and Humor
Ask yourself whether each word, sentence, paragraph, and section you use are necessary.
If you aren’t sure, cover that part of the text with your finger and read what’s left out loud. If you can cut the covered piece without losing the power and meaning of your work, then it’s not needed.
Even if it’s your favorite line or a quirky word that you like using, cut it.
This process should leave you with tight writing that is concise and meaningful. It will ensure that you never waste a reader’s time.
Invest in a Paid Grammarly Account
Even the most talented and experienced writers miss a grammatical slip. They often misspell words too.
If you aren’t an accomplished writer, you likely have typos and grammar mishaps.
It happens to the best of us.
Grammarly is the solution.
It’s a handy app that checks every word that you write. It offers suggestions for improvement along the way.
Grammarly suggestions typically fall into four categories:
- Clarity (blue underline). Your text is wordy, unclear, written in the passive voice, or something similar.
- Correctness (red underline). There might be spelling errors, missing punctuation, or improper grammar.
- Delivery (purple underline). What you’ve written might be offensive, non-inclusive, or possibly outdated.
- Engagement (green underline). You can change the text to make it more interesting for the reader by getting rid of repetitive or overused words.
Keep in mind that Grammarly’s suggestions aren’t always 100% accurate. Verify that the change makes sense before agreeing to it!
Think of it as editing as you write. Yet, you will still want to read through the final draft and adjust it before submission.
Using the paid version of Grammarly is one of the best guest posting tips on this page. Many submissions get rejected due to grammar and spelling.
Grammarly allows you to clean up your copy fast.
Make Sure Each Guest Post is at Least 1,000 Words in Length
Some blogs will ask for a different word count, so make sure to follow any guidelines given.
If your target blog doesn’t provide the desired word count, make sure that you have at least 1000 words.
Continue writing until you come to a natural conclusion. You can always go back to weed out words, lines, and sections that aren’t necessary or relevant to your main idea.
You may also find areas to add words, lines, or sections that will help hit your word count without feeling like filler.
You can turn Google Docs’ word-counter on with the Ctrl+Shift+C command. Then, check the box for “Display word count while typing.”
Take a look at the bottom left-hand side of your screen to keep a live tally of how many words you’ve written.
It looks like we have a little ways to go until this post is complete!
Don’t Confuse Guest Blog Posts with SEO Articles
Blogs may have keywords that they target for SEO purposes. Most prospects will not ask you to incorporate those keywords when writing a guest post.
You should resist the urge to focus on your keywords as well.
The goal is to educate, entertain, or otherwise enlighten the target audience. All while delivering high-value information. Save the SEO for your website or blog.
If you ever encounter a guest post tutorial teaching otherwise, run away. Then disinfect your computer screen with bleach.
Those types of guest post tips quit working YEARS AGO.
Step Five: Avoid Relationship Ending Harsh Google Penalties
While writing unique guest content will help you get published on some of the best blogs, Google could undo your progress in a moment if you cross the line.
Keep reading to learn how to keep that from happening.
When in Doubt, Nofollow the Link
When you add a hyperlink to your content, something big happens.
You instruct search engine bots to give the website attached to the link some credit. It helps the sites you link to achieve higher rankings in the search engines.
You add links to your website in your posts because you want targeted traffic to click through to your client’s site.
You also want the search engines to attach a higher value to your website or blog to get more top rankings. The more in-text backlinks you secure, the more significant the boost you receive.
Nofollow links look like regular hyperlinks on a website. But they are quite different from one another.
No follow links have coding that tells Google not to give the attached site any attention.
Why would you use such a link?
There are four possibilities.
- You aren’t sure that the integrity of the host blog will benefit your website or blog.
- The host blog adds your bio to the post. That may flag it as a paid or spam post with Google.
- The host blog identifies your post as a guest blog post. Again, Google may consider it a paid or spam link.
- Prospects reading your blog post will still have the option to click on your website using a no-follow link. They won’t even know if the search engines are crawling the backlink or not.
So no-follow links can have some value in driving traffic to your website or blog.
Don’t Get Greedy with Your Anchor Text
Never insist on having your backlinks placed on specific anchor text.
It may make sense that links to your website fall on keywords you target for your SEO purposes. But there’s no point in demanding that a blog on someone else’s website choose the same anchor text.
If you have the freedom to place your links wherever you like within the text, then you can do so.
If the blog owner wants to edit your anchor text usage, then allow them to do so WITHOUT argument. Putting up a fight WILL cost you a valuable guest post opportunity.
So if your client’s site targets “knitting basics,” there’s no need to use that exact phrasing as anchor text (as seen below).
Remember that you need to benefit the link prospect’s blog as much as your client does for receiving the link.
Hide Your Guest Post Footprints So That Your Post Looks Organic to the Host Site
If Google picks up on red flags that you’re link building, you could face penalties. So hide your footprints.
Here are a few suggestions to get you started:
- Create author personas to supply to blogs that ask for a bio. Choose ones that allow you to keep all your guest posts connected without providing your real name.
- Secure a variety of links on websites with different rankings. The higher the ranking, the better. But throwing in some lower-ranked sites from time to time can help you stay off Google’s radar
- If you’re allowed to choose your anchor text, don’t make it a perfect match to your target keywords. It’s too visible to the search engines that you wanted the link and for your sole benefit.
Step Six: Know When to Outsource All These Guest Post Tips
At Guestpost.ink we know that you want to become a rainmaker for your SEO clients. To do that, you need to keep your current customers happy and doing business with you long-term.
The problem is simple.
You’re having a hard time getting lasting results for your clients. This makes you sometimes wonder if you have what it takes to grow a thriving agency.
We believe life is too short. You shouldn’t waste your time constantly having to replace the short-term clients who keep firing you.
We understand how to get lasting SEO results for clients which is why we have helped more than 15,000 businesses with their link building since 2009.
Here’s How We Do it
- You tell us about all your clients and their needs.
- We deliver premium backlinks to their websites and their SEO rankings improve.
- You start scaling your agency.
In Summary
You can begin to grow your clients’ businesses using the guest post tips shared on this page.
This process begins with identifying your clients’ best link prospects. You want to go after their industries’ biggest names and get your content in front of their audiences.g