If there’s a king of digital marketing, Neil Patel wears the crown. He’s constantly setting trends and pioneering strategies as one of the internet’s most famous marketers.
[Read more…] about How Neil Patel Does His SEO – ReviewBlogger
What to Focus on When Implementing a Guest Blogging Strategy
Guest blogging is one of the best ways to increase traffic, search engine placement, and SEO value of your website or blog. While it does take significant time and effort to find the best platforms for content, as well as organizing the writing and marketing of the posts, guest blogging will help any company or individual gain visibility, credibility, and links online. Guest blogging can also help drive a sense of community and conversation surrounding the ideas of the post itself in the comment section.
To be successful at guest blogging, there are few guidelines to ensure that posts are shared often and are driving links back to your website.
Write an Amazing Bio
The majority of blogs or websites that accept guest posts will allow writers to include a short bio at the end of their content. This bio must be carefully optimized to include the best possible information about the company and its services in the shortest amount of space. Be sure to always include a link to the company’s website, and also a few keywords surrounding the company’s products or what they offer.
In many cases, the bios can only be about 25 words, so be sure to eliminate any necessary information, while also personalizing the writer and the company.
Here’s an example:
Kelsey Jones is a writer for Performancing (hyperlink), a new media company focused on blogging, marketing, branding, and more. Follow Kelsey on Twitter (hyperlink) or read her posts on the Performancing blog (hyperlink).
Of course, not all sites will allow 3 links in the bio, but always use as many as are allowed. Great bios include call to actions that give readers options to learn more about the company or its writer.
Choose an Engaging Topic and Title
To make a splash on someone else’s site, guest post topics must be engaging and interesting. The best posts answer questions, drive controversy, share news, or teach the reader something they didn’t know before. The title of the post is what first introduces the content to readers– so it must be catchy while also giving them an immediate idea of what the post is going to be about.
Titles that do well include numbered items (such as “Five Marketing Tactics You Don’t Know About”), make people mad or curious (“Why Your SEO Strategy Sucks”), or answer a question by teaching the reader something (“The Complete Guide to Adobe Photoshop”).
Once a catchy title has been generated, the content must be just as well-written. Don’t include anything that isn’t absolutely necessary and be sure to include photos, links to support statements, and call to actions or the inspiration for change.
Tie-In What The Company Does
It is also important to tie in industry keywords or services that the company sponsoring the guest post provides. This increases the company’s credibility because they are writing in areas that they are actually working in. For instance, it doesn’t make any sense for an app developer to write a guest post about knitting. However, if they just made an app that showcases knitting patterns, then the post could be “The Best 5 Knitting Apps”, including their app (if guest posting guidelines would allow).
Just because a blog is willing to take posts doesn’t mean it is right for your company if they aren’t in your industry. It will also mean that less readers will actually click on the links in the writer bio to go to your website. While having a dofollow link on an reputable website has some benefit, the benefit for your gaming customers just isn’t going to be there on a canoeing blog.
Online and Social Sharing
When the post is published, be sure to promote it via the company’s social media accounts. This only serves to generate visibility for the post, which can lead to more site traffic and more trust from the website the guest post is published on. If a guest blogger’s content is heavily read and shared, then a website is more likely to ask them to guest blog again.
Besides social media, there are other places online to share content– email blasts with link roundups, newsletters, the company’s website, or a blog post summarizing the content with a link to the article. By promoting the content in every available outlet, you are not only benefitting by getting your posts more exposure, you are also showing your existing audience that you are reputable enough to be published on other websites.
Follow-Up
Once a post has been published, it is important to check it regularly for the first couple weeks to respond to any comments. Users appreciate having their questions answered by the actual writer of the article. The bigger the site, the most comments articles it will generate, so it is important to make sure these are answered in a timely fashion.
For posts that are extremely popular, many readers appreciate follow-up articles by the same author. So if “The Complete Guide to Adobe Photoshop” went viral, then the author could benefit from writing “The Complete Guide to Adobe InDesign.” Because the author has already set himself up as an expert in Adobe products, it only makes sense to continue writing content surrounding that software.
