Guest Posting Done Properly
What separates a genuine editorial placement from a paid link scheme — and why that line matters more than the tactic itself.
Guest posting has the worst reputation of any tactic in this guide, and the best track record when it's actually done right.
It's one of the ways to build a backlink covered in our link building guide — specifically, one of the "built" routes rather than the "earned" or "bought" ones.
What guest posting actually is
You write an article, on-topic and genuinely useful, for a site that isn't your own. In exchange, you usually get a byline and a link back to your site — either in the author bio or contextually inside the piece, depending on the publication's own editorial policy.
That's the whole mechanic. What determines whether it helps or hurts is everything around it: the relevance of the site, whether money changed hands for the placement, and whether the link is disclosed honestly if it did.
The line that matters
| Legitimate guest posting | Paid link scheme | |
|---|---|---|
| Site relevance | On-topic for your industry | Often unrelated, chosen for its metric score |
| Editorial control | Publisher reviews and can reject the piece | Placement guaranteed once paid |
| Link disclosure | Not required to be dofollow; publisher's choice | Dofollow demanded as a condition |
| Volume | A handful of genuinely useful placements | Dozens or hundreds, bought in bulk |
How to do it well
- Start with sites your actual audience reads. Competitors' guest contributors, established trade publications, and blogs already covering your topic are a far better list than any "write for us" directory.
- Pitch a specific angle, not a generic offer. A concrete idea the publication's own readers would want gets accepted; "can I write a guest post for you" rarely does.
- Write it as well as you'd write your own content. The link is a byproduct of a genuinely good piece, not the goal you're optimising the piece for.
- Let the publisher set the link terms. Don't demand a dofollow link or a specific anchor — see anchor text for why forcing exact-match anchors specifically raises risk.
If outreach for a placement feels slow, broken link building is a related tactic that gives you a more concrete reason to reach out — you're offering to fix something, not just asking for space.
Where to go next
Broken link building is a related outreach tactic with a more concrete pitch. Toxic links covers what happens when guest posting is done the wrong way.
Frequently asked questions
What is guest posting?
Guest posting is writing an article for someone else's website, usually in exchange for a byline and a link back to your own site. Done on relevant, editorially-run sites, it's a legitimate way to earn a backlink and reach a new audience at the same time.
Is guest posting against Google's guidelines?
Guest posting itself is not against Google's guidelines. What Google works against is large-scale, paid guest posting done purely to manipulate rankings, and undisclosed paid links inside guest posts. The practice is fine; treating it as a bulk, pay-for-placement scheme is what creates risk.
How do you find sites to guest post on?
Start with sites your actual audience already reads — competitors' guest contributors, industry publications, and blogs that already cover your topic are a better starting point than any generic "write for us" directory, which tends to attract low-quality, low-relevance placements.
Should a guest post link be dofollow or nofollow?
That's the publisher's call, not the guest author's, and a legitimate site should be free to choose either. Insisting on a dofollow link as a condition of writing is one of the signals that tips a placement from editorial contribution toward paid link scheme.
How much does a legitimate guest post placement cost?
A genuinely editorial site publishes guest content because it's useful to their readers, not because it was purchased — so the honest answer is your time and the quality of the piece, not a placement fee. Paying a site specifically for a link inside an article is a different, riskier activity; see toxic links for why.
Not sure which of your links are helping?
Send us the domain. We'll tell you what's genuinely working and what's quietly putting you at risk.