A lot of marketers and business owners tend to think that guest posting or simply posting to your own blog is an automatic method to get traffic to your site. However, they are wrong. While guest posting will bring you more visitors to your site than if you just had a normal post on your blog, it is not an automatic method for increasing your site traffic. In fact, it can even be harmful to your site’s rankings if used incorrectly.
If you choose to post a guest blogger on your site, you need to do so carefully. A good guest blogger may contribute fresh and relevant content, but they also have their own blogs, websites, and social media profiles. This means that they can actually “pounce” on your name and your blog within minutes and start pestering your other competitors with all sorts of sales pitches. In order to avoid this, the following rules should be followed:
Do not Hire a Guest Blogger. As stated above, guest blogging is great for increasing your search engine rankings, but there is a better way. Instead, you should offer your services in exchange for a guest blogger’s help. For example, let’s say that you run an online business but do not have time to blog. Instead, you offer to post his articles on your behalf, while also featuring one or two of your products in your own blog. In the meantime, your guest blogger can continue building his or her reputation as an expert on their own blog while you promote yours on his or her own site.
Does not Post Personal Attacks on Your Competitors. Another problem that many amateur bloggers end up doing is posting personal attacks on their competition. These attacks are often unfounded and designed to stir up trouble. Because they lack any merit, guest blogging can actually have a bad effect on your rankings.
Do not Put the Blog in the Guest Blogger’s Site. One of the most common mistakes made by newbie bloggers is posting the same article as their guest on another guest blogger’s site. This is actually what Google uses to determine where your site is placed. If the article already exists on another site and has been reworded, or has been reprinted from an original source, Google will consider the reproduction to be in violation of its terms of service.
Do not Repeat the Same Mistake Over. If your original article was incorrect or misleading, or contained factual errors, don’t make the same mistakes again! Google frowns on duplicate content, and you certainly want your guest blogger to see your mistakes. Thus, do your homework and make sure that your guest post will not cause him or her any problems.
Do not Attempt to Market Yourself, Drugs, or Pornography in Your Guest Blogging Post. One of the biggest complaints that many people have about guest blogging is that bloggers try to market themselves, their products, or their websites in their posts. The vast majority of guest posts are not sales pitches. If a guest blogger attempts to promote something, it is usually their website. If you’re marketing something in your guest post, then you should leave it out.
Do not Plagiarize. Guest blogging can be an awesome opportunity for a new writer to put their ideas and expertise to work, but if you end up copying and pasting someone else’s work, then you have just caused more damage than good. Don’t copy someone’s article word-for-word, but don’t simply rewrite it; leave identifying details and enough information for people to get their idea. The last thing a guest blogger wants is for Google or other search engines to label them as a “spammer.” While there are some writers who will write a blog post with nothing but his or her opinion, these are few and far between.