Currently, there is a controversy going on as to whether guest blogging is still viable or not.  Some people are of the opinion that guest blogging has started to look more like spam.  According to Matt Cutts, “if you’re using guest blogging as a way to gain links in 2014, you should probably stop.”

Why? Well, because it is beginning to look more like spam.  

Here’s what you need to know to succeed as a guest blogger, and avoid those common spam-like mistakes:

Have A Purpose: When you are guest blogging, it is very important that you only select standard blogs with good quality content. In addition to building strong back links, this strategy will serve you well in helping establish your personal brand and, build your credibility in specialized fields.  It’s also sure to increase your traffic and similarity with new readers, facilitate community building and authorship.

To get the post onto YouMoz, you must write an informative and relevant blog. According to Dr. Pete, it is critical to not get too caught up in just building links, because when you use one tactic or gimmick to base more than 80% of a link profile, you are asking for trouble. It is never the guest post which is a problem, it is the abuse.  And to help you in ensuring that you do not get entangled in any spam activity, here is some valuable advice from Everett Sizemore on the topic.

Everett’s Tips on how to become a good guest Blogger: To become a legitimate guest blogger keep these few things in mind:

• Develop a good working relationship with your blog publisher. This should be done in addition to whatever interaction you have with them in the virtual world. This helps to cement relationships.
• Always offer multiple options (of good content) so that the publisher is more impressed with your efforts.
• Never call yourself a “guest author”. It is better to use the word “expert contributor” because that adds extra weight to your profile. Tell them the difference between the two (if the need arises) and make them understand the advantages.
• If a site insists on publishing your post under the general “author account”, then refrain from doing so and use your contributor or author account.
• Publish with those authors that have a Google profile so that they can contribute some contributors to the links.
• Go to one author for the same topics and make them experts in a particular field. They will be conversant with the topic as they have worked on it earlier, and will be in a better position to complete it on time and provide you with better content quality.
• If you see that the resident bloggers of a blog do not have any personal bio details below or above the post, then you should not mention it as well. Follow the techniques that the other authors do.
• Rather than links, focus on exposure and traffic. Trying to get back links is okay but you should also contribute to sites that do not allow back links but have core niche and quality readers.
• Try to align with your clients’ goals and get the metrics right.

How to Maintain Credibility: There are some sites like Smashing Magazine, Huffington Post and Google Analytics that allow others to guest blog. But all of them have very stringent editing parameters to prevent just anyone from writing about anything that they want. You need good content along with assurance that these are not “link drops”. If you like guest posts then keep a following in mind:

• Use Copyscape or SEO tools to check for plagiarized content
• Only allow people with a valid Google+ account to post
• Check if they were ever associated with similar communities
• Only allow legitimate links which lead to an informative site related to your brand or business

Key Takeaway: With just a few preventive measures in place, such as the aforementioned ones above, guest blogging can be easily carried on with great success.