3 Quick Checks You Must Make Before Pitching Your Guest Post

Guest Posting is a tactic which should be a part of every Marketing Plan.

Even if your business doesn't rely on attracting huge volumes of traffic to your website,
Guest Posting will help you to build trust and authority and improve your conversion.

I still get emails from partner opportunities and clients for my last business because
people have Googled my company and found an interview I have done.  I landed a speaking job for the largest pharmaceutical company in the world, built up a customer base of local clients, and even found some fantastic supporters and partners, all through Guest Posting.

When you are featured on trusted and well-known websites, it helps to grow trust and credibility in your business. Something which every new business struggles with.

However, not every guest posting opportunity was created equal.

Time and time again I see business owners accepting opportunities with very low traffic and low engagement websites.

I'm sorry, but that is not going to do anything for your business!! Perhaps it will tick off a box on your check list of Marketing Activities you feel needs to be completed each month.  But in terms of ROI, (Return On Investment) guest posting on a low traffic website is very, very low.

I can't stay silent anymore.  You have knowledge that needs to be out there and shared with the world.  And I want that for you!!

So today I am going to offer you 3 very simple checks you should always make before pitching for a Guest Posting Opportunity.

These checks can literally be done in 10 minutes or less and will save you so much time and ensure that your Guest Posting Strategy is actually going to deliver you the results you are expecting.

Please save this, share this, write this on the back of your hand!! Make sure you actually USE this information.  There are people out there who need to hear what you have to say.

1. Similar Web

This is a fantastic tool that not enough people know about.  Just enter the URL of the website you would like to check, and it will give you the average monthly search volume. Depending on the traffic of the website you can also see the breakdown of the traffic sources.

This tool will tell you if this business gets most of its traffic through social media, search engines, referrals, etc.  (Also great for doing some competitor analysis.  Want to find out where your
closest competitors are getting all of their traffic - check out this tool!!)

As a rough measurement, only give a guest post to a website with minimum 2,000 per month traffic.

Now, this is a grey area, and there are lots of factors which go into making a decision on this. For example, if you want to partner with another business you might give them a guest post to start the relationship going.  

The business might be stronger on social media, so you might do a guest post knowing you will get seen on their social channels (check that it will be promoted).  

Or, sometimes I also go for a website under 2,000 per month if I see that the website is likely to gain traffic in a short amount of time.   

For example, recently I pitched to Charlotte Laila (and will be guest posting with her) as she is looking for opportunities.  I think it is very likely her website is going to grow quickly, and so it is a fantastic opportunity to get in there now.


2. Social Media

Always do a check of social media channels. Understand which channels they are active and pushing on. Don't just look at the follower count, look at their engagement and also the quality of the content they share. Follower count doesn't matter so much, what matters is how much of an influencer the person or business is.

Are they connected with other business owners in their niche? Are they part of a community?  When you are guest posting, you are also building business connections. It’s important to know the landscape you are working in.

If this person has only just started out and has little to no engagement on their channels, then you need to make a decision about whether it is worthwhile guest posting with them.  Whether you decide to go ahead or not at least make a conscious choice about how you are spending your precious energy.

3. Engagement

As I mentioned above, engagement is key.  So check their engagement on their Social Media Channels. Also, check engagement on their blog.  Do they get any comments or shares there?

They don't need to have millions of comments, but if you can't find a single comment that is not a good sign.  Same with social media shares.  Click through some of their blog posts. Do they have social media shares of the individual posts? You can check this website, and it will tell you how many shares they have.  

Remember, the goal of your guest post is that it is seen! And also that it will help you to be seen!
A website with no interaction is very unlikely to have links pointing to it, so the SEO benefit, brand exposure, and referral traffic you get from your guest post will be limited.

Take 10 minutes to make these checks before accepting a Guest Posting opportunity, or before pitching for one, and see your ROI skyrocket!