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Did you know that there were close to 600 million blogs online in 2021? But just a few of them get to the top 10 of Google's SERP, generate traffic, and meet searchers’ requirements.

A good article isn’t just about the text.

It’s also about a structure that keeps readers engaged, pictures that clarify your idea, deep expertise that gives readers a new perspective on the topic, and a tone of voice that doesn’t turn a blog post into an academic essay.

To make things more clear, let’s review a typical guest post that marketers use to get backlinks to their websites.

This article covers the top digital marketing trends in 2022. Even though the post includes information about trending news and platforms (for example, Meta and TikTok), the overall quality of the article leaves much to be desired. So here are some areas in which we think the author of this blog failed.

Tip #1. Don’t use images.

The above article doesn’t include any images at all. No one likes to read plain text. Especially when it comes to blogs. The lack of visual elements may result in low user engagement.

Tip #2. Never link to the facts or other educational content. 

The example article provides some statistics, but it doesn’t lead to any authoritative sources. This may leave readers feeling confused. Without the source, statistics are just numbers.

Tip #3. Make it basic. Readers love general words!

The first trend the article covers is social media marketing. However, it’s obvious to experienced marketers that social media has been and remains a powerful marketing channel. 

What marketers are truly searching for are some deep insights, such as case studies, personal experience, step-by-step explanations of an effective marketing strategy, etc. This kind of information attracts more readers, it’s rated higher by search engines, and it becomes a topic of discussion in marketing circles.

Tip #4. All the credits are yours.

This article doesn’t contain any quotes. Quotes and mentions of niche influencers and specialists add more credibility to an article and may also help it attract more attention on social media. Embedding LinkedIn posts or Twitter threads shows that the author is on top of recent events and discussions in that niche.

Tip #5. Make the content as impersonal as possible.

Guest posts are meant to share the author’s expertise and opinion on the topic. A list of facts and surface-level stats aren’t enough to make a strong connection with readers. Sharing your personal experience is what adds true value to an article.

Tip #6. Talk about yourself more than about the topic.

Instead of a meaningful outro, the author in the above example promotes their company. First of all, this doesn’t add value to the post and makes it look incomplete. Secondly, we don’t allow direct self-promotion on our site, except the author’s bio and one external link to their website.