Broadened exposure to new prospects, enhanced credibility as an expert, and increased website traffic: Sounds like a good deal, right?

These marketing goals can be achieved by posting guest blogs, sometimes known as “bylines,” on authoritative and popular law-related blogs.

How Does Guest Blogging Help Your Online Content Marketing Efforts?

Exposure: Having your content published on a high-quality blog will expose your name and expertise to a wider audience. Readers that like your content may follow you on Twitter, and they also may ask to connect with you on Google+ and LinkedIn, helping you to gain a bigger following in your Social Media network. You may be asked by another blogger who reads your guest blog to post additional content on his or her blog, extending your reach even more.

Networking: Using this increased exposure to build your network of professional contacts and prospects can help you gain business referral opportunities. Quality content that consistently offers fresh insights on legal topics and news will boost your credibility and cement your reputation as a leading expert in your area of expertise.

Website traffic: A primary goal of online content marketing is to increase the number of visitors to your law firm website. Guest blogging is a favored tactic for achieving this objective because it can help lift your site in search engine rankings through inbound links.  An inbound link is essentially an external website that “points” at your site (or blog) by including a link to your homepage, bio or some other page on your website.

Google search rankings are based in large part on the quality and number of inbound links to your site. Links on popular websites to your website and/or blog signal to Google and other search engines that your website has content other people might be interested in seeing.

Guest Blogging Best Practices

Effective guest blogging requires a commitment to consistently producing quality content over time. You should avoid “one-off” posts on a blog because this approach won’t allow you to develop relationships with the blogger and his or her followers. Posting regularly will help establish your credibility and name recognition in that particular online “community.” If possible, you should plan on interacting with followers in the comments section.

It’s very important to include a brief bio about yourself and a link to your site or blog (or both) to help readers connect with you more easily and to boost your visibility.

Getting invited to post blogs is not complicated, but it requires some diligence and courtesy. Building a “portfolio” of blog posts will help build your credibility in the eyes of blog editors and other bloggers. They can see the quality of your work as well as your commitment to posting content regularly.

Target a niche blog that matches your area of expertise. You should always strive to provide useful information and a fresh angle on a topic. Quality blog posts are educational, not promotional, and focus on how the information provided is important to the readers and what it means to them. It’s important to persuade the blog editor that you have a genuine interest in offering information-rich content for the target audience. Ultimately, well-written, engaging, informative content can only enhance your reputation.