Guest posting for backlinks

Guest Post Backlinks Aren’t Made Equal: Use All These Options

BIt’s hard to find an SEO tactic as popular as guest posting.

Seems like everyone and their uncle does guest blogging these days. Don’t believe it’s true? Think again.

60% of websites write at least 1-5 guest posts each month. And that’s being conservative. Some go as far as creating over 100 of those monthly.

Maybe you have even done the same yourself.

But we all know it’s not about the numbers. Good quality links should feel more like enjoying a few bites of your favorite cake, not gorging on cheap cookies – quality over quantity should be your main motto.

In any case, no two backlink guest posts can give you the same results even if you put in equal effort and time into them.

So, what are the powerful hacks you can try to make guest posting in SEO work better? This is what this post will cover.

Do Guest Post Links Still Have Any Value in 2024?

Source: Reddit

You may have come across people saying that backlinks no longer pass as much value as they did a few years ago, but nothing could be further from the truth than this.

When done just right, using guest post backlinks is still one of the best strategies in SEO. And this is not changing anytime soon.

Still, obviously, it makes no sense to simply rely on SEO guest posting alone. Just as you wouldn’t stick to publishing on one guest post website for the rest of your life.

But when you know what you’re doing, the benefits of guest posting can help you get the results you’ve always wanted:

• Increased DA/DR, which leads to better rankings in SERPs
• Added credibility to your brand
• Opening your brand to a newer, bigger audience
• Uptick in your site traffic thanks to higher rankings
• Networking opportunities you get to leverage along the way

This is just scratching the surface, really. People tend to trust other people much more than any ad (even the most elaborate one).

This is especially true when they buy new things or sign up for some service. That’s how referral marketing works.

Your guest post backlink is basically acting in the same capacity as word-of-mouth recommendations from family or friends.

Only this time, those are other sites in your niche endorsing you.

Guest Blogging for Links: What Are the Types of Backlinks You Can Get?

Trying to leverage guest posts for SEO backlinks for the first time is not an easy walk. It’s always a good idea to start with one technique to not overwhelm yourself at the beginning.

But you don’t have to limit yourself to just that one in the long run. Instead, you can combine all three of the types below for better outcomes:

• Contextual links
• Guest posting
• Sponsored posts

Now, let’s see how each of these work.

#1 Contextual Guest Post Backlinks

Contextual guest post links are basically hyperlinks to your website that you add to a page with related content. You can often hear people refer to these as “link insertions.”

The true benefit of this option is that you don’t really have to write the whole blog. Instead, you simply put together a couple of sentences (or a paragraph at most) where you include your link.

This way, you save hours of time on writing, but you still get the link juice.

Sounds good, right? How do you get those backlinks, though?

1. First, find quality niche blog posting websites that publish similar topics to yours.
2. Next, comb through the website to find a blog relevant to your topic, at least thematically, or related to one of your posts.
3. Contact the webmaster and ask whether they could accept your link insertion and agree on the terms. Normally, you would either have to pay or get them a reciprocal backlink from your site. The latter only works if you have a high DR, though.
4. If they agree, ask them about the requirements. But usually, you have to create a short (the briefer, the better) paragraph that adds to the page you found earlier. Your main goal is to add your link naturally without it seeming spammy or out of context
5. When you’re done, send your creation to the webmaster, wait until it’s published, and voilà – you have your new backlink acquired.

So, as we’ve mentioned — the main advantage of this link building tactic is that you don’t have to create a new SEO guest blog from scratch.

And, if you are lucky enough to find a page with high traffic on a quality guest posting site, you can start to enjoy the referral traffic and other benefits (better engagement, new leads, etc.) almost immediately.

The con is that people are very protective of their work, and this is no different here, too.

You might find that it’s difficult to convince webmasters to let you make even minor edits to their published work just to add your link.

In fact, lots of people who use this method prefer to go for LinksManagement to get their links instantly published on the chosen page.

Plus, there’s a wide range of filters available to search for suitable sites, so you can skip that hassle, too.

#2 Guest Posting

If you are reading this, you probably aren’t wondering what guest posting is in SEO. Still, it might not be as straightforward as many think.

The idea of guest posting these days comes down to getting your work published for free. Wait what?

That’s right! Because guest posting and sponsored posting (more on this later) are two different concepts.

So, basically, when you guest blog, you must be an expert in your niche. The idea for you is to share your experience and add some real value to the readers of that website.

What does true guest posting look like today?

1. First, you find a quality site in your niche that looks like a good fit. Generally, this website has to have several different authors.
2. Then, you check the site for contact information or try to track down the webmaster or editors via social media.
3. Reach out to them to see whether they are looking for guest writers. Tell them about your experience in the niche and offer to write a blog.
4. If they agree, they would most likely ask for some topic suggestions. To come up with those, check their currently published blogs and find a decent topic that fits in the general theme. You might even do a content gap analysis for topic ideas.
5. Try to find 3 topic ideas and briefly describe each of them (some webmasters might request you to create a detailed outline of your future guest blog, so be prepared for that).
6. When the editor approves your topic, don’t start writing right away. Before that, go to their website and check their content to learn the general vibe (aka tone of voice) and understand how you can replicate that.

