By Jayne Schultheis - Your website is doing ... OK. Something's missing, though. Your organic web traffic definitely needs a boost. If this sounds like you, some guest blogging might be just the thing. While it builds traffic it can also help to build brand authority and secure your place as an industry leader. In this article, we'll take a closer look at guest blogging, why it's so important for SEO, and how to best implement it as part of a robust content strategy.

What is guest blogging?

Guest blogging, also known as guest posting, is the practice of writing and publishing an article or blog post on someone else's website or blog. Guest blogging is a mutually beneficial strategy. The content creators share their expertise on another platform, gaining exposure and credibility. The host blog enriches its content offerings and attracts more visitors. This collaboration helps both parties achieve their marketing and engagement goals, all while making readers happy.

Why your company should use guest bloggers

Using guest bloggers can help to drive a robust content marketing strategy for any company with an online presence. Here are some blogging benefits that every brand should consider:

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• Diversified content. Guest bloggers introduce fresh voices and varied content, keeping the blog engaging and informative for its readers.
• Increased traffic. Guest bloggers often promote their published posts on their own networks, driving additional traffic to the host blog.
• Enhanced domain authority. Featuring knowledgeable guest bloggers can bolster the host blog’s credibility and authority on certain topics. This is critical in the realm of public opinion, but also signals to search engines that you're a reliable expert.
• Cost-effective content creation. A guest post gives the host blogging platform high-quality content without the need to invest additional time and resources in content creation.

Define your guest blogging goals

To keep the strategy for your business blog crystal clear, you need to first set some clear objectives. If you're not sure where to start, here are some good examples:

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• Increasing brand visibility, website traffic, and audience engagement
• Boosting search engine ranking and backlink profile
• Establishing authority in your industry
• Diversifying content and perspectives

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Identify the right guest bloggers

Once you know what you are trying to accomplish, you can think about which guest bloggers are most likely to get you there.

Understand your target audience

Defining audience personas helps you identify the specific needs, interests, and challenges of your ideal readers. This will help you decide which guest posts will be relevant and valuable. Audience personas are valuable in another way: Give them your guest bloggers to help them understand the people you are creating content for.

Find and evaluate potential guest bloggers

You might have to tap into several key sources to find potential guest bloggers. Industry experts and influencers are ideal candidates because their insights and authority can add significant value to your blog. They also have audiences that will follow them to your website. Engaged followers and customers can also be excellent contributors, bringing authentic perspectives and showing a strong connection with your brand.

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Scouting on social media, professional networks, and relevant blogging communities can turn up good candidates as well.

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Before you give them the green light, review their past work and credentials to make sure they have the expertise and writing skills needed to produce high-quality content. Assess how well they fit with your brand and audience. Their voice, style, and topics should align with your blog’s goals and resonate with your readers.

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When you contact potential guest bloggers, personalize your outreach and highlight mutual benefits for both your organization and the individual. Every interaction should reflect your brand's professionalism and expertise. Include all of the necessary information such as guest post guidelines, content ideas, the submission process, deadlines, and any other relevant details. Many guest bloggers will write for free, simply to increase their exposure and obtain backlinks. Some may ask for a fee, however.

Manage submissions and content

The best way to keep the submission process streamlined is to establish clear guidelines and workflow.

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A guest blogger might tell you what they will write about or might accept direction from you on the topic and the ground to cover. It helps to give the guest blogger a roadmap — a content brief and outline — for how you'd like your content to flow. For SEO purposes, it will include keywords, the focus keyword, text length, tone — everything they need to know about your content guidelines.

Promote guest content

Content optimization and airtight keyword research certainly can boost your ranking on SERPs. However, that doesn't mean you should just publish the blog and forget about it! Content collaboration has the added touch of personal value, something that's invaluable in today's widely-AI-generated landscape.

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A key part of guest blogging is creative, targeted content distribution. Try using social media promotion and newsletters to promote the article. At the same time, encourage guest bloggers to share the article on their channels. Respond to feedback and engage in discussion with consumers and other industry leaders in the blogging community.

Measure the impact of guest blogging

Once you've published and promoted your guest blog, your last step involves quantifying its impact. That's right — you've got some number crunching to do. Or rather, your tools have some number crunching to do.

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Look at your chosen KPIs, like organic traffic, engagement, backlinks, bounce rate, and conversions. You can find these types of metrics with web analytics tools like Google Analytics. Rellify can pull these kinds of metrics directly into our platform after publication.

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From the KPIs you've tracked and information you've gathered, you should begin comparing your outcomes with your initial goals. How well did they match up? Was there anything that could have been done differently to strengthen the impact of your web content?

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Adjust your strategies as-needed, and assess whether the guest blog was an overall success. Going forward, would you ask them to guest blog again? Is there someone else who might be a better match for your blog's goals, tone, or style? How has the entire experience shaped the way you approach blogging outreach, content creation, and collaboration? Shape your process according to your newfound knowledge.

Make guest blogging more effective with Rellify

Rellify's content marketing platform can make working with guest bloggers a breeze. It's easy to welcome them into the system so they can write there, if they choose, and the platform is clean and simple to use.

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Rellify enables writers and editors to collaborate directly. They can work on the document at the same time. Timely feedback makes sure contributors are informed and can make necessary adjustments quickly. Rellify's "comments" feature enables immediate, direct feedback for writers and editors. They can talk to each other through the comments to make sure the content reflects your editorial guidelines.

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Our platform can keep everyone on the same page, whether it's building out a content calendar, exploring keywords, or KPI monitoring.

Optimizing posts for SEO benefits

This is Rellify's bread and butter. Our Relliverse™ — your company-specific AI subject-matter expert — uses deep machine learning to find the best topics to write about and the best keywords to use. In addition to that guidance, the Rellify platform helps you form effective meta descriptions, meta titles, and subtitles. Our AI-powered platform gives real-time feedback on the quality of the article, showing the way to content that's set up for success.

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There's no shortage of blogging opportunities out there for those who are excited to share their expertise and engage with brands. If you're ready to take your website to the next level and boost your content marketing returns, adding guest blogs to your publishing schedule might just be the right choice.

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Fortunately, the Rellify platform provides everything you need to begin your venture into guest blogging. With Rellify, there's no more guesswork. Just data-driven results.

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Want to find out more about how Rellify can be an asset to not just your guest blogs, but your entire content strategy? Schedule a meeting with a Rellify expert to see exactly what Rellify can do for your business.

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