5 Guest-Posting Tips to Help You Rank Higher on Search Engines

On Dec 20, 2023

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Many entrepreneurs struggle to rank high on search engines despite investing in search engine optimization (SEO). As a result, their website remains buried on the fourth page of Google, where nobody can ever find it.

This is commonly the result of neglecting link-building. Backlinks are still a vital ranking factor in 2023, which is why you need to find a way to acquire them.

Enter guest posting — an excellent way to get backlinks and boost your SEO efforts. That’s why I want to share five guest-posting tips to help you rank faster on search engines and improve your online visibility.

Why guest posting is important in 2023

In 2023, artificial intelligence (AI) models have revolutionized content creation, making it more accessible than ever. But with tons of content flooding the internet, one question arises: How do search engines decide what content to rank higher?

While they use many ranking factors, backlinks are probably the most important.

When two websites have similarly excellent content, the one with better quality backlinks will rank higher on search engines. That’s why you need to develop a good link-building strategy that focuses on guest posting.

Here are the five tips that can help you master guest posting to start ranking higher on search engines:

1. Pick the right topics

When you’re analyzing a website, you should examine what kind of topics they already cover. Many people make pitches that are not relevant to the website or send generic emails to pitch topics that have been covered thousands of times, with no unique angle. That is clearly not going to get a “yes.”

Instead, you want to dive deep into the blog section and dissect the existing topics. Use your favorite SEO tool to learn what keywords the website ranks for. Then, compare them with competitor websites and identify any gaps.

Pitch a topic crafted around a keyword that they’re not ranking for, but their competitor is. That will give you a fresh perspective on a topic of interest, which increases the chances of a positive response.

2. Position yourself as an expert

Website owners get countless guest posting requests and only answer a few. So, if you want to get a response, you need to position yourself as an expert.

Website owners seek to provide true value to their readers, which is why they want to hear insights from established experts who have a lot to offer. You can get a positive response by positioning yourself as an expert in your guest post outreach email and explaining how your knowledge and expertise are relevant to their business.

To achieve this, you need to introduce yourself, your professional background and the depth of your experience that positions you as an authority. Clearly articulate the topics you specialize in when contributing as a guest blogger.

Positioning yourself as an expert builds credibility and assures website owners that your insights will benefit their audience, which increases your chances of securing a backlink.

3. Partner up with other guest bloggers

You typically get one backlink from a single guest post. However, you can collaborate with other guest bloggers to amplify the benefits of your guest posts.

Here’s how it works.

First, you need to identify and partner with bloggers actively engaged in guest posting. When you create a guest blog for another website, you link to your partner bloggers. In return, they also include a backlink to your website when doing a guest post.

This symbiotic approach helps secure several backlinks from a single guest blog, maximizing your link-building efforts.

4. Create a high-quality guest post

After securing a guest post, most people don’t put too much effort into creating it. They write a short-form article that offers nothing unique compared to hundreds of other posts covering the same topic. This approach is only going to get you ghosted by the website owner because it’s clear that your only goal is to acquire a backlink.

With guest posting, it’s all about providing value. That’s why you want to stand out from the crowd by creating high-quality content that offers real value to the readers.

Your guest blogging content should be long-form with expert quotes, current data and compelling visuals. Think about the type of blog post you want to publish on your website and provide the same quality.

This approach ensures your guest post leaves a lasting impression on the website owner, helping you build a relationship with them. As a result, they’ll be more open to future collaborations.

5. Offer something in return

Sometimes, website owners won’t be open to guest posting. So, you can offer something to sweeten the deal and provide more value than the guest post.

For example, you can propose to share the guest post with