Blogging is not dead, as some people think. It just evolved and will likely remain relevant and profitable for many years to come. Currently, there are over 600 million blogs worldwide—and more are yet to come. Therefore, if you’re still thinking of starting a blog, stop thinking and start one today.
However, anyone who owns a blog will admit that blogging is a journey of ups and downs. While starting a blog may seem easier, making it rank in search engine results pages (SERPs) is no piece of cake. You need a solid strategy to make your blog and content rank—and one of the best SEO strategies is building links.
But what’s the impact of links on your blogging journey? Is it crucial for SEO success? In this post, we cover everything about blogging and linking.
Understanding the Basics of Blogging
Blogging, at its core, is the art of sharing information, experiences, and insights through a digital platform. This practice has evolved over the years from personal online diaries to powerful business tools, influencing opinions and driving consumer behavior.
Today, blogging is no longer a hobby as it used to be in the past. You can now gain influence, monetize your ideas, and bring together huge audiences from worldwide through blogging.
A blog refers to a regularly updated web page or website. You can either use it for personal use or business. Swarthmore College student Justin Hall created the first blog, Links.net, in 1994.
The various types of blogs include;
- Personal blogs - allow you to express your ideas and beliefs in a diary-like fashion.
- Business blogs - Focus on parent business and its industry. Business blogs are aimed at helping the business accumulate traffic, boost company exposure, and bring in clients and sales.
- Niche blogs - Target a specific topic, offering as many insights as possible. Popular niches include lifestyle, travel, fashion, fitness and food.
The Power of Links in SEO
A link or hyperlink is simply a connection between two web pages on the internet. They help users move from one web location to another. Internal links are those that connect different pages on the same blog, while external links connect pages of one website to another.
Now, the process of building links from other sites to your blog is what we call link-building.
But how are links crucial to your blog? Can they help in SEO? Let’s explore the benefits of building quality links to your blog.
Better crawling and indexing
Links, specifically internal links, help search engine crawlers navigate and understand your blog’s structure. Search engine bots follow internal links when crawling your blog to discover and index new pages.
Therefore, linking your web pages properly enhances your content’s discoverability and maximizes the chances of it ranking higher in search engine results. Remember, search engines can only rank your blog after crawling and indexing your pages. This means Google may not rank your blog if it lacks backlinks, regardless of the content quality.
Links provide credibility and authority
Internet users can only trust your blog if it’s credible. Therefore, you should focus on ensuring your blog remains credible.
Additionally, building links make you stand out in your field. And when your blog stands out, it helps you get better sales and revenue because visitors consider you a trustworthy business owner. Therefore, you’ll have an authoritative brand to dominate competitors in your industry.
Increases your web traffic
If you have a blog, you definitely wish to have as many visitors as possible. And if you’ve monetized your blog, more traffic will mean more revenue and profit.
Building links can help increase your website traffic. For instance, once a high authority website links to your blog, it will direct many visitors to your site to search for relevant information, products, or services.
Also, link building helps push your website to the top of search engine results pages. And according to statistics, the top results in search engines, especially the first three, receive the most traffic.
However, as a guest blogger, you should ensure that you only get links from relevant guest blogs or websites whose audience will find value in your blog.
Maximizing the Impact of Links in Your Blogging Journey for SEO Success
Now, you already know that links are crucial for your blogging journey. But now, how do you maximize the impact of links for SEO success? Which link building strategies are the most effective?
When it comes to SEO, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. You must tailor your strategies to suit your business's needs. Here’s how to reap big from backlinks for SEO success.
Guest Posting and Outreach
Guest posting is one of the most effective link building strategies for SEO success. So, how do you utilize guest posting link building?
First, you must differentiate between blogging and guest posting. Blogging is when you write content on your blog, while guest posting is when you generate content for another blog that you don’t own. This can be an excellent way to earn high-quality links from reputable sources.
How to find guest blogging opportunities
Are you wondering how to find guest post opportunities for backlinking? Well, there are various strategies you can adopt to find guest blogging opportunities.
First, you should learn to treat guest posting as a way of building your blog profile, not blogging links. This requires a focus on quality, not quantity.
Here is a step-by-step guide to creating a successful guest blogging strategy;
1. Identify guest post prospects
As a rule of thumb, you should only guest post on high-quality, authoritative sites to ensure the success of your guest blogging efforts. Therefore, the first thing you want to do is identify the blogs or websites you want to write for.
When looking for guest post prospects, ensure they are authoritative. For instance, the blog should have high editorial standards, have earned a reputation for top-quality content, and have an engaged readership that’s likely to comment on posts and social media.
Note: Avoid publishing on spammy sites, as this can harm your guest blogging SEO. This is because most spammy websites sell blogging links or guest post opportunities for a fee. Also, they publish thin, low-value content and have low engagement among readers.
Additionally, the prospect’s niche should align with your blog’s. This is because the host’s readers want to see your experience and expertise. For instance, it’s not viable to write for a fitness or lifestyle blog when your blog is about automotive.