The Benefits of Content Marketing
It has been said before that “content is king”, but when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), this is really the case. Regular high-quality content can help websites and blogs get better rankings online and also drive more traffic to a website. In addition, it also helps companies be seen as a resource and important resource in their field or industry.
Blog Posts
Blog posts are an easy way to continuously provide a website with fresh content. Blog posts should be published on websites 2-3 per week, on a variety of topics that are related to the industry or the company’s products and services. These are easy to find if marketers read online content daily. Companies that create publishing calendars for their blog content may find that they be more productive and organized, leading to better overall content.
To get the benefit from regular blog posts, the blog must be hosted on the same domain as the content. The blog can be on a subdomain, but most users and search engines are used to finding blogs at domain.com/blog.
External Content
Providing content to other sources is another great way to get the benefits of SEO, even though it’s not on the company’s website directly. Guest blogging, press releases, testimonials, videos, and other types of content are examples that can give links to the company’s website. Besides getting links, users see companies that have a wide reach (meaning that they are published/seen in a variety a different platforms) as being more reputable than those that aren’t seen anywhere else online besides their own website.
To find places that will accept your content or mention your company, do Google searches for “guest blogging + “industry keyword”” or look at guest blogging websites like MyBlogGuest and Hullabaloo. Use these platforms to create connections with other companies and website owners to help get your content and website out there.
Social Media
Google and Bing now include personalized search results based on a user’s social network, so being active on social media, for both employees as individuals and companies, is definitely key. Websites should also have social sharing buttons on all blog posts so they can be shared online easily.
Social media shouldn’t just be a place to share your own company’s information and content, but to also be a fun resource and industry news source. Occasionally post updates about current events, holidays, fun facts, and other information that your audience will find interesting.
photo credit: See-ming Lee 李思明 SML via photopin cc
Three Social Sharing Networks You Might Have Forgotten About
Social sharing is something that goes beyond Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and even Pinterest (which is now the #3 social networking site in the United States). Sharing your content beyond the top four may help you reach an audience that you hadn’t before. This may increase visits to your blog or website and may even turn some into loyal readers or customers.
BizSugar
BizSugar is a content sharing site that is similar to Digg. You can submit links to your content and then vote up content (each vote is called a sugar). This is a great, supportive site because it focuses mainly on small businesses. Even though content is easy to submit, the site isn’t spammy and a majority of the content is well-written. The main categories are marketing, finance, management, technology, and startups, with sub-categories for each one. The advertisements aren’t too distracting and in some cases, the comments on articles are just as informative as the content itself.
Google+
Google+ continues to gain traction for marketers looking to share content, especially because of Google’s growing emphasis on Authorship with Google+ profiles. Because of Authorship, marketers should set up a profile for themselves as individuals to take advantage, as well as a business page for their company. Businesses can’t be listed as authors, but having an active Google+ page (one that regularly posts content and contributes to online discussions) doesn’t take much time and may eventually make a stronger difference when it comes to SEO.
Tumblr
Many marketers may swear off Tumblr as something that is for teenagers sharing photos of Robert Pattinson, but it can be a real resource and opportunity to build community for brands and companies. For instance, the NBA has an amazing Tumblr that showcases unique photos of players and fans during games. They are all photos that don’t always make it in news stories and are worth a look. Tumblr can be a great place to not only share your own content, but follow and share content of customers and readers. Tumblr can be a great marketing and engagement tool if is it maintained and used properly. Take the time to have a great layout and make it easy to access the company’s profile from your website.
These are just three of the often under-valued social sharing networks that can help increase your audience and website traffic. When used with respect and a high level of engagement, they can really make a difference in your company’s overall online presence.
Three Places to Syndicate Your Internet Marketing or Social Media Content
If you have a blog with regular, great content, it may beneficial for traffic to get it syndicated on another website that brings in more traffic. There are several options for websites that syndicate content. To find one in your niche (if it isn’t internet marketing or social media), all it takes is some googling of industry keywords plus “blog syndication” or other variations.
