One of the biggest challenges webmasters face when building a website is acquiring high-quality, Google-friendly backlinks. Ever since Google rolled out its Penguin update in 2012, webmasters have become increasingly cautious regarding where and how they acquire backlinks. Old tactics like link farms and comment spam no longer work. Rather, webmasters must now acquire natural backlinks from relevant sources.
Thankfully, guest blogging remains an effective strategy for building high-quality backlinks. By publishing posts on relevant blogs, webmasters can achieve higher search rankings. However, there are a few things to consider when choosing a guest posting service.
Content Creation
Does the guest blogging service write the posts, or do they require clients write the posts? When you’re busy running an online business, you may lack the necessary time and resources to write your own posts. Therefore, you should choose a blogging service that offers in-house content creation.
Blog Relevancy
A reputable guest blogging provider will selectively choose the best blogs for your website’s niche or industry. If your website sells car parts, for example, they’ll choose automotive blogs. Publishing guest posts on relevant blogs such as this increases the value of their service. On the other hand, you should avoid guest blogging services that mass-publish posts on random blogs as this may hinder your digital marketing efforts.
Blog DA
In addition to being relevant, the blogs on which guests posts are published should have a high Domain Authority (DA). Developed by Moz, this metric reflects a website’s ability to rank in the search results. Blogs with a low DA typically rank low in the search results whereas blogs with a high DA rank high. Moz’s DA uses a zero to 100 scale, with 100 indicating a superior level of ranking authority. By choosing a guest blogging service that publishes posts on high-DA blogs, you’ll generate more traffic and SEO value from this strategy.
Price
Of course, you should consider the service’s price. The cost of a guest blogging service can vary depending on the provider, number of posts, length of posts and blogs on which they are published. Before reaching out to a guest blogging provider, determine exactly how much money you are willing to spend.
Turnaround
Finally, consider the service’s turnout. Some guest blogging providers drag their feet, with clients waiting two to three months for their posts to be published. Whether you’re trying to improve your website’s search rankings, attract more traffic or increase its brand recognition, time is of the essence. The sooner a guest blogging provider completes the service, the sooner you’ll achieve your objectives. Choose a provider with a four week or faster turnaround time.
You shouldn’t entrust just any guest blogging provider with your website’s digital marketing plan. If they fail to use safe, Google-friendly methods, your website’s search rankings may drop. So, follow these five tips to choose the right guest blogging provider and reap the benefits of this powerful marketing strategy.
