The State of Guest Blogging in 2023

For many years, guest blogging has been the cornerstone of every content strategy. Isn’t it that many of us content marketers perhaps started as freelance content writers? While guest blogging has certainly undergone changes in terms of trends and mechanics, it still continues to be a powerful tactic that brands employ as part of their overall digital marketing strategy. 

In today’s SEO Premier article, we will explore the current state of guest blogging, while we highlight some best practices, plus the pros and cons of using it in today’s landscape. 

A Brief History of Guest Blogging 

Guest blogging, or guest posting, is the practice of writing and publishing content on another website with the intent to build awareness about a person, company, or brand and earn links for SEO purposes. In some cases, guest bloggers get credit to their post by either a mention, a link to their social media profile or website, or have their name in the author byline. 

In its incipient years, guest blogging as a practice took form as a campaign of widely-syndicated content published at the same time onto multiple websites. This article-farming phenomenon sounded Google’s alarm bells and today, doing the same thing is almost a crime. In 2023, as it has been many years prior, guest blogging evolved into a multi-faceted strategy that can serve many purposes like brand awareness, authority establishment, and audience engagement. 

Some key aspects of the change include: 

• Quality over Quantity - If you need to inject guest blogging into your digital marketing campaign in 2023, know that it’s now all about quality. Google is more discerning than ever, and it rewards well-researched, informative, and original content. The challenge for brands today is to create high-quality guest posts that provide real value to your readers. 
• Audience-centric - Instead of producing content for search engines, successful brands that do guest posting prioritise the needs and interests of their target readers. Before writing, they conduct thorough research to understand what their readers want, ensuring that their guest posts resonate with the audience of the host blog. 
• Omnipresence and Diversity of Platforms - Guest blogging need not be limited to articles, press releases or any form of written copy, you can extend your content to various platforms like podcasts, YouTube channels, and social media collaborations. Being omnipresent at the right channels allows you to reach a wider audience. 

How to Make Guest Blogging Work in 2023

Guest blogging isn’t a thing of the past. Here’s how you can make this classic SEO technique work to you and your brand’s benefit this year and beyond: 

1. Identify reputable blogs, websites, or platforms that align with your niche and target audience. Research their content and audience to ensure a good fit.
2. Craft well-researched, engaging, and informative content that offers a unique perspective or valuable insights. Avoid duplicate content or thinly veiled promotional pieces.
3. Establish genuine relationships with blog owners and influencers. Engage with their content, comment on their posts, and connect on social media before pitching a guest post idea.
4. Personalise your guest post pitch for each blog or influencer. Show that you've done your homework and understand their specific audience and content style. 
5. Optimise your guest posts for search engines with relevant keywords, meta deions, and internal/external links. However, avoid keyword stuffing, as search engines now prioritise natural, user-focused content.

The Pros of Guest Blogging in 2023

If done right, you can unlock a host of benefits from your digital marketing campaign through guest blogging. That includes the following: 

• Increased Visibility: Guest blogging helps you reach a wider audience, enhancing your online visibility and authority within your niche.
• Networking Opportunities: It allows you to build valuable relationships with industry influencers and bloggers, potentially leading to collaborations and partnerships.
• Improved Credibility: Contributing quality content to reputable blogs or platforms boosts your credibility and trustworthiness among your audience.
• SEO Benefits: High-quality guest posts with relevant links can improve your website's SEO ranking, increasing organic traffic.

The Cons of Guest Blogging in 2023

On the flipside, you may want to consider the challenges of doing guest posts:  

• Time, Money, and Resources: Researching, writing, and pitching guest posts can be time-consuming, and not all efforts yield immediate and positive results.
• Quality Control: Maintaining the quality of guest posts can be challenging, especially when working with multiple platforms or contributors.
• Competitive Landscape: The guest blogging landscape is competitive, making it harder to secure opportunities on highly regarded platforms. We’re talking about popular sites with high domain authority! 

By considering the factors above and adhering to best practices, a guest blogger like you can continue to use this approach to achieve your marketing objectives and connect with your target audience more effectively. 

Want to know more about how to execute a smart SEO campaign using the guest-blogging approach? We’ll show you how at SEO Premier. Book us for a free consultation!