Guest Posting and Link Building like a Writer

As SEO’s we over think everything. We want our keyword density to be perfect, yet we have only theories as to what perfect is, or even what is acceptable.

Don’t think too much about keyword density and anchor text.

The best way to ruin the keyword density of an article is to think about it. Write an article that is relevant to your landing page, and you will mention the keywords several times while not overdoing it. Don’t try to make keywords seem natural, make them natural.

Anchor text is similar. Link things as they fit in context. If you are an average person mentioning a company, you may link to them as Company.com, or you may refer to them as this website, or you may link to them as a specific product because the landing page has additional information.

If you write naturally, your anchor text will vary naturally.

Know what a good source is.

As we all know, clicking on the first thing that pops up on a Google search isn’t always going to get you the most research material. When you research an article, look at the sources you are using. Are they .gov or .edu? Is it Wikipedia?

We members of the younger generation were always told in school that Wikipedia isn’t a valid source, but in terms of guest blogging, Wikipedia can often be used as a resource of further explanation.

For clients with more complicated subjects such as biotechnology or lab equipment, sourcing peer-reviewed materials will give you the most credibility, and information you gather from these sources will be of higher quality. Scholar.google.com is a good way to filter by journal articles. EBSCOHOST is another great database, as well as the Academic Search Premier, both which search many peer-reviewed journals.

Be creative- ESPECIALLY when you’re not allowed to be creative

Your tone will vary depending on what client you are working on. Some clients love outrageous, far-fetched ideas, while others want to dictate everything from the perspective to the anchor text to the size of the font.

Particularly picky clients who like to micromanage actually require the most creativity. You must adapt to their needs and come up with endless ideas as they will sift through to figure out what they like. How do you write on the same topic three different times, but still have the content be completely unique?

Revise and edit

This is one that we hate to admit slips through our fingers. We write our articles, often on a deadline, we look them over, and we send them off. Having a fresh set of eyes take a second look at the article is beneficial because they will see mistakes and awkward phrasings that you didn’t notice.

Just because the red or green line doesn’t appear beneath your text doesn’t mean that your spelling and grammar is flawless. Be sure to thoroughly look over your article or have a peer review it for mistakes to increase your chances of having it published.

As SEO’s we will benefit from being writers first and link builders second. We have to have knowledge of our industry, but we also have to remember that content and quality is king.