We’ve talked about how writing a blog is a crucial part of automotive internet marketing before, but you may not know one of the most effective ways to build a blog audience is by generating backlinks. Backlinks are created when other sites link to your blog, which encourages their followers to read your content, too. How do you generate backlinks? Guest blogging is one of the most popular and fruitful strategies.

If you don’t spend much time in the blogosphere, you probably don’t know where to begin. Research blogs that accept guests by searching the listings on sites like Myblogguest.com or Outreachr.com and search for blogs related to your area of the auto industry. Also look for blogs whose readers might find a post about your work interesting. For instance, if your shop performs lots of smog checks you could try looking up blogs on living in smog-heavy urban areas.

Once you have located a blog or several blogs that you would like to write a post for, craft proposal letters that detail your credentials, why their blog interests you, and the kind of posts you would be willing to write. You might also choose to offer the blog owner an opportunity to create a guest blog post on your site. Make sure that the proposal letter for each blog is unique. Look for the contact information for your target blogs, and submit your proposal letter. Hopefully you will find a blog that is willing to host a post from your auto repair shop.

While you are waiting to hear from the different blog owners, contact your local professional partners. Send query letters to the ones who host blogs on their sites, and offer a few select partners the opportunity to post on your blog as guest bloggers. Even if they are unwilling to allow you to write a guest post, if they backlink to a post they create on your website, your marketing efforts will pay off.

When you write a guest blog, include a by-line that provides a link to your website, and if possible to your Twitter feed, Facebook fan page, or YouTube channel. Don’t obsess over SEO keywords in guest blogs that already have a good following. Focus on sharing your expertise. Try to space out guest blogging opportunities so that you can see the effect of each on the number of hits your automotive website receives.

This may sound like a lot of work, and it is but the rewards of regularly-maintained and well-connected blogs work wonders for your online reputation and automotive marketing strategies.

If you want help, advice or a free consultation on automotive guest blogging, contact us today!

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