Google News
Google News is a great resource to get syndicated on, but its process can be tedious, especially if all the guidelines aren’t followed. Once a website is syndicated, it must maintain the guidelines. The stories that are chosen by Google to appear on are by computer algorithm; websites cannot choose which of their pieces of content are going to get published on news.google.com.
However, based on the Panda update, having continuous fresh and unique content that makes an impact are most likely to get picked up by the Google News Algorithm. Additionally, content may only appear in the Google News results for a month or so, depending on relevancy.
Business2Community
Business2Community is a great website that always has good content. There is sometimes a bit of a wait to get accepted for syndication as a Contributor, and once you are, your pieces of content are chosen by editors and you don’t have control over what gets published. Business2Community also allows its readers to contact authors through a contact form and always gives links back to the original article.
The articles on Business2Community get shared via social media regularly and the site has done a great job of promoting its contributors.
Social Media Today
Social Media Today is a lot like Business2Community when it comes to syndicating content, except it’s choosing process is more automatic and it focuses on social media-related pieces of content. If your blog covers anything about social media, it is easy to apply; once you have been accepted, you can also write unique pieces of content for the site fairly easily. This would be a great way to get exposure for unique pieces of content that are only published on Social Media Today.
Getting notification about acceptance is pretty fast and the site is vast, yet very easy to use.
When it comes to content marketing, especially if you are a blog or business offering related types of services, it is important to get as much exposure as possible. Syndicating your existing content can be an easy way to do this.
How to Work With Bloggers for Social Media Contests
Bloggers that cover topics within your business’ industry can be a great untapped resource when it comes to promoting your social media presence to your target market. Some bloggers may be willing to post company-sponsored giveaways and guest posts on their blogs. These two options can help a company reach people who are interested in their products without spending a lot of money on advertising or branding campaigns.
Reaching Out
Send an inquiry letter to the blog owner or head writer offering to either do a blog post or giveaway on their blog. Try not to come across as salesy or spammy– otherwise your inquiry email might just get deleted immediately without consideration. Bloggers are getting requests for these types of promotions on a regular base so do your research. Come up with one or two specific things you like about their blog (such as a certain post or reoccurring feature) to prove that you are a regular reader. Be respectful and positive– bloggers encounter so much negativity and scrutiny on a regular basis so it’s important to come across as a great company to work with.
Guest Posts
Offer to do an original guest post on their blog (or compensate them for writing it) that includes some information about your business’ products. This content must also not be too salesy or spammy, as it can affect the blogger’s reputation and may turn off readers. At the end of the post, some blogs may allow you to give your social media profile links to get their readers to further interact with you online if they are interested.
Giveaways
Another option is to offer to host a giveaway of your products (or of a gift card to a well-known retailer, like Amazon) to readers of the blog. The acceptance policy of giveaway promotions will vary widely depending on the blog, so be sure to follow all the guidelines. Using a giveaway widget like Rafflecopter is an easy way to integrate social media into the giveaway. Make sure that the giveaway items are worth the effort it takes to enter. For instance, if a hair product company only gave away 1 hairbrush, it might not entice readers as much as a hair products gift basket with shampoo, conditioner, a flat iron, styling spray, and a Beauty Brands gift card. Bigger giveaways will get more attention.
These are just two options when it comes to working with bloggers to promote your social media and overall online presence.
Do you have any other ideas? Let us know in the comments.
5 Mistakes Bloggers are Making With Social Media
Even though most people would regard bloggers as tech-savvy and the ones to whom they can bring their computer to when it no longer will save any more images to the desktop after the first 500. However, it is possible that bloggers are making the same mistakes many others do when it comes to social media.
Not Connecting at All
Not utilizing social media at all is most likely the worst thing a blogger can do when it comes to maintaining a presence online. Creating a social media account is free and fairly easy to do; what takes the most time and effort is keeping it maintained. Many bloggers may feel that social media takes up too much time– however, considering the missed potential when it comes to exposing their brand, it is worth the while to at least set it up.
