Guest blogging is one of the most efficient, yet misunderstood, social media marketing tactics.

~ Ann Smarty (source: Social Media Examiner)

 

Last year, Google’s Matt Cutts created a storm of sorts in the blogging world when he declared that guest-blogging was “done”.

But in fact, what he meant was that guest blogging, if used only for the purpose of including some “spammy” links in your post to trick search engines into pushing your website up in page rankings, should be stopped. In reality, guest blogging is one of the most valuables tool today to market a young website or boost business, be it in real estate or culinary arts.

 

Here are some of the top benefits of guest blogging as I see it:

 

Get relevant, quality traffic to your website

How are people going to visit your website if they don’t know about it?

Guest blogging not only exposes your brand and your company to a wider audience, but also brings relevant, quality traffic to your website. It is not just enough that you have a large number of people visiting your website every day – how many of those visits actually result in profitable action?

Submitting high-quality guest posts on websites related to your domain or subject expertise can bring targeted traffic back to your website through referrals.

For example, an interior designer can write informative guest posts for established home management and real estate blogs to attract potential customers to his website.

 

Reach out to a wide audience

This is obvious. Guest posting on multiple blogs gives you a bigger audience to share your thoughts and ideas with. These days, most blogs share their latest and most popular content on their social media channels. This means that more people will read your post on “How to Sell Your House in the Shortest Time Possible”.

If people like what you are saying and feel that it adds value to their lives, they will want to know more about you and what you do.

 

Establish your authority and credibility in the niche

Anyone can claim to be an expert in his or her chosen role. But having your views published in established websites increases your credibility and establishes you as an authority in your niche. Writing quality guest posts for a leading blog in your niche is like having your knowledge and expertise endorsed by that particular blog. It ascertains your credibility in the eyes of their readers and you have a better chance of attracting paying customers to your website.

But if you are planning to submit just one guest post on a popular blog and then forget about it, it is not going to work. You have to regularly interact with your readers, mostly through the comments section, establish a positive relationship with them, and gain their trust.

 

Build relationships with other blogging experts

Guest posting helps you build strong relationships with other bloggers. If you are adding value to their blog, they will return that favor and promote your bio and content. They may even invite you back for more guest posts.

 

According to, Research Now, “1 in 4 people buy something each month based on blog content”.

 

Bloggers are hugely influential in the online world, and directly or indirectly, have a tremendous say in what people think. Many online conversations happening today were born from an idea that sprouted in some blogger’s thoughts.

 

 

Guest Post By:

Kurt Jacobson is a surfing enthusiast with a background in real estate. Having moved 10 times in the past 7 years, he thrives on helping others learn from his experiences. When he’s not out shredding waves he writes about rental homes for rentfinder.co.