Guest blogging is one of the new kids on the SEO scene. Okay, so it isn’t really all that new, but its effectiveness is new. It has always been effective, but now writing a guest blog has become a much more effective means of SEO than, say, article submission.

It used to be that a ton of articles submitted to e-zines worked great for SEO, but the e-zines were not all that picky, and the search engines are picking up on the low-quality content. This hurts any good content that has been submitted. A well- written blog post on a high-quality blog, however, can help both the blog owner and the blogger. The question many ask in the beginning is, how do I find a blog to write a guest blog for?

Interact on Relevant Blogs that You May Want to Guest Blog For

Keep an eye on relative blogs and bloggers.  Read and interact with them on blogs and social media pages.  Make educated and relevant comments.  When the time comes to make a pitch, they will already know you are on the scene and know what you are talking about.  In addition, by staying involved with these blogs you will know when the time is ripe to pitch the guest blog you have had stewing just waiting for the right moment.

Use Google

Okay, so it isn’t as “hands on” as interaction and networking, but it is faster and can still produce leads for places to post your guest blog.  Just Google “guest blog opportunity” along with the topic or niche and you may turn up something good.  Often bloggers that regularly accept guest bloggers have a form to fill out.

Watch Social Media

Remember those bloggers you are interactive with and reading?  Watch their Twitter feeds and those of others in the industry.  They will often Tweet or retweet guest posts, which will give you an idea of blogs and bloggers that are accepting guest bloggers.  New leads can pop up in unexpected places as well, so build a good social media network and keep your eyes open for opportunities.

In the end, guest blogging is not a science. It is not always something you can count on, but the more you do the better the outcomes will be. Though some pay in cash, the bigger rewards will come in search engine rankings and traffic. You can send your traffic to see it, and the traffic that normally comes to the blog you are guesting on will see it too. There is also the possibility of getting a “regular” guest posting gig, which is even better. The important thing is to get your name out there to the right people as someone who has something to offer. If you are a guest blogger, do you have any tips for finding blogs to guest on? If you own a blog that accepts guest bloggers, what do you look for and where do you look to find guest bloggers?