What Is Paid Guest Posting? Should You Do It? – SEO Sandwitch

Link building is one of the most effective methods to improve the ranking of a website in any niche. Paid guest posting is the best link building tactic for building backlinks that improves link equity. 

Guest posting is when an author writes and publishes content on  relevant websites. About 1 – 5 guest blogs are written by 60% of blogs per month.

What Is a Paid Guest Posting?

Paid guest posting is the process of posting sponsored content on an external website for boosting your domain’s SEO value. The content posted should be valuable for the target audience as a website will not post any content of low quality. Both donor and recipient sites can face Google penalties if guest blogging is done incorrectly. 

The most important elements of paid guest posting are:

• Domain authority: It is a metric that was first developed by Moz that tells how likely a domain appears in the SERPs. It can be calculated using Moz. The Domain Authority rank (DA) is from 1 to 100. Websites with higher DA have more audience and visibility so such websites charge a high price. 

• Traffic: It refers to the amount of organic traffic a website acquires. It can be checked using various SEO tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush. The websites with higher traffic will charge high prices and vice versa.

• Industry niche: It is crucial for paid guest posting because it ensures your content is relevant to the target audience, enhancing engagement and credibility. Niche-focused posts also improve SEO through backlinks from authoritative sources. However, targeting specific niches often comes at a higher cost due to the increased value and influence of the placements. Prices can vary significantly based on the niche’s competitiveness and the publication’s reach, but investing in a relevant niche can lead to a higher return on investment through better audience targeting and improved brand authority.
• Content requirements: The quality of content significantly influences the cost of guest posting, as they affect the quality and impact of the post. Meeting the host website’s expectations is crucial. Guest bloggers charge more for complex posts, reflecting their expertise and the effort involved.

Should You Do Paid Guest Blogging?

Guest posting helps you to increase the visibility of the website by getting high quality links from quality websites. Constantly publishing new paid guest posts and increasing the number of backlinks is the best way to increase visibility and authority even in highly competitive niches.

Guest posting can be challenging sometimes but it is the best way to improve your search engine ranking and gaining the trust of the clients. The ranking is more likely to increase with the inbound links that have more trust.

Here are the top advantages of guest posting: 

1- Brand awareness

Boosting brand awareness is a crucial step towards a successful marketing strategy. Guest posting on trusted sites helps in increasing the visibility and reader engagement of your website. 

Regularly sharing high quality content on social media platforms can help the website to gain the reputation and trust of readers, and help them become leaders and experts in their niche. The trust will help readers remember your work and look out for your services in the future.

2- Improve credibility and authority

Building credibility and authority with the readers is very important as guest posting gives the website an opportunity to show their expertise to them. It is done when the readers see your name on a highly reputed website and begin to see you as a credible author. 

3- Generate new leads

Generating new leads can be done by using guest posting as a lead generation tool which shows readers your industry knowledge and problem solving abilities in your domain. High quality created content can get backlinks to itself organically over time. Links from high-traffic domains can generate traffic which attracts new leads and high paying customers. 

4- Strengthen your Site SEO

Strengthening your site’s search engine optimization (SEO) can be done with the help of guest posting. When you post on a reputed and high authority website, it helps you to earn high quality backlinks which are a crucial factor for ranking in search engines. These backlinks help readers to know that your site is trustworthy.

The high quality backlinks can also help in improving the website’s domain authority. These high rankings will result in more people seeing and accessing your site while searching with  relevant keywords.

5- Thought leadership

Encouraging thought leadership refers to the idea of being recognized as an authority in a particular industry or niche. Guest posting on reputable sites can share your knowledge with a wider audience and let them know that you are an expert in your field. It gives you a chance to gain the credibility and the trust of potential clients that helps generate new leads. 

Being on reputable sites gives you an opportunity to prove to readers that you have complete knowledge and leadership qualities. 

Is Paid Guest Posting Bad for SEO?

Guest posting is not inherently bad for SEO but it can be bad as they can bring Google penalties if manipulative links are used. This can result in decreased ranking in search results or being omitted from search engines. 

Manipulative link practices involve:

• Failure to nofollow guest post links: According to Google, when linking to your site from a guest post, the link should be nofollow. You can nofollow a link by adding a rel=”nofollow” attribute to the link’s code.

And rel=”sponsored” attribute if you pay for the guest post.

The nofollow and sponsored attributes tell Google to ignore the link for SEO. If you do not nofollow your link, Google will be able to tell it and can penalize your site.

• Excessive guest posting: This occurs when a brand tries to get many backlinks on as many sites as possible. This can lead to low quality content which might also attract Google penalties. Action can be taken against the sites with unnatural links placed for SEO practices and similar content posted on multiple sites. By avoiding guest posts on low-quality sites, you can avoid attracting penalties.  
• Failure to disclose guest posts: When you guest post by paying, the host site must be transparent with the readers. Not labeling sponsored posts can result in violating Google’s guidelines and getting a penalty.

How To Do Paid Guest Posting?

Step 1: Find a relevant blog

The first step to start guest posting is to find a relevant blog as many blogs are offering paid guest posting. However choosing a blog related to your niche will make it relatively easy rather than handling all the blogs. 

You can find it with the help of Google by writing paid guest posting opportunities in your niche and making a list of them.

Step 2: Opt for the best opportunities

After making the list, the next step is opting for the best opportunities. The main purpose while selecting the best sites should be gaining good credibility and authority, and not making money. So, you must select the sites that have good traffic, reader engagement, quality content, and good authority. 

Always look for quality while choosing any site, because a site with low quality is violating Google’s guidelines and has the chance to get a penalty any time.

Step 3: Read the guidelines to send a proposal

The third step is to go through the guidelines for sending a proposal. If you are planning to send a proposal to a high quality site, it won’t be easy to get accepted by them as they have strict criteria and guidelines for their paid guest bloggers.

Go through their guidelines carefully and it will be easy to write a proposal. 

Step 4: Write the guest post

A crucial step after reviewing the guidelines is to begin drafting your proposal. Before you start writing, familiarize yourself with the guest posting site by understanding:

• The type of content they publish
• The required writing styles and tones
• Topics they have already covered
• Which topic would be best to propose

When crafting your content, ensure it is of high quality, incorporates relevant keywords, has an engaging title, and is backed by in-depth research.

Step 5: Send the proposal

The final step, after carefully crafting your content, is to send your proposal to the target site. This proposal is your chance to showcase your professionalism, understanding of their audience, and the value you bring. It’s essential to tailor your proposal to align with the site’s style and objectives, demonstrating that you’ve done your homework and are genuinely interested in contributing.

In your proposal, highlight how your content fits their platform, addresses their readers’ needs, and complements their existing content. Provide a brief overview of your article, including the key points and the unique angle you’re offering.

After sending the proposal, be proactive in following up. Check your email regularly and respond to any inquiries or feedback promptly. A timely and courteous response not only shows professionalism but also increases your chances of securing the guest post.

By being thorough in your approach, you can significantly enhance the likelihood of your proposal being accepted.