Let’s talk about GUEST BLOGGING.

If you’ve been hanging around the online marketing and business space for a few years, you might remember that guest blogging used to be HUGE.

This was before social media really took off so blogs truly were how a website/business owner communicated with their audience. People would subscribe to blogs, get updates every time a new blog post was published, and they’d go check it out what their favorite creators had to say.

Guest blogging was totally the rage at this time - people were popping up on each other’s blogs all over the place, writing their own posts that got shared on other people’s blogs, doing collabs (like interviews or Q&As), and all sorts of things like that.

Honestly, it was a really fun and collaborative time for the internet :)

Back in like 2015, if you were looking for tips and strategies to grow your website, I can guarantee that “guest blogging” was always included in that list.

But fast forward to the present day, and people ask me all the time - does guest blogging still have SEO value? Is it still worth it? Or, is it passe and a total waste of time?

They want to know if guest blogging will actually help them with SEO on their own Squarespace website. Will guest blogging drive traffic? Do the backlinks actually help? Does Google even care?

I’m thrilled to be answering this question all about guest blogging here today in my own blog & youtube video :)

As always, I’m giving away all my best tips here, answering all your questions and pulling away the internet curtain if you will. I’m here to hold your hand to make sure SEO actually gets done on your Squarespace website in 2022 - and, more importantly, that it gets done correctly LOL !!

This is the kind of insider info that I give to my Squarespace SEO consulting clients and students in my signature online course, Top Squarespace SEO. But since I’m not one for secrets and truly want the best for anyone with a website, I’m giving you the goods here totally for free!

Oh, and I’ve even recorded a video tutorial for you to watch in case that’s more your vibe.

Alright, let’s jump right in - I know you’re hyped to get your question answered so let’s chat tech goodness!

I have so many tips to share on the subject that it would have been crazy to put it all in one article! There are many misconceptions about Squarespace SEO which is why I've dedicate so many posts to this topic. Enjoy!

Click to view all posts in the Squarespace SEO Series

Work with Charlotte - explore my Squarespace SEO Services

Guest blogging for Squarespace SEO?

Short answer : YES, guest blogging is still great for SEO!

I’m writing this blog post in March ‘22 and I’m thrilled to say that guest blogging is still alive and well, and just as valuable as yesteryear when it comes to SEO! 🥳

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

But first, what is guest blogging?

It’s when you write content that gets shared on someone else’s blog (kind of like a special feature), OR you and the blog author/brand/business do a sort of collaboration within a blog post (for example, a Q&A, interview, case study, highlight, etc.)

Whatever content you create gets published on THEIR blog, but you get credit for in via a link within the blog post (e.g., thanks so my friend Mary Jane at thisismywebsite.com for today’s guest blog post!)

Guest blogging gives you backlinks to your website

Guest blogging is great because not only are you getting in front of a new audience who might not know you, but you’re also getting a coveted backlink (or inbound link) which Google loves to see.

Backlinks are part of any good SEO strategy because they have lots of value and help strengthen your domain authority in Google’s eyes.

Backlinks from guest posts also help establish a connection between two websites - often signifying that they are complimentary, the audiences would find each other helpful or interesting, and there’s often overlap which we can take advantage of.

There’s no point in a random guest blog post just for the backlink, instead you want to make sure that it makes sense contextually, for both sides!

Guest blogging introduces you to a new audience

When you guest blog post on someone else’s website, this is often the first time their readers are heading about you which is great because you’re getting in front of so many more eyes than before!!! This is how you grow, bb.

Ideally, the audiences of both websites are going to be complimentary (they like blog A so they will probably like YOU too) so this introduction incentivizes them to check you out too.

Remember, in the guest blog post there will be a link back to your site, so you can safely assume that at least a handful of people who read that post are going to click over through that link and visit your website too! This is great, now those people you attracted from the guest blog post are now on your website aka your home field advantage, so you can really wow them with your offerings, products and services.

Guest blog to grow your audience, increase traffic to your website, and then convert them in some way whether it’s:

buy a product,
book a service,
get a ticket to your event,
sign up for your email list,
read more content
click through your affiliate links
etc.

Pretty awesome, eh?

Guest blogging builds your like, know and trust factor

Guest blogging is great because people probably have a positive relationship with the brand/blogger/website that they first were on, so when they see that you’ve been featured there in a guest post too, it automatically signifies trust that the author thought you’re good enough to share.

This is where the like, know and trust factor is established.

It’s HUGE, especially if your goals are related to audience and business growth!

So yeah, guest blogging obviously has SEO benefits but there’s also a huge amount of intangible value too!

When to start guest blogging

I always say that guest blogging is fantastic and it should definitely be part of your Squarespace SEO strategy… but not always right away!

Here’s the thing, when it comes to SEO for your Squarespace website, you should always “water your own garden” first (aka update and improve your own website) BEFORE you start guest blogging and going after other backlinks.

Because think of it this way: there’s no use getting a backlink from a blog post if you’re just going to send people to a crappy website that isn’t properly set up to help you thrive and grow, you know?

First make sure that you’ve:

sorted out all the SEO settings on the back end of your squarespace website
audited and improved existing content
filled in any gaps
have a content plan to create seo-friendly blog posts

and THEN you can start guest blogging as much as your little heart desires!

Final Thoughts

Guest blogging is awesome, and in my opinion, people need to be doing more of it.

It has great ROI in terms of growing your audience and helping to send more traffic to your website. Backlinks galore, that’s great!

But it’s also fun and collaborative, you can enjoy partnering up with your peers or other people in your or related industries, and try something new.

Guest blogging also converts quite well so you aren’t trying to win over a brand new “cold” audience. These people are already primed to like you and all you have to do is wow them with your site once they click over to check you out!

So don’t sleep on guest blogging in 2022. Give it a shot and thank me later!

-Charlotte

Exciting news : my signature online course, Top Squarespace SEO, will be opening for enrollment again soon - sign up for the TSS waiting list here!

You can also sign up for my newsletter (right here or below), where I often share Squarespace SEO tips, tricks and high-quality exclusive content. I send out emails to my list every Wednesday, mostly focused on Squarespace websites and SEO, and I can guarantee that you’ll find the newsletter topics interesting, entertaining and worth your time. #humblebrag

Finally, shameless plug: hit me up with any specific questions you have about Squarespace SEO and your website because I’m your girl. You can reach out to me directly if you’re interested in working together on your website and we can talk about whether or not you would be a good fit for my consulting and ongoing services. I can’t take on every request to do Squarespace SEO consulting but I do pick a few websites and businesses to work with every month and I’d love for you to be one of them.