There have been many changes that have taken place with search engines; how websites/blogs are viewed and ranked. There were a lot people panicked over the Panda update that hit article directory sites hard. While guest blogging is nothing new, it was around the time of the Panda updates that guest blogging really started to take off.

Guest blogging is popular and continues to grow even more so because everyone wins!

  • The Guest Blogger wins by gaining exposure to a new audience and with SEO benefits generated by an anchor link placed in the author bio or byline area.
  • The Host Blogger wins by receiving high quality, fresh, unique content they didn’t have to write or purchase.

Legitimate guest posts, developed for the true concept of “guest blogging” are not promotional; they aren’t written to feature a business, product, or service. The best guest posts contain unique, quality information that fit within the writers industry – they are not (should not be) advertisements!

In accordance with the ‘true concept’ of guest blogging, information about the authors "business" is reserved for the author bio or byline. The advantageous part of guest blogging, for the author, is the author bio where self-promotion is expected and permitted. Authors usually include a link to their website, blog, products, book, etc. If an author is active in social networking, they may include links to their Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts.

If a person or business solicits a blogger and submits a post that’s a flagrant advertisement for their products or services, they should pay advertising fees, and bloggers should not hesitate to negotiate a fee or simply reject the post.

The average rate for promotional blog posts on modest sized blogs is equal to your PageRank multiplied by $5 or $10. Of course there are those A-list and B-list bloggers who command higher fees, and rightfully so – they’ve invested the time, money and energy into establishing their status.

There are many dedicated, hard-working writers that offer quality, unique, well-written content, asking only for a single link in their bio/byline. Sure, you will see those who are trying to manipulate search algorithms by submitting or generating low quality, regurgitated, spun articles they probably purchased from low-paid writers with poor English and grammar skills. Those are easy to spot, even for the rookie blogger – poor quality posts should be rejected without guilt.

Although, I have occasionally asked the writer if I may heavily edit the post to make it presentable – If I see an honest effort, I try not to punish the author, instead I edit the post highlighting the changes and send it back for their review (and for them to learn). I only edit posts when I have time, and try to refrain from making it a habit. Once is a gift, more becomes an unwelcomed chore.

I am an advocate/supporter of guest blogging – syndication and even creating PLR packs. I know, from experience, the real money does not come by simply popping up a blog and just writing.

Would you like to be notified of guest blog opportunities?

I am an OCD, ADHD, multi-tasking freak that doesn’t believe in wasting any amount of time. I am a natural connector and I’d like to help fellow guest blogging friends out.

As I make my rounds through the guest blogging arenas, it takes very little extra effort to pass on opportunities to others. If I’m able to utilize 1/3 of what I read/discover and pass another 1/3 to people I know – I don’t feel as though I’ve wasted 2/3 of my time. I consider it good karma!

If you’d like to be added to my “Alert List” leave a comment and I’ll get in touch.

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Filed under: Blogging • Networking • SEO

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