Last week, head of Google’s Webspam team Matt Cutts went off on the practise of guest blogging:

“Okay, I'm calling it: if you're using guest blogging as a way to gain links in 2014, you should probably stop. Why? Because over time it's become a more and more spammy practice, and if you're doing a lot of guest blogging then you're hanging out with really bad company.”

This received plenty of backlash from SEO’s and Digital Marketers alike. Most surprising was his word choice - “Stick a fork in it, guest blogging is done”.

Of course, he clarified his position by posting an update at the end of his post:

“It seems like most people are getting the spirit of what I was trying to say, but I’ll add a bit more context. I’m not trying to throw the baby out with the bath water. There are still many good reasons to do some guest blogging (exposure, branding, increased reach, community, etc.). Those reasons existed way before Google and they’ll continue into the future. And there are absolutely some fantastic, high-quality guest bloggers out there. I changed the title of this post to make it more clear that I’m talking about guest blogging for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes.”

He also mentioned that what triggered the blog post was an incredibly sales-y backlink request from a content marketer. It was an “unsolicited, spam email”.

Matt Cutts’ post came off to the average reader as rant-like and you can imagine the kinds of things his team gets to see. Garbage content is everywhere and much of this comes from desperate link builders trying to submit articles filled with gargantuan amounts of backlinks to their own sites.

What The Heck Is Guest Blogging Anyway?

First, let’s take a step back. If guest blogging is foreign to you, here’s what it is in a nutshell: Guest blogging is when you write and publish an article on someone else’s blog. There are a number of benefits to this and plenty of great websites out there allow guest blog contributors. It’s a good way to reach new audiences.

The Benefits of Guest Blogging (For Beginners)

Adding to that last point, let’s look at the clear benefits to guest blogging. Again, if this isn’t new to you, read past this:

• It introduces you to new audiences. Guest blogging allows your content (and your brand) to be exposed to those who don’t know about you. More guest blogging (on blogs that are actually good!) means you’ll be exposed to more people on particular topics - topics that you can work on becoming a thought leader in.

• It has SEO value (when done right). In exchange for providing quality content for another person’s blog post, it’s a no-brainer to ask for a link back to your website or blog. This helps your SEO as it shows you’re on other sites and that people are talking about you. With more guest blogs and therefore, more content to be crawled, these backlinks to your site will increase the value of your blog in search engines. BUT, as I’ll mention below - do NOT do guest blogging solely for SEO. More on that in a second.

• It builds relationships with other bloggers. Networking in today’s world is essential. If you’re looking to get your content all over the Internet and to become a big publisher in your industry (something every business owner should be doing), then you need to be guest blogging. Great bloggers have big follower and fan bases over social media and generate much of the discussion and dialogue. Guest blogging starts and can build a relationship with such influencers who could be talking about you - rather than your competitors.

So Does Guest Blogging Still Have A Role In Inbound Marketing?

My answer is yes and I think Matt Cutts would wholeheartedly agree. Remember, his backlash against guest blogging was targeted at spammy guest blogs. He received spammy requests via email himself. Cutts is arguing against bad guest blogging. He even updated the end of his post to mention that plenty of great guest blogs exist and serve a true purpose - offering people great content of value. What Matt Cutts really meant by his rant is that you shouldn’t guest blog purely for SEO.

What I contend (and it seems like Matt Cutts does too) is that there is a place for guest blogging and SEO to work together and co-exist. If you’re offering great content in the form of a guest blog, you’re not terrible to ask for a link back to your site. But even if it’s a nofollow link or if there’s no link at all, the value comes in the form of branding - getting your brand name out there. At the end of the day, a guest blog needs to provide more value to the reader than it does to you, the writer.

The Main Takeaways From Matt Cutts’ Post

Scrounging through what was said, we can clearly denote some key takeaways from Matt Cutts’ post:

• Don’t guest blog purely for links. Guest blog with a purpose. It’ll be up to you to decide what your purpose is but your content should somehow give actionable advice to the target audience of the blog. It needs to have value. And the value in return doesn’t always have to be in the form of a link. If there is no link for SEO value or referral traffic, remember that getting your brand name out there is a reason why you should guest blog.

• Guest blogging is still effective - done the right way. Provide quality content in your guest blog posts. This means that your story or message is unique - and not what everyone else offers. Make sure your posts are reviewed internally by at least a second person for grammar, punctuation and spelling.

• If you weren’t spamming before, you’re likely not spamming now. If you’ve been offering great content in your guest blogs, then continue to do so. But what if you don’t know if your content is quality? For a solution to this, look at the big blogs in your industry. Look at credible blogs. In our industry - the Inbound Marketing industry, credible blogs include Moz Blog, the HubSpot blog and Marketing Land. See how the bloggers write within your industry. Compare it to your writing and see where you stand. To be the best, you have to beat the best! Moreover, make sure you’re guest blogging for a reputable site and not a “guest blogging farm” where they’ll publish anything under the sun. You’ll be able to tell by a site’s current content. If their own content is of high quality, then their standards for allowing high quality guest posts will be higher.

With all that said, Matt Cutts’ rebellious stance last week was not against guest blogging, content marketing or anything in between. It was staunch opposition to the spammy practices of the average “SEO writer”. It was sticking a fork in bad content - but bad content will always be around. Produce great, valuable content and Google will keep a favourable eye on you.

About the Author:

Ramesh Ranjan is the Inbound Marketing Specialist at LocalTrifecta Internet Marketing, where he helps businesses across Metro Vancouver increase sales and revenue through Inbound Marketing. His marketing heroes are Marcus Sheridan, John Caples and John Carlton. In his off time, he can be found playing roller hockey in Richmond, blogging on his personal website, and at the top of the office hockey pool. You can follow and connect with Ramesh over Twitter and Google+