When it comes to guest posting for backlinks, you are more or less volunteering or doing PR for yourself as an author/specialist. Stay with us for a minute while we break this down.

Even if your main goal is really to get some quality backlinks to boost your search rankings and organic traffic, you are still basically showing off your skills as a writer while also sharing your knowledge about your industry.

If you are going to be using guest blogging for backlinks, then make sure to create only content that is genuinely useful, interesting, and well-written.

You can even hire a specialist in the field if that’s necessary to submit an authority guest post.

Remember, webmasters will request you to show your previous works, submit a pitch, etc., before agreeing to publish your guest postings on their site.

#3 Sponsored Post

Source: SEJ

Sometimes, people confuse a backlink guest post and a sponsored post, which is understandable considering the two overlap in many ways.

But here is where they differ: sponsored posts are basically paid guest posts.

Unlike regular guest posting where you get your content on a relevant website for free (at least that’s how it should be), here, you have to make some form of payment.

As a result, these websites might accept lower-quality content or blogs from people who aren’t specialists in their niche. But it isn’t always the case.

Even though payment is required, it doesn’t mean you can just write anything or submit some plagiarized content and call it a day. Nope.

And if some website agrees to that, you don’t want to get a link from them, trust us.

The truth is that no self-respecting guest posting blog will publish anything blatantly promotional/weak or a pure copy of someone else’s work. Not even for money.

By the way, if you outsource your guest blogging or sponsored posting, don’t get confused if you hear some other names of this tactic.

For example, on LM, we call it “article links,” but it’s still essentially guest blogging for links.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Doing SEO Guest Posting

Most of the time, when people say SEO guest blogging doesn’t work or that it doesn’t have any more value, chances are they are doing something wrong.

Here are some mistakes to watch out for:

#1 Neglecting to Use the Nofollow Tag in Your SEO Guest Posts

Look, we all know how backlinks work.

If you want to get all the benefits from your guest posting, you NEED those “dofollow” links (FYI, there is no such thing as a “dofollow” tag, but that’s how people refer to backlinks that don’t have a nofollow or sponsored tags).

But here comes the important part – you can’t ignore nofollow links either. Why?

Because the last thing you want is to make Google believe that you’re manipulating your rankings. Of all enemies, Google is the worst one to have.

So, to avoid this, you have to create a balanced and natural backlink profile.

This means having a realistic ratio of dofollow and nofollow links, getting backlinks from websites with diverse DR/DA, etc.

So, it’s absolutely alright if sometimes, you get links like these:

• <a href=”https://www.sitename.com/” rel=”nofollow”>Anchor text</a>
• <a href=”https://www.sitename2.com/” rel=”sponsored”>Anchor text</a>

#2 Using Only Keyword-Based Anchors

Source: @RalfKaiser on X

When getting guest post backlinks, it is very tempting to use your main keywords as anchors.

Isn’t that a wonderful way to signal to Google that you must rank for that query if others are referencing you?

Not really. Because you also need a fine balance of anchors in your backlink profile. This means that you need a mixture of branded anchors, keyword-based anchors, and some neutral anchors.

The last type must prevail, generally speaking. Why? Because when people link to you naturally, the chances are they won’t use keywords as an anchor.

And Google knows it.

Pro tip: If you still want to optimize your link building efforts, you can use your keyword somewhere near the anchor. For example:

“When choosing a math tutor for kids, make sure to compare different options and see what works for your child.”

In this case, “math tutor for kids” is the main keyword, while “compare different options” is the neutral anchor for our link.

#3 Rushing the Process With Spammy Link Practices

Source: @robinlmay on X

Some people try to get as many links as possible (in the shortest time) and are willing to do anything to get them, even if the links are not of good quality.

This can lead to disastrous guest post SEO strategies like churning out poor-quality content and getting these posted on just about any site that will agree, whether niche-related or not.

This is a sure sign of spammy guest posting that will do more harm than good.

Sometimes, you may need to buy guest post backlinks. This can happen for any number of reasons, and for some niches, this is the only way they can find and get backlinks for blogs.

Still, there is a right way to do this. You will have to ensure that the links are from relevant sites, included in a quality piece of content, and the anchors look natural.

This is far better than trying to cut corners with spammy links (even if those are free).

In reality, no matter what approach to guest posting blogs you take, there is one huge rule you have to remember – guest posting isn’t a fast-track solution.

So, yes, it might sound boring. But you will have to wait to see real results because trying to rush the process won’t help.

Conclusion

So, to wrap up, honestly, it’s hard to think of anything better than guest post backlinks for improving search rankings and giving weight to your website.

But guest posting for SEO only works when done correctly and consistently. So, choose quality pages, don’t get spammy, be patient, and the results will impress you.