Not Responding to Feedback
Once a social media profile is set up for a fairly active and/or highly trafficked blog, then it will mostly likely continue to grow at a fairly fast pace. This is when comments, questions, and responses to items posted as statuses on the page. Bloggers need to answer and respond to these on a timely basis, as nobody likes to be ignored, especially blog readers. Participating in the social media community for the blog can help increase loyalty and readership.
Not Sharing Their Content
One of the easiest things to automate via social media are blog post RSS feeds. Use a service like Twitterfeed.com to set this up, which allows for instant posting on someone’s Twitter or Facebook page. This can ensure that your posts are being shared automatically, without having to think about or remember it.
Not Allowing Others to Share Their Content
This is something that is a onetime set-up, but makes it easy to help blog readers share posts. For WordPress blogs, install social sharing plugins like Sharebar or Sociable. For other types of blogs that have HTML capabilities, install an embeddable widget like AddToAny to appear at the end of posts.
Not Considering it as a Benefit
This goes back to the first mistake– taking social media for granted. Because blogging is an online writing platform, social media should be something that is easy to integrate into the overall blogging process. Most bloggers have nothing to lose when it comes to social media and should in fact add it as part of their blogging and online marketing strategy.
Blogging and Taxes: Getting your Taxes Done on Time
Being a freelancer is a serious business on its own and so are the taxes that go with gigs like blogging.
Yes, taxes are not fun, they can snuff the life out of you if they’re all left undone. But really, all you need is to devote a day or even a couple of hours which is enough time to get your tax affairs in order. Even if you have an awesome run these last 11 months working here and there, tax season is bound to sneak up on you before you know it. So you better have your receipts and forms ready and please do yourself a favor never do your taxes at the last minute.
W-2
If you’re a blogger hired by an online magazine and you’re paid regularly like a full-time employee, then you need to fill out this form. This form lists your salary, the taxes withheld, tips, commissions, social security tax and any other form of employee compensation. The IRS will require your employer to send you a W-2 form, since the IRS receives a copy of your W-2, they can compare whether the tax return you filed matches that of what your employer submitted. This form will let the IRS know whether you owe any back taxes or if you’re entitled to a tax refund.
1099
This form is primarily for independent contractors. If your blog income rakes in $600 or more in a year you’ll need to file a 1099. It’s good to keep track of every payment made to you throughout the year, and then check the amounts on all the 1099 forms you receive if they are consistent. There should be no discrepancies; the amounts issued on your 1099s should match up.
As a self-employed worker you can also deduct expenses related to your blogging work through the 1099 form, deductions can be made on the cost of things such as office equipment, office space, tools, cameras and soft wares.
If the process seems too overwhelming, then hire a tax expert on freelancer returns. Yes, I’m calling YOLO on this, if you’re not up to it then hire an accountant or a freelance tax attorney and get your taxes straightened out.
So a quick recap if you received the following:
- If you got a W-2 in the mail, it means your taxes are withheld and you are technically an employee. The company that hired you will pay half of your employment tax which is your Social Security, the rest of it you are responsible to pay for out of your own pocket.
- If you got a 1099 which means no tax withheld, this automatically states you are a freelancer, an independent contractor. You are on your own here; you pay for your Medicare and social security tax.
But just as critical to know which form to file, do know what tax credits and deductibles you qualify for. As a freelancer, you may be at an advantage here since there’s a lot of room to reduce your taxable income and do write-offs. But more importantly, make sure you never miss a tax deadline. Reaping the ire of the IRS will only cost you more in penalties and legal woes. As a freelancer, the tax-related paper works you need to keep are receipts, pay stubs and W-2s because the IRS has six years at least to audit returns. So if you do finish early, take tremendous pride that you’ve done your taxes right, it’s no easy feat, you should feel doubly good about not taking your taxes for granted and getting some much needed tax relief.