1. Guest Blogging: Beginner’s
Guide
verb. Writing and publishing an article
for another website or blog
Created by Lauren Atwell
Last Modified: 1/30/2013
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2. Why?
• Drive traffic to client’s site
• Improved online presence, search engine rank & client
reputation/brand = Happier client with a more profitable
business.
– Ok, but HOW? Answer: Produce content w/ external link
• Internal linking: Posting a blog on client’s site that
includes a link navigating to another page on the same
site
• External linking: Posting blog/other content on different
(yet credible) site & including link that navigates to
relevant content on AE client’s website.
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3. Up
Your
Game
• Posts should be around 500 to 1,000 words —
this is a pretty standard. It ensures the guest
blogger is providing an insightful article, not just
trying to get a link on your site. (Which you are
in one aspect)
• This does not mean you can:
– Stuff weak words into a sentence to make it longer
– Go off on pointless tangents or ramblings (very tempting
when trying to meet a word count)
• Ultimately, it just leads to weak content.
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4. Why Your Writing Matters
Well-written content is what search engine spiders feed on,
and quality content is the key to improving rank.
Content (aka your writing) is the absolute #1 draw for both
search engine spiders and its users: humans. If your content
is badly written and isn’t relevant to what your clients wants
to be found for, then client site is neither search engine-
friendly or user-friendly.
Content must use targeted keywords and phrases (but not
unnaturally so). Well-written content is what search engine
spiders feed on, and content is the key to high rankings.
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6. Again, your writing matters.
So you matter.
Isn’t that fabulous?
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7. No
one
cares.
You’re
was7ng
my
7me.
#omgboring
#UghNothingWorse
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9. 9

10. NEED IDEAS FOR
CONTENT
GENERATION? LOOK
@ TRENDING
TOPICS
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11. Site
Quality
• Do not write for low-quality sites.
• What constitutes low quality?
– Low-quality sites are deemed by Google to be “spammy” or illegitimate.
If these sites have a link to your client, Google could “penalize” your
client.
• How am I supposed to know? Answer: Domain authority
• Domain? That sounds technical. Answer: It’s just a technical way of saying
website. (www.agencyentourage.com is our domain)
– Domain authority:
• Domain Authority: The number of (Number that reflects (# & quality) root domains which
link to different pages on your website (rather than getting all links pointing directly to your
homepage).
• Domain authority is a measure of the power of a domain name and is one
of many search engine ranking factors. Domain authority is based on three
factors: Age, Popularity, and Size.
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12. Iden7fying
Quality
Sites
• Download SEOmoz toolbar
– http://www.seomoz.org/seo-toolbar
– Whenever you “Google” something, all
results will have the toolbar underneath each
result giving you the site’s page authority
(PA) and domain authority (DA) (Just focus on
DA for now)
• It’ll look like this on results pages:
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13. Iden7fying
Quality
Sites:
Domain
Authority
• Analyzing DA can get a little more complicated, but
for guest blogging purposes, determine site quality
with these numbers:
• High quality: DA 40+
• Medium quality: DA 18-35
• Low quality: DA < 15 (Don’t. Just.....don’t.)
– Domain authority is based on a scale of 0-100. The only sites with DA of 100
(or even close) are Twitter, Facebook, Wikipedia, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.
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14. Examples
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15. If
you
get
a
link
from
a
site
with
DA
50+
(totally
achievable-­‐btw)
Lauren
Jake
will
do
this...
Promise!!!
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16. 16

17. Questions so far?
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18. Outreaching
is
Similar
to
a
Sales
Pitch
• Be determined. Every guest blog you write must be published.
• Be confident. You’re supposed to be an authority.
• Make it very clear they will need to include the link that leads to
www.yourclient.com/page-that-is-relevant-to-anchor-text-slash-blog-topic
– (If you included another link b/c it navigates to helpful, authoritative
content, [the only reason you should link to a site other than client’s] it’s ok
if they remove it.) But
you
shouldn’t
be
desperate
• Do NOT sound desperate. (Even if you are...) b/c
you
should
have
produced
AMAZING
content.
– Factors that will make it impossible to get published:
• Your article (especially headline) is boring, unoriginal, or generic.
• Content that is obviously written to promote a business. Fit client
naturally into the topic.
– If you write a cheesy blog that is obviously an attempt to get a link, the
blog owner won’t want it. It only makes their blog and its reputation suffer.
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19. 19

