With so many different possible ways to promote a blog competing for your attention, it can sometimes be tough to figure out exactly which techniques to implement and what to skip. Guest posting is one of the most powerful marketing tactics out there; here we’ll illuminate why.

No matter what kind of blog you’re running, you can drastically boost your traffic and your exposure through guest blogging. Here are five of the main reasons why every blogger should guest post.

==> Targeted Traffic

When you write a guest post on someone else’s blog, anyone who clicks through to your site is going to be highly targeted traffic.

Writing a post for another high traffic website is all it takes to get a flood of high quality web traffic coming your way.

==> PageRank and SEO

Getting backlinks from guest blogging checks off just about every item on an “SEO factors” list.

The links are targeted. They’re from real sites. They’re (often) in-context links. You can control the anchor text. And if you’re writing for high traffic blogs, the links will naturally have both PageRank and authority.

Many sites have gotten rankings purely by getting dozens if not hundreds of backlinks through guest blogging.

==> Building Relationships in the Industry

Having relationships in your industry will help you advance your business in many different ways.

When you’re launching a new product and need bloggers to write about it, who do you turn to? The people you have relationships with.

When you’re looking for referrals to press, who do you turn to? The people you have relationships with.

Relationships, relationships, relationships. Guest posting helps build relationships. If you provide something valuable for their audience, they’ll be eternally grateful.

==> Increase Your Reputation

Another way guest blogging can help is by increasing your reputation. This is especially the case in relatively small industries.

Let’s say someone frequents four different sites in your industry. On all four sites, they see guest blog posts by you. Just the fact that you’re all over the different websites in your industry is going to do a lot for building your reputation.

When you guest blog post on someone else’s site, that’s an implicit endorsement from them. It also gets you more exposure, which builds credibility.

==> Helps You Explore Different Ideas

Guest blog posting also helps you expand your own ideas.

Let’s say you run a management training company. If you’re invited to guest post for a Fortune 500 company, that’s going to require a different line of thought than writing for a mom and pop blog. You’ll also need to think differently to write for a company that outsources most of their work.

When you guest post, you have to stretch your ideas, concepts and identity to bring value to people who’re slightly different than your typical market. This helps you develop and grow your ideas and concepts.

These are five of the main benefits of guest blogging. It’s one of the highest ROI activities any blogger could take on.