Benefits of Guest Posting

What's in it for the blogger?

[rwilson]

What's the value of guest posting to bloggers? I'm not too focused on getting my site on other's blogs, I'm more interested in the value of other authors sharing their content on my site. Specifically those in my niche market.

Is it worth the effort? Has this ever opened up link opportunities in the future?

[martinibuster]

First define what you are doing. What is it? Well, for the sake of example let's say it's networking. Then rephrase the question. What's the benefit of networking? Any answers present themselves?

[edited by: bill at 12:38 am (utc) on Dec 31, 2014]
[edit reason] fix spelling [/edit]

[rwilson]

I'm more interested in how sites that allow guest blogging on their blog perform. Is that a worthwhile effort to open your blog up to that? I'm sure it's good keyword content, especially if done naturally. I'm just curious if anybody has worked that into their strategies. My blog gets traffic but not necessarily traffic that converts.

[ergophobe]

I think martinibuster's answer still applies.

You might open up to guest posting because you want to connect with the person. It may not result in an immediate link or any other purported SEO benefit.

But, if you make a solid connection with someone in your niche who maybe could use a boost, and that person gets really big, will they remember who helped them?

Or maybe it's not that obvious. I connected with someone that most people think would be a competitor just to give him a hand. When I reached out, he said "I've known about your site for a long time and it's clear we care about the same things. I've always thought of you as a friend I haven't met."

The connection resulted in meeting in person and the second or third time we got together he gave me a Canon 100mm macro lens because he thought I would make good use of it.

Did my website benefit? Well, actually his website pulled way ahead of mine and I let mine die... but then I started another site for a business that is responsible for a substantial part of my income and the link from his site is one of the strongest links I have.

All that said I couldn't care less about the link or the lens - he's a good guy to know. That's the chief benefit in this case.

So back to martinibuster's answer - ask what you are trying to achieve and ask whether asking that person to guest post might help you achieve that. If the answer is yes, then go for it. If the answer is that it doesn't seem like it will hurt you, but it will help that person, then that also might be worth it. I didn't expect any benefit at all in the case I mentioned - I was simply trying to help someone out, but in the long run the greatest tangible benefit has accrued to me (though I like to flatter myself by thinking that he believes there's been substantial benefit to him as well).

[ergophobe]

Maybe all that was too long and convoluted and the point was lost.

The point was this: people think too narrowly in terms of inbound links and so forth. Making connections with real people that spill over into the real world is worth it for many reasons, SEO being not the most important, but the spillover effects for SEO should not be underestimated.

[martinibuster]

The point was this: people think too narrowly in terms of inbound links and so forth.

Precisely, thanks EG. Step back, expand your focus. The possibilities are literally endless. Every known marketing activity can be folded into this. All of them. So the question isn't what can blogs get out of guest posts. The question is what can't blogs get out of inviting guest posts.

[rwilson]

The point was this: people think too narrowly in terms of inbound links and so forth.

This is an interesting point, I appreciate the insight Ergo and Martini! I will admit, I have been thinking narrowly about this.