SEO Wars: Return of the Blogger

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Guest blogging used to be a respectable activity connecting quality authors into a burgeoning online community. The days of prosperity and peace are over, and dark forces cast their shadow over the blogosphere. But, is the blogging community also corrupt from the inside, adding fuel to the fire and perpetuating its own demise? Many people have armed themselves with skepticism and caution, and the only way to cut through those is with superior content and honest intentions.

Two sides of the same coin

The guest blogging trend started out as authentic, and its success rates have attracted numerous prospectors to try their luck. It was not long until some of them begun devising ways to automate and outsource the process. Some SEOs decided to put the “black hat” on, and use guest blogging as means to game the system. The only problem is, the system picked up some strange readings on the radars and took notice.

Organic, well-written and informative content is not easy to come by, but that is exactly what the juggernaut Google wants to see. High-quality, multi-author blogs have been around since the birth of the internet, and still stand tall in the blogging world. However, the blogosphere is also full of spam sites and poor blogs that undermine the efforts of “the light side”.

Divine intervention

So, you cannot just sit and wait for fate (or force?) to intervene. Resist the treacherous call of the dark side, and ensure that no one mistakes you for an impostor and swindler. Building a name for yourself in the appropriate industry sector cannot be achieved by stacking low-quality links and making generic posts. You have to offer useful info and deeper understanding of the subject matter.  

Always inform your own audience about the guest posts, because a blog owner will be over the moon if you send some new readers his way. Link only to reputable sites and adhere to Google’s quality guidelines to avoid being punished by ranking penalties. Guest post bio is the place for self-promotion where you can include links to your website or blog, depending on the guidelines of the blog’s master.

Such proper blogging is still a crucial part of many online marketing strategies, and is used as a way to attract internet traffic and increase conversion rates. It is also one of the most popular ways of link building, and reaching out to like-minded people and their audience. Hence, there are not many tactics that can rival guest blogging in terms of increasing the exposure, networking, boosting the brand building process, and conquering new digital frontiers.

Be my guest

Analyze the results and impact of your guest posts, which can be done with the “Advanced” segment in Google Analytics. Such tools are an integral part of the most digital marketing strategies, because they enable bloggers to gain insights into traffic that posts generate, and whether they are making conversions. Guest blogging is a two way street, so try to enrich your own blog with other people’s contributions. It cannot hurt to present readers with the fresh content and add new perspective for them.

One of the proofs that guest blogging is very much alive is the rise of the new tools that take guest blogging to the next level. Searching for the right opportunity sometimes takes ages, considering the overload of unworthy sites. However, with Dibz, a promising startup link prospector developed by Four Dots, you can filter search results and identify spammy links. That way you will gain the necessary focus and enhance your optimization efforts. We are hoping to see more platforms and startups that provide the same benefits. 

The game is up

It is never boring on the cyber SEO battlegrounds. After a flying start, many people started noticing decay beneath the glossy exterior of guest posting. However, it still remains the key link building strategy for fighting SEO wars, and the best way to grow more diverse and nurture fresh content. So, open up digital avenues of communication, and see internet traffic flocking your way. We are witnessing the return of the blogger, but we shall see if the cohorts of spam and scam will decide to strike back.