How to Find the Best Guest Posting Sites (+300k Options)
Guest posting to the SEO world is what the celebrity death hoax is to the rest of us. Every other couple of months, we read an article about its death only to find another rebuttal and learn that it‘s still alive and well kicking.
No matter which side you take on this debate, chances are that you still publish the occasional blogs for guest post. And you do this because it works. But, your results might be slowly tapering off unless you are one of the few who are still lucky to find the best guest blogging sites.
So, how do you choose the most effective and non-spammy guest posting blogs? It might seem tough if you don’t know what to look for. But what if we knew a place with 300k+ options for submitting a guest post? Spoiler: we do. But shhh!
Keep reading to learn our 300k secret, find out 7 things you must do to vet every potential guest post site, and 6 tricks to make your posts better.
Contents:
- Why Most Guest Posting Websites Won’t Bring You Any Results
- Dofollow vs. Nofollow: Why You Need Different Guest Posting Opportunities
- Guest Blog Placement: Things Most People Don’t Know About
- A Proven Formula to Find the Best Sites for Guest Posting
- -- #1 Pay Attention to the Thematic Relevance to Your Site
- -- #2 Avoid Services Placing Your Links on Low-Quality Websites (Adult, Casino, etc.)
- -- #3 Check if There’s Good Traffic From Google
- -- #4 Ensure the Site’s High DR/DA
- -- #5 Avoid Sites With a Low Volume of Incoming Links
- -- #6 Check if There’s a Tendency for Traffic Growth
- -- #7 Learn if the Traffic Aligns With Your Site's Relevant Queries
- -- #8 Make Sure You’ll Get Real Clicks
- How to Make Your Guest Post Strategy Even Better
- Forget These When Doing Guest Posting
- Conclusion
Why Most Guest Posting Websites Won’t Bring You Any Results
Even in 2024, guest posting works, but all guest posting websites are not created equal. And here’s why:
- Too many sites use spammy link-building tactics, which will lower your own search rankings.
- Even if you find good sites with fair practices, you still need them to have a good domain authority to have any impact on your online visibility.
- Not every site has the proper engagement or shows a current increase in website traffic.
- Depending on your niche, finding blog posting sites that have the right audience, contain quality content, and know how to promote their guest posts could be like searching for a unicorn.
Dofollow vs. Nofollow: Why You Need Different Guest Posting Opportunities
Most people who are looking for guest posting opportunities often target dofollow backlinks. The reason for this is simple: dofollow backlinks pass on link juice to the linked site. Naturally, this makes it a great favorite. You get to boost your domain authority and improve your search rankings – all that is good stuff. Then, there is a nofollow backlink that does not pass on any link equity and doesn’t have any direct impact on your SEO.
But does this mean you’d better focus only on the dofollow backlinks? That will be like eating one type of meal at every single buffet. What’s even worse, Google gets suspicious of sites practicing this and imposes ‘sanctions’ on them.
Even though nofollow backlinks do not have a direct impact, they do have a powerful indirect effect on your search rankings, especially if they are high-quality ones. Together, they both make your backlink profile look natural and diverse. So, how, then, do you build a good nofollow link?
It’s best to always mix nofollow links with images, forum links, etc. Nofollow links are usually cheaper. However, if you are aiming for really high-profile sites, such as the New York Times or Washington Post, you may have to purchase them, and sometimes, those are the only available links. But they are worth the price, and they work (find proof online). For less prominent sites, you get to choose between DF or NF; usually, nofollow is cheaper, obviously.
Guest Blog Placement: Things Most People Don’t Know About
When seeking quality opportunities on any websites that accept guest posts, you should be aware that there are different categories (depending on whether they appear on the main page or not):
- PR/sponsored. Sometimes, websites place sponsored/guest posts in the sponsored or press release section. Typically, the link to your article will only be from that section. This might not seem like a big deal, but only until you realize that Google often doesn't index articles from the press release section.
- Main blog. If the article is added to the main blog, those pages will also have a link from the site's homepage. Links from this section are considered more valuable.
So, if you are using a guest blogging service, it’s important to check with them and verify where your links will be placed. In Adsy, you can see added examples before buying a link. But wherever you get your guest posts from, ask for their sample publications.
A Proven Formula to Find the Best Sites for Guest Posting
Source: @thatdigitalguru on X
The truth is that everyone wants to find the best sites for guest posting, but there’s no such thing as a universally best or top site. Instead, its definition varies for each niche and business. However, here are some general recommendations you can use to find the quality guest posting sites for your industry:
#1 Pay Attention to the Thematic Relevance to Your Site
Say you go out on a date to a fancy restaurant. Would you order everything off the menu, or would you take the time to find the perfect dish? The same happens with finding authoritative blog posts websites. A single Google search for blog post websites will return tons of results instantly, but not every single one will be a good fit.
Instead, you want to focus on those sites that are within your niche or industry. These are the ones that talk about topics that are also relevant or related to you. These sites are likely to have audiences with shared interests as yours, people who will care about what you have to say.
