Parasitic SEO entails creating and publishing a high-quality content on a well-established external website with a strong authority, aiming to achieve a higher ranking on search engines. By leveraging the host site's substantial traffic, this strategy enhances the likelihood of generating leads and achieving successful conversions. These high Domain Rating (DR) websites, such as medium.com or linkedin.com, possess considerable authority and trust in the eyes of search engines like Google.
In essence, parasite SEO empowers you to contribute an article to an external platform, capitalizing on the established authority of the hosting website to elevate your visibility in search results. This approach also facilitates building backlinks, which can be instrumental in promoting an affiliate program.
Examining the search engine results page (SERP) for "iot with Python" using the cool SEO tool Ahrefs reveals an interesting trend. The first three links are links to resources that allow third-party users to publish.
Thus, even if you want to get to google's top for such a low-competition keyword, you will have to bypass these key high-trust sites. This will be challenging to do. Most likely, it will be better for you to write several articles on the specified topic. Publish one on your site, and place the rest on similar resources with high DR.
When is it suitable to utilize Parasite SEO?
In general, whenever you need traffic but your resource is too poorly promoted to provide it at once.
In details, we can define such cases:
- Building Backlinks: When you aim to build backlinks to your website or promote an affiliate program, leveraging high-authority external platforms through parasite SEO can be beneficial. It allows you to tap into the host site's authority to enhance your own link profile.
- Limited Resources: If you have resource constraints, utilizing parasite SEO on established platforms can be a cost-effective way to boost your online presence without the need for extensive website development or content creation.
- Quick Visibility: When you need rapid visibility in search engine results, especially for competitive keywords, parasite SEO can provide a shortcut. By contributing content to authoritative sites, you can achieve quicker exposure than trying to establish authority from scratch.
- Testing Strategies: Parasite SEO can be a useful approach for testing different SEO strategies or niches. By deploying content on external platforms, you can assess the effectiveness of your tactics without committing extensive resources to your own website.
- Targeting Specific Niches: If you want to target a specific niche or industry, parasite SEO allows you to do so by creating content on relevant high-authority platforms within that niche, potentially reaching a more targeted audience.
How can Parasite SEO be put into practice?
Create a list of high DR (Domain Rating) resources where you can independently post your content or opt for paid publication.
Ensure to thoroughly assess the top-ranking pages in search results to gauge the difficulty of getting your page into the top positions.
It's also beneficial to analyze your competitors' pages. If they already have articles on platforms where you plan to publish a similar post, carefully examine the number of backlinks to their post. This analysis helps in understanding the resources required to promote your post.
Yes, posts placed on external platforms also need promotion! We are referring to backlinks. Therefore, if many other high-quality resources reference your competitor's article, you'll need to do the same; otherwise, your link won't gain the same authority as your competitor's post.
List of sources for Parasite SEO
Let's explore various examples of Parasite SEO using different platforms:
Quora: Engage actively on Quora by sharing insights and answering questions related to your industry. Enhance your responses with relevant links to offer additional information about your website.
LinkedIn: Publish compelling articles and content on LinkedIn Pulse to leverage the platform's authority, increasing visibility, and linking back to your website.
Reddit: Participate in relevant Reddit communities by sharing valuable content. Make sure to adhere to community rules, avoiding spam, and include links judiciously to maintain relevance.
Wikipedia: Contribute ethically and meaningfully to valuable articles on Wikipedia, following Wikipedia's policies, and providing solid references.
Medium: Craft and publish relevant and optimized content on Medium, tapping into the authority of this blogging platform. Strategically insert links to your own website.
YouTube: Create informative and valuable YouTube videos, optimizing titles, descriptions, and tags with relevant keywords. Include links in the video description directing viewers to your website.
Slideshare: Construct engaging Slideshare presentations featuring informative content and link back to your website within the slides. Slideshare is a presentation platform affiliated with LinkedIn.
How Expensive is Parasite SEO?
The cost depends on a few factors.
Firstly, are you planning to pay for placements, and if so, on which platforms? On average, prices start at around $400 and can go up to several thousand dollars, especially for top-tier platforms.
Additionally, consider the cost of creating content. It's crucial to understand that the more authoritative the platform where you want to post your content, the higher the quality standards. Simply relying on AI-generated text won't cut it. You'll need a skilled copywriter or an expert in the field you're writing about. The cost of such professionals varies based on the specific task, but it's evident that it's not a nominal fee. To cut costs, consider using AI for supplementary articles that will be posted on less authoritative platforms.
Conslusion
Parasite SEO may not be suitable for everyone, and it's crucial to weigh your comfort level with the potential uncertainties associated with this SEO method, considering that your content resides on someone else's website.
Additionally, you must make a decision regarding whether to adopt a white-hat or black-hat approach.
Regardless of the path you choose, the essential factor is to strike a balance between capitalizing on high-authority websites and adhering to a sustainable SEO strategy.
Always remain adaptable and stay vigilant in navigating the continually evolving landscape of SEO.