20. (One
of
MANY)
“Plan
B”*
Outreach
Tac7cs
• BloggerLinkUp (BLU) Sign Up
• You can offer your guest posts (see next slide) and they
will appear in one of the issues within a couple days.
Issues are emailed out Mon., Wed. & Fri.
Plan
A
is
to
contact
prospec7ve
blogging
opportuni7es
directly
(through
Google
searches,
research,
etc.).
*Not
the
morning-­‐aer
type 20
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21. Sample
Submission
Form
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22. What
a
BLU
Email
Looks
Like..
Hi!
I’m
Cathy
from
BLU.
I
love
shoulder
pads
even
more
than
Blogger
LinkUp.
I’ve
also
found
that
overhead
shots
make
double
chins
disappear.
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23. 23
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24. More Blogging
triberr.com
Platforms
blogdash.com
blogsynergy.com
grouphigh.com
guestblogit.com
myblogguest.com
guestr.com
Find even better ones & spread word to AE team!
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25. Qualifying
Leads
BAD!
That
means
they
accept
duplicate
content
&
duplicate
content
=
VERY
BAD
Good.
They
pass
STEP
#1
However,
DA
was
only
16
-­‐
try
&
aim
higher 25
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26. Other
Tips
on
Qualifying
Sites
• Try starting with resource lists along the lines of: “Top 10 Blogs
about [Niche]” These will point you toward reputable blogs in the
industry
• Consider starting by asking this question: “Where is the go-to place
for my target audience? Is it possible for me to get a post there?”
• AVOID: Blogs that accept all content sent their way with the obvious
goal of publishing as much content as quickly as possible.
• AVOID:Blogs that have no clear target audience or subject matter.
• AVOID: Blogs with guest post guidelines that are easy to meet with
minimal effort.
• AVOID:Blogs that do not get updated regularly.
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27. Stay
Away
From:
• www.website.blog.com
• www.website.blogspot.com
• www.website.blogger.com
• DA will say 100..98..etc. but that is blogspot.com’s DA. Not
the blogger’s page. Blogger’s page has (basically) zero
value.
• So just......don’t. Your guest post will be a waste.
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28. Dig
a
Lihle
Deeper
• Just because a prospective credible blog
doesn’t advertise that they accept guest
posts, doesn’t mean they don’t. Find out
how to contact the blog’s editor/
webmaster/etc. and ask them in an email.
– Most “high-authority” blogs (ex: CNBC’s
Finance Blog, etc.) don’t - even though they
accept them.
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29. Qualifying
Sites
(Resource)
• This article is very recent & written by a
top trusted source in SEO. Author lists 20
“Dos” and 20 “Don’ts” related to
qualifying possible sites for guest post
opportunities.
• http://www.seomoz.org/blog/the-
ultimate-guide-to-advanced-guest-blogging
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30. Keep Updated Records
Always keep a list (Excel?) of sites you
have reached out to.
(Even sites you haven't yet contacted,
but would in the future for different post.
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31. Before
You
Send
Content..
• Make any edits webmaster may have requested
• Submit to SEO dept. for editing & approval
• Remind webmaster that you would like to know (at
their soonest convenience) if they decide to post or
not.
– (Why?: It’s not going anywhere else. You have to make sure a blog is
or isn’t getting published before you send content to someone else.)
• If so, they should give you a publishing date.
– Even better - publishing date & link
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32. The
Last
(Very
Important)
Step
• Promote published
content through social
media platforms!
– Mention this to blog owner/editor
when you outreach to them. They like
hearing that you plan to promote
(and drive traffic) to their site!
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33. The End
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