Have you ever read a blog post or article and noticed that someone else not affiliated with the website wrote it? This is called guest posting or guest blogging and it can be an incredibly helpful tool in your digital marketing plan. Here’s what you need to know about guest posting and how it can help you build trust with potential customers.
What is Guest Posting?
Before we can discuss the reasons why you might want to submit a guest post, we need to first clarify what it is. Guest posting is exactly what it sounds like and involves writing an article or piece of content to publish on someone else’s website. In a B2B environment, this can be an industry blog or news site. It can also mean writing for a customer’s page or that of another related vendor.
Finding places to guest post usually isn’t all that difficult. Many website owners who publish niche industry news have a section in the footer of their page asking for contributions to their site. You can also simply email them and find out if they are open to guest posting and pitch your idea for an article. Most are incredibly receptive and happy to have someone write a piece of content for them.
How Can It Help Build Trust with Potential Customers?
There are a ton of benefits to guest posting, but the biggest one is that it can help you build trust with potential customers. If you’re in a pretty specific niche, there’s a really good chance that your clients and leads read the same industry websites that you do. If they see your company name in the byline or quoted in an article, there’s a good chance that they are going to see you as an expert in what you do. In the end, this works to your favor the next time they have a question or a need that your business can fulfill.
What Types of Things Should You Guest Post?
Deciding on a topic to guest post about shouldn’t be difficult. Obviously, you should only guest post on websites and blogs that relate to your niche, so thinking about your customers’ most pressing questions and needs is usually a good start. Consider topics that answer frequently asked questions or provide assistance if they run into an issue. Remember, your goal isn’t to explicitly sell, but merely educate to help build trust.
Does Guest Posting Affect Search Engine Optimization?
Another reason why companies opt to do guest posting is that it really can help with search engine optimization. Using anchor text within the body of the article or blog post counts as a backlink, which Google sees as a positive thing. However, there can be too much of a good thing, so make sure you’re only adding site links once or twice in the whole piece.
In short, guest posting can be a great opportunity to get your company name out there while providing informative and engaging content that positions you as an industry leader, especially if you’re in a specific or narrow B2B niche.