Moreover, you should only seek guest posting opportunities from websites that have published guest post placements before. Remember, some websites do not accept guest posts. Therefore, if you find one, you may need to try another outreach strategy.
But how exactly do you find your ideal guest post prospects? Here are some strategies;
- Use Google search operators: These special phrases and characters allow you to make more targeted queries in search engines.
- Get ideas from influencers: Find and connect with people who’ve built a profile around their expertise. Investigate them to know who they’ve written for.
- Use tools: Semrush’s link building tool helps you find link building prospects based on your competitor’s and target keywords.
2. Develop guest post ideas
Once you know which site to write for, it’s time to generate guest post ideas for your guest post in SEO. You should have a unique idea for each prospect to maximize your chances of them accepting your guest posting proposal.
Ideally, every blog, website, or prospect wants insights and stories that no one else can share. Therefore, if you can make a prospect see the value in your guest post, then they’ll likely want your contribution.
When pitching a topic, ensure it is relevant to your brand (but not about your brand) and is interesting to the site’s target audience. Also, the other website should not have covered the topic.
But how do you get unique guest blog ideas? Here are some tips:
* Probe the target blog/website
You cannot send a guest posting proposal without understanding what the target site is all about. Therefore, before sending in your proposal, go to the site and scrutinize it thoroughly.
If it has submission or guest post guidelines, read and understand them to ensure your guest post adheres to the set requirements. You can find these guidelines on the guest post submission page.
Also, head over to the “blog” section and go through a few articles to understand their preferred topics, their tone, and article formatting, among other essential things. Pay close attention to posts that engage their readers best, probably those with many shares, comments, and likes.
* Identify popular topics
Although this varies depending on your niche, news stories and trends tend to be excellent hooks because many readers want the most current information.
However, other experts have a contrary opinion. They believe that trends and news are seasonal: Therefore, readers quickly lose interest once the trend ends and another emerges.
But remember, you’re not writing a guest article to post on your blog—you’re writing for another website or blog. Therefore, the content in your guest post must align with those on the host website.
For instance, if you’re pitching on a news site, you’ll need to write news articles and other trending stories. If an automotive site, write about vehicles, engines, and other content relevant to the automotive niche.
* Conduct keyword research
Once you have an idea of common topics to write about, you must perform extensive keyword research to identify the terms people search for in search engines (keywords).
You can do this with the help of various tools, including Semrush and Ahrefs. These tools will show you the keywords, search volume, and keyword density, among other essential metrics.
3. Pitch Your Guest Post
Next, you should pitch your guest post idea. This involves reaching out to other website owners and asking them to collaborate with you.
Some blogs have a dedicated email address for guest posting pitches. You’ll mostly find it on the website’s “Write for Us'' or “Contact Us'' page.
However, contacting a website’s decision maker, like the owner or editor, directly can help you establish rapport, increasing your chances for guest posting approval.
When writing your email pitch for a guest posting opportunity, ensure you include what you want to write about, why their readers will want to read the post, and why you should be the one to write.
Also, keep your pitch brief and to the point: The recipient doesn’t have the whole day to go through your email.
4. Generate Your Guest
You will only write your guest post once your pitch is accepted. And most likely, the other blog or site will provide guest post guidelines that govern their guest posts. This helps you adapt your guest post to their style.
While you should go through the entire blog's guest post guidelines, pay close attention to elements like;
- Wordcount
- Headings
- Tone of voice
- Images
Once you’ve understood the guidelines, create a unique, compelling, and high-quality article that readers will love. When writing your guest post, ensure your writing is error-free—use tools like Grammarly and the Hemingway App to polish your post.
Also, break up your content with short paragraphs, subheadings, and high-quality images.
Include relevant internal links in the post. Avoid mentioning your brand unless it’s absolutely necessary. Remember, you’re not promoting your products or services—the goal is to offer valuable insights and information to readers of the other website.
If you link to a page or piece of content on your blog, ask the other website to add a nofollow attribute.
Once you’re done writing your guest post, send it to the host site and wait for feedback. Then, try to promote and monitor your guest post to generate engagement and drive traffic to the article. If you don’t get feedback from the host site, try to follow up—sometimes, they are so busy that they forget to reply.
Elevate Your Blogging Journey With Guest Post Links
Now, we can all agree that effective linking has a huge impact on your SEO success. Therefore, if you own a blog and want to increase its online visibility and ranking in search engines, start building quality links today. All you need is to find guest posting opportunities and utilize them effectively.
FAQs
What are links in blogging?
Links, or hyperlinks, are connections between different web pages, either within the same bog or between different websites. These links allow readers to navigate between related content with a simple click. Utilizing links effectively in your blogging journey can help improve SEO.
How do I create a link to my blog?
A link is that blue text you see in blog posts. To create it, highlight the text you want to turn into a link, look for the “insert link” or similar option, then paste the URL of the page you want to link to and confirm.
What are the 10 best free blogging sites in 2024?
Wondering where to start your blog for free? Try these 10 best free blogging sites;
- WordPress
- Wix
- Weebly
- Drupal
- Medium
- Blogger
- Tumblr
- Joomla
- Jimdo
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