How to Accept Guest Posts: A Step-by-Step Guide
Are you struggling to decide whether to allow guest posts on your site? Or are you wondering how to ensure quality and avoid spam content? If so, then this blog is for you. Guest posting is a common strategy for building backlinks, but accepting contributions from everyone can hurt your website. Therefore, it’s crucial to carefully evaluate each guest post submission to maintain your site’s integrity and quality.
In this blog, you will learn important aspects that you need to know before accepting a guest post. So, without any ado, let’s dive in.
What is guest posting?
Guest posting, also known as guest blogging, is a content marketing strategy where you allow other writers to contribute articles to your website. Essentially, you’re giving them a platform to share their expertise and reach a new audience, while they provide you with valuable content for your readers.
10 Tips to Successful Guest Post and Boost SEO
Accepting guest posts can be a powerful strategy to boost your website’s authority, expand your audience, and generate fresh, high-quality content. However, it requires careful planning and execution. Here are 10 essential tips to help you navigate the process successfully:
1. Author’s Reputation
The first aspect that you should take into consideration is the reputation of the author. Research about authors’ reputation in the market. Writing style, previous work, and engagement on their previous blogs. Importantly, you should also research this background of writing, and companies they worked previously for to make informed decisions.
For authentic research, you can check the author’s LinkedIn profile, go through their blogs, and check the engagement they got on their content. Further, ensure the author is authentic. Genuine authors link their LinkedIn and other social media profiles at the end of the blog.
The objective of researching an author’s reputation is to ensure credibility and quality. Knowing the author’s background helps you avoid publishing low-quality or spammy content. It also ensures your readers receive valuable and trustworthy information.
2. Content Originality
You might know that Google recently deindexed 40% of content from its SERP due to unoriginality and low quality. The March 2024 Core Update by Google states that content crafted solely to attract search engines will no longer be prioritized. To rank in SERPs, your content must be genuinely helpful and original.
Hence, before accepting guest posts from advertisers make sure you check content originality.
Make sure the content passes through the following criteria:
👉 Plagiarism
Plagiarism is an act of using someone else’s work, idea or expression without taking their acknowledgement or concern. In content writing, you can identify plagiarism when an author copies or paraphrases text from another source without giving proper credit or citation.
To check the authenticity of content you can use tools available on the market that include Duplichecker, Quetext, and SmallSEOTools.
👉 AI Free Content
The introduction of AI in content writing has made life easier for writers, but relying entirely on AI to craft complete content is unethical and often lacks originality. Google can detect such content and may penalize your site by lowering its search rankings.
Hence make sure the content is AI-free and originally written by the author. To check content is AI-free you can use tools like Copyleaks and ZeroGPT.
Note: The AI content checker tools may not be accurate to scale the originality of your content, make sure to manually review and verify its authenticity.
👉 Grammar
Another aspect of checking content quality is its grammar. Make sure the content offered by the advertiser is grammatically correct. Grammar mistakes can undermine the credibility of your content and detract from its readability.
Further grammar mistakes can doubt the originality of your content which can dent your rankings. Therefore, check content in Grammar-checking tools like Grammarly before publishing it.
👉 Match with E-E-A-T stands
E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It’s a framework that Google uses to evaluate the quality and credibility of content on the web.
Here’s a breakdown of each element:
- Experience: This refers to the author’s firsthand knowledge or background relevant to the topic.
- Expertise: This reflects the author’s level of skill or knowledge on the subject they’re writing about.
- Authoritativeness: This measures how well-established and respected the creator or the website is in their field.
- Trustworthiness: This refers to how reliable and believable the content is.
3. Relevance to Audience
Make sure the guest post from the advertiser is aligned with your website subject and audience interest. Accepting the content out of context may confuse or turn away your readers.
For example, your website is all about healthy eating tips, and you receive a guest post promoting high-sugar desserts. Your readers visit your site looking for nutritious recipes and lifestyle advice.
If you publish the dessert post without context, your audience might feel misled or lose trust in your site’s reliability for healthy living tips. It’s essential to maintain consistency in the content you share to keep your readers engaged and satisfied.
Hence, it is important to make sure the content you are accepting is align and relevant to your website. Publishing irrelevant content not only reduces your credibility with your audience but also with search engines.
4. Quality of Writing
Always look for content that is clean, error-free, and engaging. Engagement is crucial in content creation; without it, your content is unlikely to rank well. Therefore, choose content that has clear objectives and capabilities to engage people. The quality of writing likely depends upon the following features:
- The accessibility of language, make sure the content tone is informational, not promotional.
- The content must be written in an active voice and should be free of grammatical mistakes.
- The sentences should be short and to the point.
- To maintain the quality of content & avoid over stuffing of keywords.
- The content must keep keyword density up to 2% only.
- Keep in mind that content has the right headings, subheadings, and bullet points.
- Check the content must have visuals such as images, infographics, or videos to enhance readability and engagement.
- Ensure the content is relevant to current trends or issues in your industry.
- Check out the clear call to action (CTA) at the end of your content to guide readers on what to do next.
5. Author’s Expertise
It is important to ensure the authors’ expertise on the topic. While accepting the content you must make sure that the content is written and edited by a subject expert personality.
Suppose, your website focuses on cybersecurity tips and you receive a guest post discussing advanced encryption techniques. Before accepting this content, ensure it’s written and edited by a subject expert—a cybersecurity professional or researcher, for example.
This expert should demonstrate deep knowledge of encryption methods, providing insights that go beyond basic explanations. Their expertise should shine through in the clarity of explanations, relevance of examples, and ability to address potential reader questions comprehensively.
