Guest Posting or Article Distribution? The Choice is Yours!

The great debate has been raging for longer than many SEOs even care to remember: is guest posting the new article distribution? This question is valid, albeit a little misdirected – submitting to article directories isn’t as effective as it used to be, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a crucial part of internet marketing. In fact, it will continue to be just as important as guest posting for a long time to come, but only if you’re really using the services – not abusing them.

The Beautiful Benefits of Guest Posting

Guest posting is a HUGE part of internet marketing and SEO – but is it really the “end all” of backlinking techniques like so many suggest? Absolutely not! Sure, guest posting to a relevant and highly ranked blog is a wonderful way to earn some quality backlinks, reputation, traffic, and exposure but it’s not all puppy dogs and rainbows. It takes time and effort to create an article worthy of guest post status – searching for the right blogs, following the host’s anchor link rules, and of course, sticking around to be held accountable if any commenters start complaining.

The Indispensable Art of Article Submission

So what are the major differences between guest posting and directory-based article distribution? Guest posting gets you one high quality backlink from a reputable website of your choice, while submitting to article directories has unlimited backlink potential from both ends of the quality spectrum. Yes, both have their own pros and cons – and yes, you need to cover BOTH strategies for a well-balanced SEO campaign that will earn money online.

You shouldn’t stop writing guest posts – but you should invest a portion of that time into article distribution through other channels. Diversification is absolutely necessary to market yourself and your content these days. You don’t have to write and spin hundreds of articles like other “gurus” suggest, but just a few high-quality articles will suffice to attract those high-value backlinks from relevant sites – and with the right article submitter you can put this job on autopilot.

There is no one “right way” to build a strong backlink profile – but try to remember that there are hundreds of “wrong ways”. Google is slick and catches on to less-than-favorable methods with ease.  But as long as you create content with your readers in mind (whether it be through guest posting or article distribution) you’ll see the rankings that you’ve always dreamed of.