So which is it? Is Guest blogging really bad? Or should you keep doing it?

Is Guest Blogging Bad?

To answer this question properly we have to really draw a distinction between what is bad and what is good. Because there are some very good and relevant ways to guest blog, and there are some terrible spammy awful ways to guest blog. To make it easy to see the difference I have prepared a list of red flags and things your should avoid when considering a guest blogger, and on the other hand some things that you should embrace and love about guest blogging.

Signs of Bad Guest Blogging Tactics

• If you receive an email from someone claiming to, “write 100% original content for your site in exchange for links” do not consider their offer. Hit delete and forget about it.
• If someone wants to pay you to write an advertisement that looks like a review of a product and asks you to link to their site, decline that offer.
• If you don’t feel comfortable personally vouching for someone who wants to place content on your site you should not let them put content on your site.

The trend in all of the above warning signs is that all of these tactics include strangers who are trying to control content on your website and using that content to link back to them. They don’t care about your website visitors, and they certainly don’t care about damaging your reputation. If you are using any of the above tactics now is the time to stop. These tactics are considered spam and your status in search engine results will suffer.

Rules to Follow For Good Guest Blogging

• If you can personally vouch for the quality of work, ask industry peers and leaders to blog on your site. This is great outreach and will help your readership.
• Keep editorial control. Have guest bloggers submit their content to you for approval. Ultimately, you know what is best for your audience.
• It is ok for you to guest blog on other sites. Just don’t do it for any of the reasons we have listed in the “Bad Guest Blogging Tactics” list.

Pro-Tip: When you allow guest blogging on your site it is always best to apply the nofollow tag on all outgoing links. This tells search engines that you do not want to pass any value from your site to the site you are linking too. This is quickly becoming one of those best practices.

Conclusion

Guest blogging can still be a great tool to keep in your marketing tool box. Like everything, don’t abuse this tool. My guiding question in internet marketing is, “is what I am about to do considered spam?” If the answer is yes, don’t do it.