Guest blogging VS sponsored articles: differences, advantages, disadvantages

Should you invest in sponsored articles to promote your blog?

Or do you have to work on a guest blogging strategy ?

In this article, I propose a complete comparison between these two techniques to see together which is best suited to your blog and your goals.

Ready?

Come on!

What is guest blogging?

Definition

Guest blogging is a practice that began several years ago. Also known as « invited article » or « guest post »It consists of writing and publishing an article on the website of another blogger.

The aim is to share qualitative content related to the theme of his blog, while inserting a backlink (outgoing link).

Characteristics

The guest article has several features that make it unique. It is seen as a value-added content, designed to enhance reputation and share the expertise of its author.

Initially, as its name indicates, it is often offered free of charge. And because of the fact that the practice takes place only between two blogs of the same theme, we often find an exchange of articles.

In summary: the author of blog A publishes an article on blog B, while the author of blog B posts one on blog A.

Nice, right?

Then, the presence of a backlink is a major issue, as it allows to improve its natural referencing on search engines (Google) while optimizing the traffic of its blog by reaching a new audience.

What is a sponsored article?

Definition

A sponsored article is content that involves costs. The author of a blog A publishes an article on a blog B in exchange for remuneration. The aim is to make its website, theme, product or service known by publishing an article on a blog.

Like the guest article, sponsored articles also benefit from a backlink.

Characteristics

At first glance, a sponsored article looks like an ordinary article.

The blogger can write it himself or entrust it to a web editor.

Unlike guest articles, sponsored articles may sometimes be subject to specific requirements. The advertiser or the blog owner may wish to include certain links, images, specific keywords or impose a specific word limit that should not be exceeded.

The presence of a backlink to the author's blog increases the traffic and strengthens the authority of the author.

Guest blogging VS sponsored articles: what to choose?

Even among the most experienced bloggers, I notice that some do not make a difference between sponsored articles and invited articles, except for pricing (free for one and paying for the other).

Yet, in my view, there is another essential difference: their objective.

These two types of articles do not necessarily have the same purpose.

• Sponsored articles are intended to make marketing, promote a product, offer or service. They help improve natural SEO and are integrated into a sales strategy.
• Guest articles their aim is to publicize their blog and work on their brand image.

If you're a blogger with a small budget or a enthusiast who doesn't necessarily want to generate a lot of money with your blog, I recommend the guest post.

If you find yourself in this profile, I suggest you focus on the quality of your content, the optimization of your blog and the development of a keyword SEO strategy and then start guest blogging.

For more professional bloggers who have set up a sales tunnel to a product, investing in sponsored articles can be an interesting option. However, attention must be paid to the authority and quality of the blog to sponsor your article.

Don't forget that your investment must be profitable!

In short, it is important to understand these distinctions in order to choose the best approach based on your objectives and resources.

The advantages of guest blogging

• Low cost
• Traffic genera
• Improves natural SEO
• Sharing the author's expertise

The disadvantages of guest blogging

• Need to invest time
• Difficulty finding good opportunities
• Uncertain profitability (time/profit ratio)

The advantages of sponsored articles

• A powerful marketing tool
• Quality Backlink
• Traffic optimization
• Improved visibility

The disadvantages of sponsored articles

• Paid content
• Risk of duplicate content (if article written by advertiser)
• Presence –sometimes – of a specification to be completed

Conclusion

You'll probably understand, no technique is complete. Each presents its strengths and weaknesses. To make the best choice, I strongly recommend that you take stock of your goals.

If your blog is meant to share your passion without generating revenue, head to guest blogging.

If your blog is meant to generate money, first invested time and energy in guest articles. Once your machine is well run, your offer is in place and you have a solid acquisition strategy, don't hesitate to go to the sponsored items.

Key points include:

• Guest article is often free content that the author publishes on a third party site
• A guest article must be a text with high added value
• A sponsored article is often paid for and proposed by a blogger or advertiser (advertising)
• Sponsored content can promote a product, service or blog
• Sponsored content may include mandatory elements
• There is no better option than the other, it depends on the author's objectives!