The Google Panda and Penguin updates were aimed at reducing the amount of poor quality websites getting into the top positions in the Search Engine Result Pages. They targeted the methods spammers use to cheat the algorithms like keyword stuffing and using link farms. Google is always on the look out for what technique the spammers will use next. Guest blogging has been a legitimate way of getting links to your website for a number of years. The more good quality one way links you have pointing to your website the higher your pages will be in the search engine result pages. What is Guest Blogging? What you do is write an interesting article and ask a website owner if they would like to use it on their blog. There is normally a link in the text to your site and one at the bottom under your name.

Now that Google has clamped down on many of the tricks the spammers used to use, these spammers are looking at new ways to get their clients a better position on the search engine result pages. They have identified guest blogging as the next growth industry. The spammers write an article full of links and then post it on as many websites as they can. Some of these companies create thousands of bogus websites just to be able to post these articles for their gullible clients. Google is watching this development closely and it may be subject to controls in the next update. Guest blogging done correctly and in moderation is still a good technique to use to bring publicity and visitors to your website pages but do not only rely on this method to obtain links. You must not employ the methods of the spammers. Do not use the same article more than once. You run the risk of the same duplicate article being identified by the Google algorithm as being responsible for the links coming you your site. I can see in the future websites being given a Google penalty and have their site pulled from the search engine result pages, if they are found to have abused the guest blogging system.

People love getting free stuff. It is a way of creating a buzz about your website and obtaining new leads. Some websites give away e-books or free access to training videos. Other ideas for giveaways include design templates, coloring in posters for children, voucher codes, product samples, tickets to events, calendars, iTunes music singles, T Shirts and access to online games. Visitors interested in what your are giving away will tell their friends on Social Media. Some may place links on their own websites or blogs. There are a number of websites dedicated to telling their visitors about what is new and free. If you get listed with them not only will you get a link but you will hopefully receive extra visitor traffic.