An SEO Advantage – A Guide on How to Guest Post for Top Sites

Do you want to Guest post for top sites but don’t know how? Have you ever wondered what it takes to Guest post for top sites? In this article, you will not only learn how to write an SEO article but also learn the several rules and policies that guide the posting on each site.

Guest posts like every other writing have rules. And to make the matter more serious, several top sites have additional preferences when it comes to posting on their sites. It does not matter what topic you want to write on, these rules must be followed. These rules obey google search engine optimization policies. Therefore when followed, they make the indexing of the article on google ad word easier.

Below, you will learn the following:

• The top sites that exist
• The rules that govern their guest posts
• How to make an article search engine optimized

General Rule for Guest Posts

Before we begin to look at the top sites and how to guest post for them, let’s first walk through some basic rules of guest posting.

The following rules are referred to as basic because they cut across all sites. As long you are doing a Guest post, you must obey them. They include the following:

Every Post Must Be Thoroughly Edited

Nothing beats a well-edited article. No matter how what you are writing on and how well organized your ideas are if your article is not well-edited, it may not stand a chance for considerations. Mostly, editors have lots of projects to handle, and they would not spare much time for poorly edited work. The best that could happen is to have the work returned to you. To learn more about editing, visit the writing center

Every Guest Post Must Be Duly Formatted

The place of formatting cannot be overemphasized. In addition to an edited work, formatting is one thing Top sites look for in a guest post. Although most sites have different preferences when it comes to formatting, few things are common:

• Use headings, bullets, and tables to simplify information: When information is clustered, most readers lose interest, especially mobile phone users. The use of headings helps to break the information into sections which increases understanding. Whereas the bullets and tables simplify the data analysis and main points easily.
• The paragraphs must not more than 6 in a section: A heading can introduce a section, but every section starts with a paragraph. However, too many paragraphs in one section would be counter-productive. The fewer the paragraph, the better in a section.
• Each paragraph should not contain too many sentences: The goal of every paragraph is not words but information. Therefore, the focus must be on passing the information. And as soon as the information is passed, the paragraph must terminate. Every paragraph must contain at least one major idea and other ideas spread to other paragraphs. If a sentence can stand alone, it should let it stand alone.

Every Guest Post Must be Devoid of Plagiarism 

Top sites look for Guest Posts with original content. Plagiarism affects credibility. Therefore, to be sure that each article qualifies for public domain, it is subjected to a plagiarism test. To learn how to avoid plagiarism visit the UCLA library guide

There are different kinds of plagiarism. They include:

• Copy and paste: This is the most common of all. It is a situation where a writer lifts a part of an entire article from a different source without due acknowledgment.
• Paraphrasing: Google regards paraphrasing as plagiarism and several writers are not yet aware of it. Simply re-writing a piece of work but maintaining the same idea does not make it original. The originality of work starts from the use of words but does not end there. It goes down to originality of idea and general presentation of same.
• Unrestrained citation: It is not a bad practice to quote another source in your article. However, the quotes must be minimal and of course necessary. Best practices to have two or fewer posts in one piece of work. Where the quote becomes too much, google can flag it as plagiarism.

Now that this is understood, we’ll spend the remaining part of this article reviewing the various top sites and their specific guidelines on every guest post.

1. Guest Post Guidelines for New York Times

Unlike other top sites, the New York Times only allows submissions to their Op-Ed Section. As for rules, they are not particular about topics. Their major focus is on what the audience would find interesting. This is summed in the statement of Trish Hall, the Sunday review editor, when she said, ‘anything can be an op-Ed; we’re not interested in policy, policies or government. We’re interested in everything if it’s opinionated and we believe our readers will find it worth reading

Submission

Guest are allowed to send articles to [email protected] for review. And if more convenient, fax to +(212) 556 4100.

Hint: Articles that take the conversational format to stand a better chance. Make your article very appealing to the readers from the onset.

2. Guest Post Guidelines for Inc.com

They major in content that seeks to encourage small businesses. These could come in form of advice, suggestions, strategies, and services. As far it is geared towards building small businesses.

Submission

Their rules are not stringent:

• The first thing to do is pitch your story idea to [email protected] and for those who want to become regular columnists, forward a request to [email protected] for review.

3. Guest Post Guidelines Entrepreneur.com 

As the name implies, Entrepreneur.com is a site for entrepreneurs. They provide content helpful for those who to start, sustain or expand their business.

Submission

• You will be asked to supply your details and proof of your competence on your chosen topic.
• Along with that, you will submit validation links like your Linkedin and Twitter profiles.
• All submissions will be received at [email protected]

4. Guest Post Guidelines for Forbes.com

Contributors who have something along the line of business and finances stand a chance. Forbes.com also are into content about technology, stock markets, culture, and lifestyle.

Submission

• The length of the article does not count
• Every submission would be reviewed for five business days before feedback is given
• Follow up emails are not allowed
• Every submission should be forwarded to [email protected]

5. Guest Post Guidelines for HBR.Org

The Harvard Business Review (HBR) online covers a wide range of business topics. This ranges from business strategy, tactics, operational model, business leadership and expansion, pitching, and innovation to decision making and team management.

Submission:

• Send a short pitch to them and wait for feedback.
• If your submission did not scale through you would be asked to try again
• The length of the article does not count

We must state that other top sites are not mentioned in this article. But the rule is the same, ‘find out their guideline and follow it. To want to write for a site without understanding their guideline is a venture into futility.