Monday 26 March 2012

A Guide To Guest Blogging For SEO In 2012

Guest Blogging
Guest blogging has become one of the most popular link building techniques used by SEOs today. This post will run through some of the most important things to remember when it comes to blogging on other people's blogs.

There are a few reasons why guest blogging is so popular:

1. It's a totally white hat technique, and is approved of by the search engines.

2. It's a win-win solution - the blog owner gets a piece of free content, the SEO gets exposure for their client, and a link back to their client's website.

3. The whole process adds value to the web, unlike some shadier "black hat" tactics.


Finding guest blogging opportunities

There are a number of ways to go about finding sites that are accepting, and indeed welcome, guest bloggers. The first and most obvious is to tap into your existing contacts. Perhaps you have a blogger who you have given your product to review previously. Or perhaps you know someone offline who has a blog in your niche (it doesn't always have to be in your niche - more on this later on). There are lots of reasons why you may have the email address or phone number of a blogger. Drop them a line and ask them whether they accept guest content.

Another good way of searching for guest blog opportunities is through searching on Google. Try a few searches related to your niche, such as "luxury travel guest blogging" or "luxury travel guest posting" or "travel guest writers needed". Google should point you in the right direction. When you find a blog, check that it has not got a crappy design, has Page Rank and was recently updated. Email them and suggest a topic that you could write about on their blog. You should be able to make a few contacts this way.

Another great way of finding guest posting opportunities is to use guest blogging websites such as Blogger Link Up or My Blog Guest. Blogger Link Up is an email mailing list that has blogs looking for guest content, plus people offering their content for other blogs. It goes out a couple of times a week, and contains 100 or so opportunities. I've used it for one of our clients and received about six or seven emails from people offering to write for my blog. I ended up using a couple of them.

My Blog Guest is an actual web site that matches people who are looking for blog content with those looking to provide it. It uses a bulletin board system to display opportunities, and breaks down each ad into categories e.g. real estate, SEO, home and garden. As you would expect, the most popular category on the site is SEO and web marketing; one downside of the site is that it has less posts from other niches.

These two sites, like most of the web, are dominated by US sites. This can make things difficult if you are looking to host or post UK-specific content - beware.


Writing the post

Once you have acquired a target site, have made contact with the owner and established that they would like you to write for them, then you need to write the post. Obviously it helps if you have experience in the niche that the blog is in. If you have knowledge of your client's niche, you can write about that. If you don't, find a blog that is in a niche you know about, then write on that. There is value in doing both. If the niche is not the same as your client, you should still be able to get your link back.

Once you have written the post, email the blogger with it. Make sure you include in the email the bio that they are to use at the bottom of the post - make it an anchor text link. Usual SEO best practice applies here - vary your anchor text between posts.

Keep a record of all the guest posts you have written, so you can see who you have links from and for which client. I recommend you do this on an Excel spreadsheet for ease of use.


About The Author: Clear Communications are one of the leading B2B marketing agencies in the UK. They specialise in marketing, PR and digital.

Do you like this article? Please let me know by using the comments section below.


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Wednesday 21 March 2012

Delay In Regular Blog And Guest Posts

News
If you have been wondering why there haven't been any new posts published on the blog over the past couple of weeks, here is the reason why...

Just over two weeks ago, some much needed renovations were started on the house which should have taken just a few days to complete. What started as a relatively small job, turned out to be a major one due to some unforeseen structural work that had to be done. This extra work resulted in the house renovations taking longer than I initially anticipated.

You will be pleased to know that these renovations are almost complete and I should be back to my normal blogging routine within the next few days. If you have been waiting for your guest post to be published on the blog, I can only apologise for the delay. Once the renovations are completed, I will do my utmost to ensure that your post is published as soon as possible.

Right, back to it to keep a very close eye on these workmen and thank you for your patience and support during this busy time. Have a wonderful day whatever you're doing.


UPDATE 1st April 2012: I want to say a BIG "Thank You" to all my followers, visitors and guest authors for your patience and understanding during the past three weeks. The past three weeks have been really hectic but I am pleased to announce that all work has now been completed and if you have been waiting for a reply to your emails, these have now been answered.

