Right off the bat, we’re going to tell you that guest blogging is beneficial for local businesses, both in terms of attracting new consumers and enhancing the overall SEO value of your website. However, there are a few factors that distinguish local guest blogging from generic guest blogging. You have a few distinct obstacles – and unique possibilities – so generalist advice doesn’t always apply.
The Advantages of Guest Blogging for Small Businesses
If you’re a local business, you may benefit much from guest blogging, both in terms of publishing and submission. What are those benefits?
1. You Position Your Brand as More of an Authority
The benefit here is obvious. When you guest blog for a publication, you’re telling the audience that you have the expertise to be contributing to the site. As a result, you can use the blog to build up your brand as an authority in a field.
If your blog is highly targeted to a niche, you’re going to want to make sure that you’re contributing as an authority within the niche – otherwise, readers might look upon your content less favorably. However, if you can demonstrate that you are an expert in your niche, publishers will be happy to have your brand on their site.
2. Enhance Domain Authority
Another major benefit to having your brand’s content on a publication’s site is that it helps your site’s overall domain authority. Getting your content on a high-authority website can help your own content rank better.
However, if you’re a local business, you’re going to have to do some research to ensure that the publication is reputable. If your company is years old and highly reputable, putting your content on a site that’s less than reputable won’t necessarily have a negative impact on your company’s brand. However, if your company is new, you really can’t afford to risk meeting with a bad reception from readers – a bad association could hurt your SEO over the long term. So, it’s important to be careful about the publications you choose and ensure that your brand is in-line with the site’s content.
3. Establish Ties with Peers in the Industry
Another benefit to guest blogging is that it allows you to establish a network with other local businesses. As a small business owner, it’s important to establish ties with other local businesses and to make connections that can benefit your company down the road. Guest blogging is a great way to make those connections.
It’s important to note that not all guest blogs are equal. Many of the blogs that are available are horror shows – they either have no internal structure or they’re poorly designed and put together. If you want to get in on the guest blogging game, make sure that the blog you’re going to contribute to is a high-quality one. It will not only look better to your readers, but it will also be better for your domain authority and for your own personal brand.
4. Drive Long-Term Results
This benefit is a little more nebulous. Guest blogging can provide long-term benefits that don’t necessarily show up in your SEO results. For example, guest blogging can help provide leads for your business down the road, and those leads can lead to long-term revenue. However, to access those benefits, you must be willing to build up an audience of readers – which takes time.
Conclusion
If you’re a local business, guest blogging can be a tremendously valuable and effective way to promote your brand on the national and local levels. However, there are some considerations to keep in mind – your business tone and the position of your business within your market are two of the most important factors in making sure that your blog will be a good fit.
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