In the world of Penguin, link building has become a sophisticated science. Getting links to your blog or website is harder than ever. One of the most effective ways to build solid and high quality links is through guest blogging. When done in moderation, blogging as a guest could provide a number of advantages, particularly in terms of the links you will be able to generate. However, overdoing it could make it counterproductive than getting the results you are looking for.

Yet, writing too many guest blog posts is just one of the mistakes you can make. There are many other guest blogging dos and don’ts you have to be wary of if you are to make the most of it. The interesting thing is that there are many bloggers and marketers who don’t yet gauge the importance of guest posts. In the current year, the happening trend in online marketing is content marketing. Guest blogging is one of the best ways in which you can get your content published and read by your target audience.

This is why you need to pay special attention to the choices you make when deciding to become a guest blogger. The key is to select the best possible blog or website and there are a number of criteria that can help you do so. At the same time, you have to make sure your choice of blog doesn’t end up hurting your own blog. So, without further ado, here are the dos and don’ts of guest blogging.

Dos of Guest Blogging

The first thing you need to consider when deciding to write a guest blog is the website it will be published on. There are several factors that make a website or blog a perfect fit for the type of content you want to share with the world. Here are some of the most important dos of guest blogging.

Theme of the Website

Relevance is crucial to success in online marketing today. Google pays a lot of attention to relevance and it is the name of the game as things stand. Your choice of blog has to depend on its relevance to what your website is about. This is important in terms of link building as well. A link will only be considered valid and high quality if it emerges from a website similar in theme to yours. Of course, you can be flexible regarding the theme and even subtle similarities work. This also ensures some level of reader overlap, meaning more people get to read what you post.

Ranking Factors

Ranking is also a crucial thing you need to consider when selecting a platform for a guest blog post. The two things you need to keep at the forefront are the Domain Authority and PageRank. A high score on both is imperative for a website to be considered worthy of guest posting. Otherwise, keep looking.

Reader Base

You should make sure the website you are posting your content on has a large reader base. Otherwise, there is no use for you to make the effort. If your content is not going to get more people to read your content and visit your website, the endeavor is worthless. You can do this by checking the number of subscribers and also the social media activity of the blog. This way you have a clear idea of the number of readers you can expect to gain.

Frequency of Posting

Will the blog allow you to post regularly and how frequently do they expect new posts? These are important considerations. You need to know if you have enough time to keep coming up with quality content for your guest blog posts. Don’t take on a responsibility that make become very difficult to fulfill in the long run. This will only divert your attention from your own content marketing efforts.

Number of Guest Posters

This one is not commonly cited as an important tip for guest blogging but it could work to your advantage. You would benefit more from contributing to a website that has few guest bloggers. This is because your competitors will have a smaller chance of getting a link from that website. Also, it will be more lucrative.

Top 10 Blogs

Perhaps the biggest DO is that you should try your luck getting your post on one of the top 10 blogs on the web related to your niche. If you can manage to do so, you will be able to gain the maximum exposure and benefits from guest blogging. Else, you would have to work harder.

These are the dos of guest blogging you need to keep in mind. As you can see, they will enable you to select the best possible blog for posting. That is exactly what you need to do to get started off on the right foot with regards to becoming a guest blogger. It is time to look at the don’ts now.

Don’ts of Guest Blogging

Compared to the dos, the don’ts are relatively fewer. However, they can cause the downfall of your blog so make sure you pay due important to them and try to avoid them as much as possible.

Free for All Blogs

There are many blogs online that accept content from anyone and everyone. They are simply looking to boost their content offering so there is no benefit for you of posting on them. You need to find blogs that are relevant to your own blog.

Ads

A blog that has a lot of ads is a strict no-no when it comes to guest blog posts. The intent is clear; they just want to make money.

Web Design and User Experience

Perhaps the most obvious don’t of guest blogging is that you should stay clear of blogs that are designed poorly and offer substandard user experience. Not many people will consider spending time on such a blog.

Penalties

Simply avoid any website or blog that has been penalized in the past for any reason, especially low value links.

Contact Info

Blogs holding back their contact information are shady to say the least and should be avoided completely.

Social Media Presence

Blogs that lack a solid social media presence or have a low number of subscribers aren’t what you should be looking for to publish a guest blog post.

In addition to the don’ts mentioned here, you should also shun blogs that have a low PageRank and Domain Authority.

Keep in mind that these dos and don’ts are just the tip of iceberg. There are many other things you need to learn about guest blogging in order to become an expert. However, these will help you get started off perfectly. Best of luck!

Roman Viliavin, vice CEO at Promodo SEO Company.

Unconventional Thinker and candidate master of chess. Roman has been working in the field of search engine optimization since 2005 and is the moving spirit of the company. Participant and speaker of all major events in SEO business. Roman has successfully completed dozens of projects and gladly shares his experience with SEO community via articles and various online and offline publications. Follow Roman on Twitter and Facebook.

Web design is a skill that many people claim to have, but few actually know how to do well.  Web design is one of those fields where someone could easily teach it to themselves, or learn in a classroom setting. Even though it’s possible for people to teach themselves web design, most businesses and companies will hire a web design company or a freelance designer to handle building and designing their website. When you’re working with your design clients, be sure to keep these tips in mind.