Such expertise ensures your audience receives authoritative, valuable information that aligns with their expectations. Further, such in-depth information enhances your site’s reputation as a trusted source in cybersecurity education.
6. Link Quality
Link quality is one of the most important things to consider before accepting guest posts on your website. Make sure the link inserted in the content is not spammy or of a lower quality site.
Further, check the link authority, spam score, and DA before accepting the guest post. Avoid links to spammy or gambling websites, as these can harm your site’s credibility and SEO ranking.
High-quality links enhance the value of your content and provide additional resources for your readers to explore further on the topic. Always review and verify the links to maintain the integrity and trustworthiness of your website.
Importantly, if you want to check link DA, traffic, and scam score you can utilize the free tools offered by Ahref and Moz. These websites have free tools that help you check the score easily by just entering the link address on their platform. You just need to open Google and search for a DA score checker. Choose the option website authority checker from Ahref.
On clicking “Website Authority Checker”. You will get the following results:
Now just enter the link of the advertiser and check its DA score. A score that is above <35 is considered good, while below >35 is poor, and above <50 is perfect.
Similarly, you can search for traffic checks and spam scores for the link the advertisers want to promote.
7. SEO Practice
Check out the SEO practices and keyword optimization in content. The content must follow all SEO best practices to improve its visibility in search engine results. This includes:
- Keyword Placement: The content must incorporate primary and secondary keywords naturally throughout the content, including in headings, subheadings, meta descriptions, and image alt text.
- Mobile-Friendliness: Ensure the content is optimized for mobile devices, as Google prioritizes mobile-friendly websites in search results.
- Internal Linking: Content must link to other relevant pages or posts within your website to improve navigation and distribute link equity throughout your site.
- External Linking: Make sure the content includes authoritative external links to reputable sources that provide additional value and context to your content.
- Content Pattern: To maximize the effectiveness of guest posts, place the anchor text with a link in the introduction. Further, include an internal link from your website in the middle of the content, and place one external link before the conclusion.
Content that follows these SEO practices is more likely to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) and attract organic traffic effectively. Hence, check these SEO practices before accepting guest posts.
8. Editorial Guidelines
Set and share clear editorial guidelines to maintain consistency and quality across your content. These guidelines serve as a roadmap for writers, which ensures that every piece aligns with your brand voice and meets audience expectations.
For example, if your website focuses on technology reviews, your editorial guidelines might include:
- Length: Specify preferred article length to ensure comprehensive coverage without overwhelming readers. For instance, aim for 800-1,200 words per article.
- SEO Requirements: Emphasize the importance of keyword research and integration, proper meta tags, and optimizing images for SEO purposes.
- Fact-Checking: Stress the need for accurate information and cite credible sources. Discourage the use of unsupported claims or outdated data.
- Formatting: Standardize formatting rules, such as using bullet points for lists, bolding key terms for emphasis, and ensuring consistent font styles.
- Inclusivity and Sensitivity: Encourage sensitivity towards diverse perspectives and avoid language or content that could be interpreted as discriminatory or offensive.
By implementing and communicating these editorial guidelines effectively, you empower writers to create content that not only meets your standards but also resonates with your audience
9. Should Offer Long-Term Value
Consider the long-term benefits that content can bring to your website. Evergreen content, in particular, offers lasting value by remaining relevant and useful over time. When accepting content, prioritize pieces that contribute meaningfully to your site’s authority and continue to attract traffic and engagement long after publication.
For example 👉 Imagine your website focuses on home improvement. Accepting an evergreen article on essential DIY tips for homeowners provides immediate value to your audience and remains relevant for years. Homeowners frequently search for such information, which ensures the content continues to drive organic traffic. Importantly it should maintain its relevance in search engine results.
By emphasizing content that adds lasting value and meets the ongoing needs of your audience. Such an approach helps you build a robust repository of resources that enhances your site’s credibility and authority in its niche.
10. Promotion
Promoting your posts after publication is crucial to maximizing their reach and impact. Make sure your advertiser also promotes the blog on various platforms. Effective post promotion ensures that your content reaches your target audience and drives engagement and traffic to your website.
Here’s how you can promote your posts:
- Share your post across your social media channels, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
- Include links to your new posts in your email newsletters.
- Partner with influencers or other websites in your niche for cross-promotion.
- Consider investing in paid promotion channels such as Google Ads or social media advertising.
- Participate in forums, online communities, and discussion groups related to your industry or niche.
- Repurpose your blog posts into other formats such as videos, podcasts, or infographics.
- Use analytics tools like Google Analytics or social media insights to track the performance of your promoted posts.
Pros and Cons of Accepting Guest Posts
Pros
- Fresh content and diverse perspectives
- Increased traffic and backlinks
- Brand awareness and networking
- Expertise & Credibility
Cons
- Quality control
- Time investment
- Spam risk
- Loss of Editorial Control
How to create guest posting guidelines
- Goals & Audience: Why guest posts? Who are you targeting?
- Content Quality: Set expectations for topic relevance, writing style, and format.
- Author Info: Outline bio requirements and guest post pitching process.
- Editorial Flow: Briefly explain review, editing, and approval process.
Ready to Accept Guest Post?
Now that you know the consideration to accept guest posts on your site it is time to implement these guidelines effectively. These aspects that the content you publish aligns with your site’s goals, maintain high quality, and provides value to your audience. Remember, each guest post is an opportunity to enrich your content offerings and engage with new audiences, so choose wisely and prioritize quality over quantity.
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