Is Guest Blogging Good for SEO?

In a world where Google’s algorithms ruthlessly penalise sites with a spammy looking backlink structure, every SEO out there has to be asking themselves: how do I get quality backlinks from authority sites with high domain authority? The old methods of buying links are dead. Google’s Penguin algorithm update ensured that all websites that had questionable-looking backlinks from low-quality and unrelated sources received severe penalties in their rankings on the SERP. So how is it that Google’s experts can now tell us that guest posting is acceptable when, a lot of the time, guest posts also provide paid backlinks to specific websites?

Firstly, you must have your guest post on a quality site with a related topic. Next, the link’s anchor text should be reasonable and not necessarily be of your service, but, more logically, your name, a brand name, or a click here link. Then, of course, there is the question that Google’s bots try to work out – is it reasonable that this blog would want your post, and would it add value to the blog’s readers and visitors? If all these basic rules are adhered to, then you most probably have crossed the firewall of Google’s strict guidelines and managed to get a quality link (hopefully a do-follow link for maximum link juice value) pointing to your website.

Create Unique Content

There is always the school of thought: all you need to do is create unique content, and it will naturally attract links and social shares. To some extent, I agree with those who preach that content is king. For some industries, the only way to stay competitive and keep your site ranking highly for the most profitable keywords is by doing guest blogging in unison with creating unique content to attract those links naturally.

It Is Good for SEO If Done in the Right Way

So there is a real SEO value to guest blogging, and it is suitable for SEO if done in the right way. Experts put it correctly, and it is the “fad of the month” because most other avenues of building backlinks have been shut down successfully by both the Google algorithm and Google’s webspam team. When Google decides that guest blogging is also not acceptable, where can SEOs turn next?