How to grow your website traffic using guest blogging? I'm writing guest pieces like crazy right now. In fact, more than I ever had in my more than six years of consistent blogging. It's a significant time commitment on top of my dedication to blogging frequently on this site. Why then bother?
The single most crucial tactic, in my opinion, for expanding your blog's traffic and platform is inviting guests to write.
Do you invest a lot of effort in writing insightful posts(Open Link in new window) only to discover that few people really read them? So, don't be alarmed. That is entirely typical. That's how my blog used to be.
I did, however, later begin guest blogging.
Nothing altered, though.
What? Using guest bloggers ineffective? Isn't this post supposed to encourage guest blogging?
Yes, guest blogging is the topic of this piece. It concerns how to properly approach guest blogging because, if you don't know what you're doing, it won't benefit your site as much as it should.
Here's a quick summary of the incredible advantages of guest blogging in case you're unaware of them. Let me clarify...
What Is Guest Posting?
Let's define our words first thing. Guest posting refers to the act of creating and uploading an article on another person's website or blog.
I periodically do this on my own website, and I frequently do it on sites that have readers I want to reach. It's a fantastic opportunity to meet new readers and promote yourself.
But for a very long period, I disregarded this crucial discipline for building a successful blog. I regret doing so. I sincerely hope you won't.
How To Grow Your Website Traffic Using Guest Blogging
There are several tips you can maximize traffic through guest posting. However, you must do it correctly if you want to use guest blogging to increase traffic and email subscribers. Here are 12 suggestions to help you make the most of guest blogging.
1. Grow the email list
In addition to increasing your traffic and revenue, increasing your email list may help you be published on bigger, more respectable websites.
How can you encourage individuals to join your email list?
Consider the email lists you are a subscriber to. As to why you subscribe: I'm going to assume it has to do with the great and helpful emails they send.
Give your readers a compelling incentive to subscribe. Offer a free booklet, a list of the top ten resources, or a tutorial with three videos, for instance. Contextually reference it in the guest article or in your byline.
You may improve your conversion rates by making an offer to them rather than just asking for their email address. If what you're presenting isn't valuable to your audience, they might not be willing to accept it(Open Link in new window).
2. Choose Your Customers Wisely
You won't benefit much from guest blogging until you are aware of your target audience. If you don't know where to aim, how can you strike the target?
Are you trying to find Florida-based grandmothers? teens submitting college applications Small company entrepreneurs seeking an increase in clients Spend some time considering the people who might benefit the most from your content, goods, or services. Keep in mind that if you strive to write for everyone, you frequently end up writing for no one (Open Link in new window).
3. Develop Relationships
Sometimes, who you know matters more than simply how well you write (Open Link in new window). An editor may be more likely to publish you if they receive a recommendation from someone they believe in.
Through a lengthy series of networking events, relationships, and follow-ups, I was able to establish myself as a consistent contributor to The Huffington Post.
It all began with attending a workshop. Even if it would be an excellent workshop, I wasn't sure. There were several other things I might be doing with my time, and the teacher seemed to lack qualifications. However, I still attended because I believed that causing many things to occur is the greatest way to bring about positive change.
Bloggers require quality material. You may develop connections with other bloggers by providing quality guest blogging and contributing value to their blogs.
Internet dialogues are dominated by bloggers, particularly on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. They make excellent companions since they have a lot of influence.
Through guest writing, you may network with other bloggers and increase your social media presence, which will eventually result in more blog subscribers.
4. Determine the Location of Your Customers
You must ascertain the location of your target audience after identifying your consumers. What websites do they "hang out" on? Do they read anything?
Discover which websites your target market visits and which are pertinent to your offerings in terms of goods, services, and content. There are a few methods for determining what your clients are reading.
5. Write Great Content
It's more crucial than ever to produce content that stands out and actually benefits your audience in a world where everyone is a blogger.
It's important to write about topics that readers will enjoy. Therefore, the first step is to ascertain what readers are interested in reading. But how do you accomplish this?
Examining the frequently asked questions is one method. A broader audience is more likely to be interested in reading a blog article on something if several individuals are asking the same question.
What I refer to as "scratching your own itch" or, more specifically, finding a solution to a problem you have, is another strategy you may employ to produce excellent content(Open Link in new window).
If you were in a position comparable to that of your potential clients, consider what information would be useful to you. Then, if you experience that difficulty, chances are that others do too. Create material that answers their problem.
