It’s official: Guest blogging as a marketing tool is finished. Finito. Gone.
At least that’s what Matt Cutts says in his latest blog post. Once a great way to get links, guest blogging has, Cutts writes, “gotten too spammy.” For every high-quality, reputable guest post, there are dozens of spun articles embedded with countless irrelevant links that cheapen the results that Google produces with every search. The whole process doesn’t render Google useless, but it can potentially lower its credibility as a trustworthy search engine.
Naturally, the absolute death of guest blogging (as with most SEO tactics) is debatable. Most SEOs will argue that their posts aren’t spammy, that their code is clean and that “link juice” is still important. That’s nice and all, but if guest blogging has or still is your prime marketing strategy, then you have a serious problem on your hands.
As a rule of thumb, you should never “throw all your eggs into one basket” when it comes to your marketing strategies. Relying on one tactic alone deprives you of the opportunity to explore other avenues that could be more efficient and cost effective.
One buzzword that’s been spreading like wildfire lately is digital sharecropping. Originally coined by Nicholas Carr, digital sharecropping means using another business’ platform or marketing channel to propel your own. Most of the time, these channels are successful and influential amongst a variety of audiences. If your business’ only online presence is your Facebook page, for example, that’s digital sharecropping.
The most obvious problem with digital sharecropping is that your campaign’s success relies heavily on the current health or status of that channel. But site layouts can change, policies can change and marketing channels can even fizzle out. The point is that you have little to no control over how your business is run when you rely heavily on those platforms.
These media channels that you’re creating or sharing content on don’t care about your business’ prosperity. You’re just doing them a favor by keeping their sites going.
So, is guest blogging (for SEO) a form of sharecropping?
SEOs aren’t directly hosting their content on Google, but they are developing content based on Google’s strict SEO guidelines. It’s basically free to write your own guest blogs as well as optimize your business’ site, but Google takes a piece of the pie. Google’s goal is to supply the end user with the most relevant search results, and SEOs try to make their content as valuable as possible. But Google’s algorithm changes constantly. What’s considered important today may be irrelevant and low-quality tomorrow — even if the content is skillfully crafted. To make matters more frustrating, Google has earned a reputation for implementing new features that drive online marketers nuts.
But if those same marketers rely on Google for exposure, they’ve got to keep up with those uncontrollable changes. Definitely sounds like digital sharecropping, huh?
For years, SEOs have used the phrase “chasing the algorithm” to describe their ongoing quest to find what will make their client’s site rank on the first page. Google has a metaphorical grip around online business’ necks; so when anything with Google changes, SEOs go ballistic trying to find out how to fix their content to maintain their ongoing success. When you’re relying another a business that much, you lose sight of the bazillion other ways you could help your business.
SEO certainly isn’t dead, but it’s evolving faster than anyone can keep up. If guest blogging is the bread and butter of your SEO efforts, it’s high time you explore different avenues for getting your client’s message across. Social networks and search engines are great, but they shouldn’t be the be-all and end-all of your marketing efforts. They’re just tools for propeling the content to a specific audience. Relying on one channel (especially one you don’t own) takes control away from your campaign.
What marketing tactics do you plan to explore in 2014? Tell us in the comments!
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