My girlfriend is a professional athlete and trainer working from a Gym near my home in London. Though she doesn’t know a thing about SEO (amazingly I’ve resisted the temptation to even discuss the mechanics of what SEO is), I do think she’s a naturally clever marketer.
Take a look at this guest post, written on the 6th January for Greenwich Mums. Greenwich Mums is a resource, review, jobs and loyalty site for local families in the Greenwich area. They have sound editorial policy and it’s a well thought of site in our local area.
Is there a link to my girlfriend’s website in this post?
Nope. Doesn’t mention it. Not once. Not even on her author page.
But it has been very positive for her enquiries, introducing new people to the first stage of her funnel – a one to one consultation, and several new clients.
I find this such a refreshing concept. Put simply, this marketing works. It’s helpful, transparent and it’s obviously perfectly targeted. And, it’s working perfectly well without a link. When a new enquiry comes in, the enquirer is simply asked ”how did you hear about us?”.
What I’ve spent time thinking about is this. Am I brave enough to guest post without asking for a link?
It’s the acid test for my targeting. Am I delivering the right message to the right person in the right format at the right time? Do I get sales from my work regardless of the SEO implications of the coverage?
If we don’t link, what else can we do except pray?
Stop being so narrow minded. What does this chart show?
It’s followerwonk follower count data for my Twitter profile.
Follower growth is measurable. So is Facebook Fan Page growth, so are Slideshare subscriber numbers, so are connections on LinkedIn, so are so many KPI’s we use to assess the efficacy of our marketing efforts on a daily basis.
The hard and fast rule of guest blogging
Would it measurably benefit your business without a link?
What if your guest blogging activity was focused on growing your Twitter followers, or getting email enquiries for new leads?
I think your SEO would be quite safe from a penalty.
Image credit: Piermario
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