Keep It Simple

Nothing makes a website run slower or look tackier than putting in a variety of different design elements. In the ’90s when people were first starting to explore the web, web designers would put as many different themes and elements in their websites as possible. There would be different frames on each page, moving gifs in nearly every corner, and there would be a different eye-catching background image for each page. When you’re designing a website, pick one central theme or element to design your website around. When you’re finished the entire site will look well planned out and put together, and not like a design nightmare.

Value A Well Done Website Over 100% Customer Input

When you’re designing a website you’re going to hear a lot of suggestions from the client, and not all of them are going to be good. When you’re working in web design, you’re going to have to deal with clients that want you to add elements that won’t mesh well with the overall design.  Some web designers adopt an attitude that the customer is always right, and they’ll give their customers everything they ask for whether it’s a good idea or not. These clients may be happy with their website in the beginning, but once complaints from their customers and employees start to come in they’ll blame you for their shoddy website. As a web designer making a good and functional website should be your top priority. Never be afraid to tell a client that their ideas may not be the best for overall website design, but also be prepared to offer good design alternatives.

Don’t Ignore Mobile and Tablet Users

When you’re working on a law firm website design, making a separate page for mobile users may seem like it should be the last thing on your mind. A few years ago making a mobile version of a website was on the bottom of every web designer’s priority list, but today it’s essential for websites to have a mobile or tablet function for their users. Today people are used to seeing mobile-friendly alternatives to regular websites, and if they can’t easily access and navigate a website on their smartphone or tablet they’ll bounce from your website.

Talk About SEO Tools

When you’re client first talks to you about their ideas for their new website some more web-savvy clients may mention SEO, but there will be some clients who won’t have a clue about what SEO is.  When you’re meeting with your client be sure to ask them if they want SEO tools.  Some clients may not know what SEO tools are, but they will want a way to monitor their website’s traffic.  Some may even assume that there is a way to automatically monitor web traffic without having to use SEO tools.  If you bring up SEO tools when you first meet with your client you’ll be able to explain what they are and ensure that there won’t be any confusion down the line.

Mike has extensive experience in designing websites and knows all of the tools and essentials to create a successful and functional website.

Internet marketing tools bring in business; it’s that simple.  The sometimes-challenging part can lie with how one uses those marketing tools to bring the business in.  Any savvy on-line business owner absolutely must have a working grasp of the IT, coupled with the psychology behind how Internet users think–knowing their needs and buying patterns–as well as researching, tracking and getting ahead of technological trends.

Here we’ll cover some necessities any website should incorporate in order to increase online traffic, maximize conversion rate and generate revenue.

Your Website:

A company’s website is the core of a business’ online presence.  The key is to develop a site that can be easily found during a search which provides relevant information, fosters personal engagement and develops the kind of trust and confidence consumers, wholeheartedly, appreciate.

1:  Make contact information visible and accessible~

Contact information can play a key role in gaining higher rankings in search.  Just make sure the contact information for your business is prominently displayed (ideally, on each page) including full local address, with directions, if applicable, and not using a P.O. Box address, if possible.

Additionally, an email address and links to social media channels are crucial for enabling consumers to contact your business 24/7!  By featuring your social media channels, your site will ignite engagement and enable visitors to view a continuous stream of meaningful and personal information about your business.

2:  Incorporate Live Chat~

Live chat allows for your business to interact with your visitors in real-time.  Potential customers gain valuable insight into your product or service; and it’s an excellent venue and opportunity to build your visitors’ confidence.

3:  Utilize an appealing, easy-to-use interface~

Eye-catching color schemes in addition to seamless navigation are crucial since they will reflect the professionalism of how you handle your business.   Pay close attention to your site’s text and visuals’ formatting since graphics, videos and other content can produce sluggish load time which can be a conversion killer.

4:  Use dominant and searchable keywords on the front and backend~

As seen on MMT Advertising, Search engines ‘reward’ web pages with the right amount of ranking factors or ‘indicators’.  A few factors that should be targeted, regarding search-engine ranking success, would include, but not be limited to, the following:

Content:

** research and use keywords and phrases people might use to find your content

** provide abundant, quality content

** engage your visitors to keep them reading, as opposed to quickly exiting

HTML:

** make sure HTML title tags contain keywords related to page topics

** use meta description tags which depict what the pages are about

** create headlines and subheads that use header tags with relevant keywords

Design:

** search engines should be able to ‘crawl’ the sites’ pages

** the site needs to load quickly

** URLs need to be short and contain significant keywords regarding page topics

5:  Be mobile-friendly~

Surprisingly, a vast majority of websites are not mobile-optimized; and they should be.  A 2012 Local Search Association survey revealed that 32%, or almost 1/3, of their respondents chose mobile phones or a tablet, instead of a computer, to look up information for a product or service.

To not ensure that one’s website can be accessed on platforms other than a computer’s desktop is like intentionally blocking traffic to your site.

6:  Track results~

By properly tracking website traffic, you can glean insight on how many customers visit your site, where they are from, what keywords they’re searching for and what specific content is meaningful.  One can, then, gain clarity on how to further enhance the website’s visibility and performance.

Your website’s presence does make all the difference!

Karen ‘s knowledge about internet marketing continues to prove insightful and practical.  In addition to writing she is a retired educator from Nebraska.