The content marketing community is plagued by rumors, far-fetched ideas, and criticism from the most popular tool in the world: Google. With every change to the modern marketer’s playbook comes a wave of innovation and reevaluation of existing strategies. This is truer with guest posting than anything else.
Guest posting, at its core, is when a business or news-heavy website features outside voices and writers. The blogs are typically written for free and most sites have strict acceptance standards, making it difficult for the everyday business to send a marketer out to secure guest posting privileges. An article on Search Engine Journal allays the fear that many businesses have about guest blogs, a strategy proactive marketers have used for years to bring in high-quality content.
These bloggers will solicit popular websites for the opportunity to guest post. In exchange, bloggers are seldom paid but instead receive compensation through trade. A voice from a different company or a personal perspective allows that writer to gain notice and link-ins to online assets. As positive as this is for the bloggers, the host website has worthwhile content to share that was written by an outside voice. Amanda E. Clark, CEO and editor-in-chief at Grammar Chic, Inc., reports that this strategy is useful for sites trying to be authoritative in particular subjects.
“Guest posting allows your personality and business to create a notable online presence,” Clark says. “Host sites benefit due to high-quality content and everyday Web users have a chance to find otherwise buried articles. Guest posting is a win-win for everyone.”
But like old-school SEO and other fossilized marketing strategies, guest posting became a highly abused form of marketing. Hosting sites would solicit for low-quality articles just to build up content, posters would pad blogs with keywords, and everyone involved with the process would add links to dozens of outside sites. This raised concerns over at Google, and, though many marketers are distressed by the situation, guest posting may be entering its renaissance period.
Announcements from Google and a spokesman (find the original blog entry here) use broad stroke strategies to say this: Guest posting is dead. What they mean, however, is that Google is beginning to penalize websites with spam-friendly guest blogs built solely to increase traffic. This push for natural, organic quality should sound familiar. Unfortunately, the bad apples spoiled the bushel, and many businesses are concerned with the current state of guest posting as a marketing tactic.
“The way things are going, it’s more important than ever to solicit and host high-quality content that meets Google’s standards, isn’t designed for link-spamming, and enlightens the reader,” Clark explains. “Everyday Internet users, Google, and businesses all deserve to find stellar, original content without worrying about paid advertising and overly-promotional posts. Guest posting is moving in this direction, allowing proactive businesses a chance to make the most out of blogs and avoid penalization by emphasizing high-quality content.”
Hosting an author is an exciting prospect, especially if he or she has a large following. This helps websites become “validated,” a word the aforementioned spokesman (Matt Cutts) used in the blog’s comment section. But instead of becoming validated, many small business websites were targeted and penalized (even if they were ignorant of the implications) due to excessive link-building and spammy SEO tactics. Google’s goal is to reaffirm guest posting as a strategy that requires high-quality, authoritative writing.
Clark and her teams at Grammar Chic, Inc. have already begun adapting to the new playing field. Those uninitiated in the ways of guest posting need to understand that it is a process. To start with, professional bloggers pitch topics and send drafts of blogs to websites with high readership. If accepted, posts are queued in editorial calendars. The process can take weeks, which is just one reason Clark and Grammar Chic, Inc. plan their clients’ guest posts well in advance.
“It’s obvious that Google and most businesses see the merits of guest posting,” Clark says. “The trick is only publishing reputable authors and for authors to publish on reputable sites.”
Guest posting generates unique opportunities for businesses. Chic Marketing, for instance, ties these blogs into social media and websites to increase viewership and overall conversions. The company also announced a month-long promotion. According to Clark, any client who spends a minimum of $450 for blogs or Web content gets a month of free social media content on the platform of their choice. To learn more about guest posting or the promotion, call the content gurus at 803-831-7444 or visit http://www.chiccontentwriting.com/ and http://www.grammarchic.net/.
ABOUT:
A professional writing company located in Charlotte, North Carolina, Grammar Chic, Inc. is passionate about helping its clients shine through superior written content. The team employs all in-house, American writers who are seasoned and adept in content marketing, social media marketing, Web content writing, blogging and more. Grammar Chic’s CEO, Amanda E. Clark, is a nationally known thought leader in digital marketing and copywriting. To learn more about Grammar Chic, Inc. and the services that its team offers, visit www.grammarchic.net. Interested individuals are invited to "like" the company's Facebook page and follow @GrammarChicInc on Twitter.
Company Name: Chic Marketing
Contact Person: Amanda E. Clark
Email:Send Email
Phone: 803-831-7444
Country: United States
Website: http://www.chiccontentwriting.com/
Source: www.abnewswire.com
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