Guest posting can be an effective way of getting traffic and targeted backlinks. Recently I’ve gone on a guest posting spree with no signs of slowing down. I’ve posted on blogs such as ClickConsultants, TheNetFool and TylerCruz (with plans for 5 or so more large blogs). The reason I’ve done this is for brand awareness and a trickle of traffic as well as a backlink.

The Brand

The key for me here is the brand. When people read a good article on a popular blog, they read the blurb at the top talking about the guest poster. Now what if they read that same blurb on four or five popular blogs?

What this does is build brand awareness for you. It may result in people coming to visit but even if they don’t more people will know who you are and what you do resulting in more visibility for your blog.

The Traffic

Of course you may get some traffic from these posts. Honestly the traffic numbers often seem a bit low, but it’s better than nothing. People may read your post and come check you out as a result.

That trickle of traffic will be extremely targeted and very likely to want to keep reading what you write (assuming you have good content on your blog as well). This traffic should net you some RSS readers as well.

The Backlink

Of course you can squeeze in a targeted backlink or two. In your opening paragraph (where you introduce yourself as a guest poster), you can put in one or two targeted backlinks.

These links are permanent (because they’re in the post), so unless the post gets taken down, you get them forever. This is great if you write on a high PR blog as it can really pass on some good link juice.