How to Tell if Your Guest Post Strategy Is Working

You’ve put time, effort, and resources into your guest post strategy. Whether you’re writing the posts yourself, working with guest post services, or collaborating with influencers, you want to ensure that these efforts are paying off. But how do you know if your guest post strategy is actually working?

The truth is, many businesses invest in guest posting without properly measuring the results. Guest posting can be a powerful tool for increasing visibility, driving traffic, and improving SEO—but only if you’re tracking the right metrics. In this post, we’ll show you how to evaluate the success of your guest post strategy and ensure that you’re getting the most out of it.

Track Your Website Traffic

One of the most immediate ways to tell if your guest post strategy is working is by monitoring your website traffic. When you place a guest post on a relevant, high-authority website, you should see a boost in traffic from that source. The key is to track and measure this traffic.

Here’s how you can track your traffic:

Google Analytics: Use Google Analytics to monitor referral traffic. This allows you to see exactly how many visitors are coming from the websites where your guest posts have been published. Look for an increase in traffic during and after the post goes live.

UTM Parameters: For more detailed tracking, you can add UTM parameters to your guest post links. These parameters will help you track the specific link clicks generated from your guest posts, and will give you a clearer picture of how effective each post is in driving traffic to your website.

Monitor Landing Pages: Track which landing pages visitors are landing on from your guest posts. If your posts are targeting a specific service or product, see if the traffic is converting to the pages you want visitors to land on.

A steady increase in traffic from your guest posts signals that you’re reaching your target audience and effectively driving visitors to your website. If you notice traffic spikes after each guest post, it’s a good sign that your strategy is working.

Measure the Quality of the Traffic

Not all traffic is created equal. While a spike in traffic may seem like a good thing, it’s essential to assess the quality of that traffic. Are the visitors you’re attracting engaging with your site? Are they spending time reading your content, or are they leaving immediately?

Here’s how you can evaluate the quality of your traffic:

Bounce Rate: If visitors from your guest posts are leaving your site right after landing, you may have a high bounce rate. This could indicate that your content isn’t relevant or that the landing page isn’t engaging enough. However, if visitors are staying on your site and exploring multiple pages, this is a sign that your traffic is high-quality.

Time on Page: Track how long visitors from guest posts are staying on your website. A longer time on the page usually indicates that your content is engaging, and your guests are finding what they’re looking for.

Pages per Session: Another metric to check is pages per session. If people are viewing multiple pages before leaving, it shows that they’re interested in more of your content or products.

If your guest posts are attracting quality traffic—visitors who stay on your site, read your content, and explore your services—it’s a clear indicator that your strategy is working.

Evaluate Keyword Rankings and SEO Performance

One of the biggest reasons businesses invest in guest post services is for SEO benefits. Guest posts are an excellent way to build backlinks from high-authority sites, which can improve your search engine rankings. But how can you tell if those guest posts are actually helping your rankings?

To measure SEO performance, track the following:

Keyword Rankings: Keep an eye on how your target keywords are ranking in search engines before and after publishing guest posts. If your guest posts are optimized with the right keywords and placed on authoritative sites, you should see an improvement in your rankings for those keywords.

Backlink Profile: Guest posts typically include backlinks to your website. Track the number of high-quality backlinks you’re accumulating as a result of your guest posts. Tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz can help you track your backlink profile and measure the strength of these links.

Domain Authority Growth: Guest posts placed on authoritative sites can help boost your domain authority (DA) over time. By tracking your DA, you can get a sense of how your backlink strategy is improving the overall credibility of your site.

If you see improvements in keyword rankings, a growing backlink profile, and an increase in domain authority, your guest post strategy is likely contributing to your SEO success.

Monitor Social Shares and Engagement

Guest posts can do more than just drive traffic and boost SEO—they can also help increase your brand’s social presence. If your guest posts are resonating with readers, they may share your content on social media or engage with your brand in other ways.

Track social shares and engagement by:

Social Media Mentions: Use social listening tools or simply search for mentions of your guest posts on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. If readers are sharing your post or tagging your brand, that’s a sign your content is resonating with them.

Social Media Analytics: If you include links to your social media profiles in your guest posts, you can monitor traffic coming from those posts to your social channels. Look for an increase in followers, likes, shares, and comments from people who discovered you through your guest posts.

Engagement on Guest Post Platforms: Some guest post platforms allow users to leave comments or engage with the content. If readers are commenting on your post, asking questions, or sharing their opinions, that’s a clear sign of engagement.

Social signals can also contribute to SEO, as search engines like Google take social proof into account when ranking content. The more engagement you get, the more likely your guest posts are achieving the desired impact.

Assess Lead Generation and Conversions

Ultimately, one of the most important ways to measure the success of your guest post strategy is by conversions. Are your guest posts bringing in qualified leads? Are those leads converting into paying customers or taking the actions you want on your website?

Here’s how you can track conversions:

Lead Generation Forms: If your guest posts include a call-to-action (CTA) leading to a landing page or lead capture form, track how many leads come through that form. Tools like Google Analytics can help you see which guest posts are driving leads to your site.

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO): Once visitors are on your website, are they converting? Track how many visitors from your guest posts are signing up for newsletters, making purchases, or filling out contact forms. If your conversion rate is high, it means your guest posts are attracting the right audience.

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): If your goal is to generate long-term relationships rather than one-time conversions, tracking customer lifetime value can help you assess the impact of your guest post strategy. If your posts are bringing in high-value clients or repeat customers, it’s a positive sign that your strategy is working.

By tracking lead generation and conversion metrics, you can determine whether your guest posts are not just driving traffic but also delivering tangible results.

Feedback from Partners and Influencers

If you’re working with guest post services or collaborating with influencers, getting feedback from your partners can provide insight into how well your posts are performing. Are your guest posts being well-received by the sites you’re contributing to? Are the influencers or platforms happy with the results?

Ask for:

Performance Data: Many guest post services can provide data on how well your posts are performing, including click-through rates (CTR), social media engagement, and the number of backlinks generated.

Client Testimonials: If you’re working with a guest post service, ask for client feedback or case studies to see if they’ve worked with others in your industry. Positive testimonials and success stories indicate that the service is producing results.

Feedback from your partners and collaborators helps you fine-tune your strategy and ensure that your guest posts are achieving their desired impact.

Measuring the Success of Your Guest Post Strategy

To know if your guest post strategy is working, you need to track the right metrics. Focus on:

Traffic: Is your website getting more visitors from your guest posts?

Quality of Traffic: Are those visitors engaging with your site and staying longer?

SEO Performance: Are your rankings improving and your backlink profile growing?

Social Engagement: Are people sharing your posts and interacting with your content?

Conversions: Are you generating leads and converting visitors into customers?

By regularly measuring these key performance indicators (KPIs), you can determine whether your guest post strategy is meeting your goals. If you find areas that need improvement, adjust your approach and keep optimizing. Guest posting can be an incredibly effective SEO tool when executed strategically, and with the right tracking in place, you can ensure it delivers measurable results.