Now that I am finally back to my normal routine, it's business as usual on the blog and all outstanding guest posts will be published as soon as possible. Again, thank you for your patience and understanding during the past three weeks. Your support during this busy time was truly wonderful…Thank You..!!

UPDATE 22nd March 2012: I am currently in the process of answering a backlog of guest posting emails. If you have sent an email in the past couple of weeks inquiring about guest posting or if you are waiting for your guest post to be published on the blog, expect to receive a reply within the next 24-48 hours. Thank you again for your patience and support during this busy time.


If you found this or any of my other posts helpful, don't forget to +1 or share the posts to your favourite networks using the toolbar below or by using the "+1" and "Share" buttons located at the bottom of each post.

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Until my next post, enjoy the rest of the week!



Monday 5 March 2012

What's In Store For Bloggers This 2012

Blogging
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Today, I'm delighted to introduce you to a guest post from Amanda Dean. Amanda is a writer and editor who loves watching films and documentaries in her spare time. She also works for an e-commerce company which provides a wide selection of promotional products for businesses.

Thank you Amanda for guest posting on Derek's Home and Business Blog and I'm sure my readers will thoroughly enjoy your post.


What's In Store For Bloggers This 2012

How did you fare in terms of online marketing and advertising for your blog last year? Were you able to increase your traffic? Digital marketing and advertising is an ever complex and dynamic field that requires constant change and upgrade in terms of the techniques used to improve it. You cannot just rely on one particular seemingly effective technique.

There will come a point in time when this particular strategy will become obsolete, and you would have to learn to do something else. Thus, it would be helpful to know some digital marketing tips for 2012 so you can create an optimization plan for your own blog. Here are some pointers worth taking note of:


1. Be open in trying different social media features

Take for example the new Facebook feature "People Talking About This." It is one of the sub-categories in the main category "Insights" which allows page owners to determine the number of people or users that are having conversations or comments about their page. This is just one of the many social media site features that are very useful for site or blog owners like you who want to keep track of their blog's progress in terms of extent of fan base and the like. Take advantage of these new features. Find out what each social media site's new features are and maximize the perks they offer.


2. Update your site's content

This is one search engine optimization technique that will probably never be obsolete. Excellent and updated content has always been an effective optimization strategy so you should take it very seriously. Place yourself in the shoes of your users or viewers. Would you like a blog or a site that talks about the same things over and over again? Probably not, so be exceptionally kind to your readers and provide them the kind of content they deserve. Believe me, you'll reap great rewards in the end.


3. Be mobile friendly

Have you noticed that a lot of new mobile phones have cropped up from everywhere? The introduction of these latest mobile innovations and the availability of a multitude of new and more advanced features have prompted mobile phone users to maximizing the benefits they can get from such a seemingly "complete" gadget. Thus, they use these mobile phones as portable access to their various social media needs. Learn to recognize these needs and try to improve your site in a way that will be extremely friendly and accessible for mobile phone fans and users.

Hopefully, these simple but timely tips will grant you a great traffic and lead generation boost for your site this 2012. The new year holds so much marketing promise and potential for all bloggers and site owners out there. Make sure you get some for yourself!


About The Author: Amanda Dean is a writer and editor and loves watching films and documentaries. Visit her Twitter page at twitter.com/amanda_dean

Do you like this guest post? Please show Amanda your support by leaving your valued comments.

Would you like to guest post on the blog? Please use the Contact tab above to get in touch if you write business-related articles or articles on the topics of Internet Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Blogging, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) or Search Engine Marketing (SEM).


If you found this or any of my other posts helpful, don't forget to +1 or share the posts to your favourite networks using the toolbar below or by using the "+1" and "Share" buttons located at the bottom of each post.

As ever, if you want to stay up to date with the latest blog posts, don't forget to follow via Google Friend Connect (button on sidebar), on NetworkedBlogs, via Email (maximum of one email per day), on Facebook and Google+ or by subscribing to our blog feed at:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/DereksHomeAndBusinessBlog

You can also follow me on Twitter @djones1509, Google+ and on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/djones1509
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Until my next post, have a fabulous week!