Who would send Matt Cutts a spam-like request for publishing his guest blog, asking for do-follow links in exchange? You wouldn’t. But it turns out someone is crazy enough and his craziness has spilled all over the SEO world.
“There you have it: the decay of a once-authentic way to reach people,” Matt Cutts wrote, creating an immediate uproar in the SEO world as he finally delivered his most-serious warning against unnatural link building.
Guest-blogging had so-far seemed a safe way to acquire links, build reputation, and climb SERPs. And honestly, it worked quite well.
But what was your intention behind guest blogging? Give out well-written content and share your expertise? Really?
For it is in giving that we receive—St. Francis of Assisi
And most SEOs I know religiously went by it. They gave out guest posts—original, well-written, spilling their expertise—but only to receive a backlink (or two?).
If it wasn’t for the coveted backlinks, most would rather publish a good post on their own blog than have it adorn some other website. Wouldn’t you? Why should you spend hours writing a great piece and then give it to someone else?
Well, you should, because:
- It will add to your mentions and reinforce your standing (yes, we’re headed that way)
- It might get you additional traffic (and perhaps is a way of Google-proofing your site)
If you really are an erudite writer and want to share your knowledge, a high-traffic website might be a good place to find your readers.
Guest posting is clearly not a legit way to acquire links (they add credibility only when they come on their own), and it never was. But it is still a great way to build digital public relations.
