Search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial for driving organic traffic to your website. One proven SEO tactic is guest posting – publishing content on other high-authority sites in your niche. Not only does this help build backlinks, but it increases brand visibility and establishes you as an industry thought leader.
The challenge? Many popular sites charge $200-500+ per post. As a startup or bootstrapped business, paid guest posts may not fit your budget.
The good news? You can still land editorially aligned guest posts on reputable websites, entirely for free. Here are 15 of the best free guest posting sites to elevate your SEO in 2023.
1. Medium
With over 30 million monthly visitors, Medium is a leading online publishing platform. The site is divided into topics like technology, politics, health, business, and more.
Medium actively welcomes guest contributors. To get started, create a free account and submit pitches to publications that fit your industry. Make sure to customize each query and highlight what unique value you’ll provide to readers.
2. Business 2 Community
Business 2 Community sees over 3 million monthly visitors. This makes it one of the most-visited business sites online.
B2C accepts guest posts in categories like marketing, HR, finance, tech, sales, and more. Pitches should include a working title, 200-300 word summary, your headshot, and bio.
3. Entrepreneur
Home to the iconic Entrepreneur magazine, this site sees 17+ million monthly visitors. That level of exposure is hard to beat.
Their contributor zone allows aspiring writers to submit posts for consideration. Make sure guest posts provide actionable tips or business insights.
4. Lifehack
Lifehack covers productivity, lifestyle, health, business, and a range of other topics. With over 540,000 Facebook fans, it’s a highly engaging community.
To become a contributor, send a short bio and sample posts. Lifehack is fairly open in terms of editorial guidelines. The focus is on publishing truly helpful, empowering content.
5. Good Men Project
The Good Men Project takes a refreshing, positive look at men’s lifestyle topics. These include family, relationships, health, sports, finance, travel, and more.
Given the site’s relatively high domain authority (DA), it’s a valuable guest posting opportunity. Expect a quick response time of 1-5 days.
6. Duct Tape Marketing
Run by bestselling marketing author John Jantsch, Duct Tape Marketing sees 46,000+ monthly visitors. It’s highly regarded in the SMB and marketing pro community.
To pitch a guest post, briefly explain your idea and relevant expertise. Be sure to review the submission guidelines thoroughly first.
7. Self Publishing School
CSP helps writers launch Amazon bestsellers. Their blog, Self Publishing School, attracts over 50,000 monthly visitors.
Topics include writing tips, book marketing, mindset, and interviews with successful authors. To contribute, send your blog post idea and a short bio.
8. CreativeLive Blog
The CreativeLive blog centers around creativity, entrepreneurship, photography, crafts, and more. With over 840,000 Facebook followers, there’s a huge engaged audience.
To become a contributor, send 3 post ideas along with links to relevant samples. Be sure to customize pitches for the CreativeLive audience specifically.
9. Shopify
Shopify powers over 1,000,000+ ecommerce businesses. Their ecommerce blog sees over 1.5 million monthly visitors.
Topics include marketing, design, customer experience, and interviews with leading DTC founders. Pitches should focus on highly tactical ecommerce advice. Make sure your expertise is clearly conveyed.
10. QuickBooks
With over 5.2 million Facebook followers, the QuickBooks community is massive. Their Intuit blog covers financial insights, accounting tips, and business strategy.
Becoming a contributor starts by filling out their guest post submission form. QuickBooks receives numerous submissions, so you may need to be patient.
11. Inc.
Inc. magazine has been around for over 40 years. Today, Inc.com receives 27 million monthly visitors – making it a prime venue to elevate your personal brand.
The site actively accepts contributed posts in categories like leadership, tech, finance, marketing, operations, and more. Pitches should be sent to editor@inc.com.
12. The Write Life
The Write Life attracts over 200,000 monthly visitors. Content focuses on craft, technique, productivity hacks, and interviews with six-figure freelance writers.
To contribute, send your story idea, 3 writing samples, and a short bio. The editorial team responds fairly quickly.
13. Career Contessa
Career Contessa offers career advice tailored for women. With over 310,000 monthly visitors, it has major reach with a valuable niche audience.
Contributor guidelines are broad – you can pitch posts related to leadership, negotiation, resume writing, interning, and more. Keep pitches short and include a sample article.
14. InvoiceBerry
InvoiceBerry provides invoicing and billing software for small businesses. Their blog attracts 45,000+ monthly readers interested in accounting, automation, payroll, taxes, and related topics.
To become a contributor, send a short bio and topic idea. InvoiceBerry is fairly open in terms of specific subjects. The focus is on offering truly helpful advice.
15. Sports Feel Good Stories
Sports Feel Good Stories attracts over 60,000 visitors monthly. The site publishes uplifting sports content and human interest pieces. This makes it a unique venue for aspiring sports bloggers to gain exposure.
To contribute, include a short bio and writing samples with your initial email. Currently, the site seems to be accepting guest posts on an ongoing basis.
Leveraging Guest Posts to Amplify Your Reach
Securing just a single post on a reputable site can work wonders for driving targeted traffic. But don’t stop at just one. Consistently publishing guest posts gives your SEO an even bigger boost.
Here are some best practices for maximizing the impact:
- Stagger publishing dates. Don’t bunch all guest posts together. Space them out over a few months for sustained results.
- Update previously successful posts. If a guest post performed exceptionally well, reach back out to the site owner. Ask if you can update the post with new stats, insights, or trends.
- Repurpose content. With permission, adapt your successful guest posts into new formats. Turn written posts into video scripts, podcast interviews, or visual quotes for Instagram.
- Promote guest posts. Don’t rely on the site to do all the promotion. Share guest posts on your own social channels, email newsletters, and elsewhere.
- Follow up with site admins. Check in with site editors about topics performing well. Offer to create follow-up posts or ongoing contributions in popular niches.
The more value you provide, the more eager site owners will be to work with you long-term. This amplifies the SEO benefits dramatically.
Conclusion
Securing guest posts on authoritative sites is a proven tactic to increase domain authority, generate backlinks, and expand your reach. Yet far too many brands solely pursue paid contributor deals.
With the free guest post sites above, you can start landing quality, aligned contributions right away. Focus on providing truly unique value vs. blatant self-promotion. Over time, this elevates your brand and establishes you as a thought leader.
Consistent guest posting strengthens website authority signals like domain rating, trust flow, and citation flow. As you become a reliable contributor, paid posting opportunities at major publications will open up as well.
Don’t underestimate the power of securing free guest posts at any stage of your business. Leverage a smart combination of unpaid and paid contributions based on your budget and goals.
FAQs About Free Guest Posting
Q: How do I find the contact information for free guest post submissions?
A: Most sites list their contributor guidelines or a guest post submission form on their About page. You can also look for pitches to be sent to the site’s general contact email address or to the editor directly.
Q: How much time does it take for guest posts to be approved usually?
A: Timeframes vary greatly by site and volume of submissions. Give sites at least 2-3 weeks to respond before following up. Some may take over a month. Be patient!
Q: What’s the best way to increase my chances of guest post approval?
A: Personalize every pitch and cater to the site’s audience. Follow all guidelines closely and showcase your expertise. Avoid pitching duplicate ideas to the same site. Provide value vs. a salesy tone.
Q: Should my guest posts include backlinks to my website?
A: Don’t request backlinks in your initial pitch. Create a great post first, then politely ask the editor if they’d be willing to include 1-2 attribution links to your site. Let quality content take priority over links.
Q: How often should I guest post to see significant SEO results?
A:Aim for at least 1-2 high quality, relevant guest posts per month. More frequent posting provides even better results, but focus on building relationships with sites vs. mass outreach.