#2 Avoid Services Placing Your Links on Low-Quality Websites (Adult, Casino, etc.)
These types of guest post sites often offer a huge volume of backlinks for a very low cost. More often than not, they deliver toxic links that trigger a Google penalty. This can tank your search rankings or remove your website from search results altogether. But that's not all. Your brand credibility can also take a massive hit from being linked to such low-quality sites.
#3 Check if There’s Good Traffic From Google
It's easy to assume that every relevant site in your industry is a good fit, but the reality is a little more nuanced than that. You see, there are some really high-quality sites with low traffic; maybe they cater to a very specific niche audience. You want to skip these ones in favor of those with enough CTRs and traffic from Google. This way, you will be sure to drive good traffic to your own web pages.
#4 Ensure the Site’s High DR/DA
A guest posting site with a high domain rating and domain authority will have a significant impact on your SEO rating. This is why most people prefer those with medium to high DR/DA, even though they're more likely to cost a bit more. A domain authority score above 30 is preferable. Of course, the occasional sprinkle of low DR/DA sites won't hurt; just be sure to keep them fewer in number.
#5 Avoid Sites With a Low Volume of Incoming Links
Ideally, a donor site should have more incoming links than outgoing ones. It means that other pages link to this website more than it links to other pages. Why does this matter? This is usually a solid indicator that the website doesn’t engage in shady link-building practices. Because remember this one thing for life – sites with spammy and manipulative link practices can harm your search rankings.
#6 Check if There’s a Tendency for Traffic Growth
Are blog posting websites still seeing any increase in web traffic, or did it stop a long time ago? A site that sees new visitors as well as the return of old audiences is also going to boost your own traffic growth. On the other hand, the lack of traffic growth is an indication that you may have a harder time trying to get people to see your link, click on it, and land on your page.
#7 Learn if the Traffic Aligns With Your Site's Relevant Queries
What can be sadder than a quality guest post that no one reads or cares to engage with? This is why it’s important to ensure the traffic of a potential blog posting site aligns with your relevant queries. If the readers’ interests overlap with those of your target audience, then it is a good place to add your link. The odds are in your favor that you will see a lot of engagement and referral links from such websites.
#8 Make Sure You’ll Get Real Clicks
The good guest posting sites should be able to get you real clicks and not bot-generated ones. A good example of these are links from universal sites. Such as news sites which are suitable for everyone. Keep in mind that such pages post many news pieces daily, so your article may not stay on the main page for long (it might not even make it there, unfortunately).
Of course, if you know where to look, you will be able to find pages offering permanent and high-quality links. We aren’t pointing at anyone, but, you know, you are on the Adsy website, and we do have over 300k different guest posting sites. That’s right! But let’s keep it between us. You wouldn’t want others to queue up, would you?
How to Make Your Guest Post Strategy Even Better
Source: @Kimpassionate1 on X
Phew, you have done the hard work, and now it’s about time to submit a guest post, but wait! Just one thing: let’s optimize your guest post for maximum impact. Here is what you need to do:
- Add keywords to article headlines and text. Keywords are essential for boosting the visibility and organic ranking of your blog and ensuring that the right people see it. Search engine algorithms also use them to determine how to rank your post in search results pages.
- Use unique images for the article. Did you know that 63% of people who click on Google image search results actually go on to visit the website? So, you will want to add quality images to enhance the appeal of your guest post. Besides, this will boost the shareability.
- Ask the webmaster to include your desired title. You may wonder why it matters at all. Because your title must convey the central message of your writing and capture the attention of readers you’d like to reach.
- Place keywords near your link. This move will help reinforce the relevance of the web page you have linked, especially when you use a natural anchor text.
- Avoid using the keyword in the anchor text. It is tempting to use your keyword in the anchor text, isn’t it? But don’t do it! This looks suspicious to the search engine and can trigger it. Instead, use natural anchor texts that give the readers clues on what to expect when they click the link.
- Leverage tier 2 links. These are links to the articles on the guest blogging sites where you already have links to your site (tier 1). By adding tier 2 links to your article, you improve the chances for it to rank higher and get additional link juice.
Forget These When Doing Guest Posting
Be careful! Despite the effectiveness of guest posting on blogs, there are some things that can worsen your results, so it's best to skip them.
- Avoid using sponsored tags (if possible). This gives Google a sign that the link wasn’t added organically, and its value will be much lower for your page.
- Check to ensure the webmaster doesn't add noindex tags. It just means that Google won’t index your page. It’s like it won’t exist for the search engines.
- Don't use keywords excessively in anchors, text, or headlines. No one likes spammers, and Google is the king of the anti-spammers hill. So, don’t mess up with it, we mean it. Your keyword density should be no more than 1-2% (i.e., 1 or 2 keywords per 100 words of copy).
Conclusion
Guest posting websites will remain a big part of SEO tactics as long as people need content to rank and drive traffic. Still, its effectiveness depends on your ability to sieve the relevant, quality guest blogging opportunities from the not-so-helpful ones. Use the tips here in your search, create a list of authoritative digital platforms and you will never have to worry about getting the desired results from your efforts.
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