Are you a blogger using writing to get marketing exposure (and traffic\/back links) to your blog? If yes, then there\u2019s a good chance you know guest blogging is an excellent way to achieve that purpose - and you probably already use it.<\/p>\n
But Just In Case You Don\u2019t Know, I'll Tell You<\/strong><\/p>\n There\u2019s always the possibility that someone reading this post will be new and looking to learn. If that describes you, here\u2019s a quick definition: guest blogging involves submitting high quality blog posts you\u2019ve written on a topic related to your blogging niche to specific blogs you identify.<\/p>\n The Key Benefits<\/strong><\/p>\n Apart from helping you steadily gain name recognition and develop authority status, it also generates for you a stream of new, fresh traffic from other blogs, in addition to quality back links.<\/p>\n All of these will over time make your blog show up more often in search engine results pages.<\/p>\n Now, who doesn\u2019t want that?<\/p>\n Where to Submit Guest Posts: Big\/Popular Vs Small\/Lesser Known Blogs<\/strong><\/p>\n Conventional wisdom suggests best results can be had by getting your guest post published on a big and popular blog. If you can pull this off \u2013 and your post resonates with the readers - it rarely fails to yield multiple benefits for both the host blog and the guest blogger.<\/p>\n However, I suggest you consider adopting the approach I\u2019m about to describe, especially if you are just starting out, and your blog is yet to chalk up any noteworthy rankings.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no harm in aiming high or thinking big, but when you\u2019re starting out it can help greatly, if you keep an open mind about choosing legitimate outlets to promote your blog.<\/p>\n The way I see it, pretty much everyone will be aiming to get published on the most popular blogs. Let\u2019s face it, we all want to play in the big leagues and rub shoulders with the top guys. But with so many people trying to get in the same door, this can take time.<\/p>\n The truth however is that many not so big or popular blogs get decent amounts of traffic\/ranking, and CAN give you good quality exposure, traffic and back links. This is truer even now because of Google\u2019s improved ability to ensure good quality content websites show up more often in searches.<\/p>\n But what is probably an even more compelling reason to focus MORE of your attention, on getting published on not-so-big blogs, is that they have FEWER submissions to sift through in order to decide what guest post to publish next. Many of these big guys are overloaded with submissions. There is a long queue, and you may have to WAIT a while before your guest post goes \u201clive\u201d.<\/p>\n Of course, if the guest post you submit is really great, there\u2019s a good chance the blog owner could send it right to the top of the pile for immediate publication. But that may not happen often \u2013 or with every blog. So, spreading your stuff around to other decent ranking, but not so well known blogs can help you make progress.<\/p>\n How Getting Published More Often On Smaller Blogs Can Add Up\u2026To \u201cBig Blogs\u201d Exposure<\/strong><\/p>\n Now think about it this way. If you submit your new guest post to a smaller blog that\u2019s not over loaded with submissions, it\u2019s likely to go live on the Internet faster than it would on a \u201cbusier\u201d blog. Every time this happens, you instantly get at least one new back link to your site (via your byline).<\/p>\n But if you\u2019ve done a good job of the post, it won\u2019t end there. For instance, since everyone knows Google penalizes duplicate content, if the post is good, it\u2019ll ONLY get shared, and linked to by more people - thereby generating buzz.<\/p>\n That buzz would attract the attention of Google bots, so your guest post will show up in more search results for its keywords. In addition, the social media spotlight would get other people (some belonging in the bigger and more popular blog networks) to \u201cdiscover\u201d and also link to it.<\/p>\n Sooner than later the traffic and other benefits you seek will be yours.<\/p>\n The Best Approach Is Always a Combination of Methods<\/strong><\/p>\n Of course I\u2019m not saying there\u2019s harm in shooting to get published on large blogs. But NEVER make the mistake of focussing exclusively on big ones, and snubbing the smaller ones. This is because having your guest posts showing up on many different blogs \u2013 even if they are small - can eventually ADD up. And it could even leave you better off in the long run.<\/p>\n