Additionally, you may create material that you wish you had. In contrast to scratching your personal itch, you're generating material that resolves issues you've already experienced. What is the article, book, video course, etc. that you wish you had when you first confronted these difficulties?
6. Search Engines
One requirement you should have for guest blogging is that the host blogger must incorporate a link to your site somewhere in the article (usually at the beginning or end).
These backlinks will increase your blog's worth over time to search engines, making it simpler for people to locate your material on Google, Yahoo, Bing, and other search engines.
7. Interviews for Customer Development
Sometimes all it takes is a simple question from your consumers. Finding blogs to guest write on may be determined by asking your consumers what they read. Here are some queries for customer development (Open Link in new window) I enquired to learn what individuals read: What blogs do you prefer reading? What news websites do you prefer? What websites do you visit for news and information about your industry?
8. Tools for audience intelligence
You can discover more about your audience and the books they read if you already have an email list and/or a social media following.
Analytics.twitter.com is a basic, cost-free, and user-friendly audience intelligence resource (Open Link in new window). Activate the "Followers" tab. There, you may see the interests and popular accounts that members of your audience are following. This might help you choose the types of websites you might guest blog on to connect with comparable audiences.
Make sure your followers fall into your target client category using this method but be aware that they might not give the amount of spam on Twitter. Additionally, perform some qualitative due diligence on the websites you identify.
A fantastic tool is Followerwonk(Open Link in New Window), which allows you to rate people by their impact, search Twitter biographies for your target keywords, and discover whether they have blogs that accept guest articles.
9. Introduces you to new contacts
The ability to engage a group that is already formed and spread your message through guest blogging is maybe its strongest feature. It enables you to make new connections, which, if done correctly, may eventually be advantageous to you.
You will see that over time, giving value to the conversation will result in an increase in readers, admirers, and followers. On the other hand, if all you ever do is ask for something or sell something, you could become well-known but with a bad reputation. Being "that man" with an agenda is something you don't want to do.
10. Valuable Content Wins Over SEO Expertise
SEO might appear intimidating and challenging, but it doesn't have to be(Open Link in new window). You must be familiar with the fundamentals if you intend to take your blog seriously. Don't let that fool you, though; what counts most is the content.
Even though Google's algorithms change every year, valuable material continues to score well. Keep in mind that consumers use Google to find the most pertinent and worthwhile information, therefore Google gives them that.
While conducting keyword research will be helpful, continuously producing great content should be your first priority. Consider the material only. Google will handle the rest if you continually do this over an extended period of time. A website may be more inclined to publish your pieces as a result, and when they do, you will benefit from increased traffic, shares, and engagement.
11. Pitch, Test, Track, Repeat
You must test, track, and repeat in order to determine where you may be published and which websites will provide you the most return on your investment.
A lack of relationships is not a justification for not guest posting. You may send editors a cold email; this is how I received the vast majority of my guest contributions.
Put as much of yourself out there as you can. At first, it will seem terrifying, but you must proceed. Even now, sending proposals to large websites makes me nervous.
12. Search on Google
Look up the keywords that your potential clients are most likely to use. You may perform a search for "content marketing" or "content marketing blog," for instance, if your target audience is a content marketer. The topic(s) of your content, such as guest blogging(Open Link in new window), email marketing, public relations, etc., might also be searched for. These websites are probably the greatest since Google does an excellent job at what it does, and since they appear high in search results, they probably receive a lot of visitors.
Make sure you're Googling the appropriate terms—those that your audience is using—before you start. What you discover may surprise you. It turns out that "business ideas" was around 10 times more popular than the search phrase "startup ideas," which I had assumed would be popular.
Use Google Keyword Planner (Open Link in New Window) to start identifying those popular search terms. When you enter some ideas, the tool will display the search volume it receives and offer recommendations for other pertinent and often-used search phrases.
Final thought
Guest blogging is a cost-effective strategy to increase traffic, engage your audience, and improve your SEO ranking. (Open Link in a new window)
Because you may reach a sizable and pertinent audience, it helps you increase traffic. As the saying goes, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." Additionally, by contributing a worthwhile post and getting featured on a trustworthy website, you build authority and reputation. These readers will visit your website once you start offering value.
You also gain backlinks from it. Your SEO ranking is aided by backlinks. Additionally, having an article on a highly-ranked website increases the likelihood that the post would appear higher in search results than it would on a site with a lower rating.
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