Guest post DR means nothing without relevance

[RMX]

Just reviewed a batch of guest post opportunities for a finance client half the sites were DR 60+ but had zero topical relevance. I would rather take a DR 25 blog that’s actually about money than a DR 70 lifestyle blog with random topics. Relevance > Metrics, every time. Thoughts ?

 

[IM Dude]

Relevent or partial relevent niches are ok but not totally irrelevant blogs. May be they are link farms like most guest post sites are.

 

[tazarbm]

Relevance > Metrics, every time. Thoughts ?

for certain keywords and niches power is more important than relevancy. I'm thinking here about stuff like gambling / casino, we're all seeing expired domains that had nothing to do with gambling (before being acquired by SEOs who operate in this industry) being made to rank due to their powerful backlinks profile. It's true that most of them only rank for a short while and then google tanks them, but probably that's how this niche goes...

Or web hosting, for example, which is a niche that can have backlinks from 100s of different industries without getting penalized as every industry uses web hosting and when those sites link to their preferred / recommended web hosting provider there is very little topical relevancy between the 2 types of business, so it's actually recommended to use powerful backlinks (PBNs and niche edits) over topically relevant (but usually weak) backlinks if you're trying to rank in this niche that is so competitive...

Anyway, I could find way more niches that benefit from power more than relevancy if I put my mind to it, but hopefully the point is clear already

 

[Mr_Hasan]

I’m with you on this, relevance always wins. A backlink only makes sense if the site or blog is actually connected to your niche. A finance site getting a link from another finance or money related blog feels natural, helps with topical authority, and sends the right signals to Google. On the other hand, a random high-DR lifestyle blog might look good on paper, but it doesn’t really carry weight in terms of context. At the end of the day, it’s about building links that make sense to both search engines and real people.

 

[RMX]

Relevent or partial relevent niches are ok but not totally irrelevant blogs. May be they are link farms like most guest post sites are.

Relevance (even partial) adds weight, but totally off niche sites often look like link dumps and lose trust fast.

Quick One - The tricky part is many “guest post sites” are dressed up farms. Do you usually test a site’s outbound link profile first to filter these out, or rely more on engagement/traffic signals?

 

[RMX]

for certain keywords and niches power is more important than relevancy. I'm thinking here about stuff like gambling / casino, we're all seeing expired domains that had nothing to do with gambling (before being acquired by SEOs who operate in this industry) being made to rank due to their powerful backlinks profile. It's true that most of them only rank for a short while and then google tanks them, but probably that's how this niche goes...

Or web hosting, for example, which is a niche that can have backlinks from 100s of different industries without getting penalized as every industry uses web hosting and when those sites link to their preferred / recommended web hosting provider there is very little topical relevancy between the 2 types of business, so it's actually recommended to use powerful backlinks (PBNs and niche edits) over topically relevant (but usually weak) backlinks if you're trying to rank in this niche that is so competitive...

Anyway, I could find way more niches that benefit from power more than relevancy if I put my mind to it, but hopefully the point is clear already

That is a solid point mate. I have a Big Question for you.

The bigger question is: do you see this as a short-term boost play only, or have you found strategies where these “power over relevance” links actually hold steady rankings long-term without Google eventually pulling the rug?

 

[tazarbm]

That is a solid point mate. I have a Big Question for you.

The bigger question is: do you see this as a short-term boost play only, or have you found strategies where these “power over relevance” links actually hold steady rankings long-term without Google eventually pulling the rug?

normally, powerful backlinks will work long-term, but this doesn't mean that the sites having these links won't get tanked, are we not seeing google shuffling rankings every few months despite of how good or bad the sites being shuffled are?

So yeah, the links themselves will do their job long-term, but google can tank you for whatever whim they might have at the moment, so it's not the links' fault I would say...

 

[RMX]

I’m with you on this, relevance always wins. A backlink only makes sense if the site or blog is actually connected to your niche. A finance site getting a link from another finance or money related blog feels natural, helps with topical authority, and sends the right signals to Google. On the other hand, a random high-DR lifestyle blog might look good on paper, but it doesn’t really carry weight in terms of context. At the end of the day, it’s about building links that make sense to both search engines and real people.

Topical relevance sends the strongest signals for both Google and users.

But here’s something I keep testing: do you think a slightly off-niche but high engagement site (say lifestyle blog with real readers) can still outperform a perfectly relevant but “dead” niche blog with no traffic?

 

[RMX]

Absolutely, relevance brings better long-term SEO value than high DR with no context

Relevance always wins in the long run. A contextual backlink from a site that actually matches your niche sends far stronger signals to Google than a random high-DR link with no topical connection. That is how you build authority + trust that sticks, instead of just chasing metrics.

 

[Dageruleut]

I agree with this point of view. Backlinks from pages with related topics often bring more natural and durable SEO signals, while high DR index but out of field has little practical value.

 

[proxygo]

A high Domain Rating (DR) alone is meaningless for guest posts
if the site isn't relevant to your niche;

 

[Colton Davis]

A high-DR site in an irrelevant niche provides minimal topical authority and can even be flagged if the links appear unnatural. The key metric now is Topical Relevance Score (TRS). Focus on sites that are highly interlinked with known entities in your niche, regardless of their raw DR score. A relevant link from a mid-DR site is far safer and more effective than a generic link from a high-DR powerhouse.

 

[EthanSeo99]

Google cares more about context than shiny metrics.

 

[RMX]

I agree with this point of view. Backlinks from pages with related topics often bring more natural and durable SEO signals, while high DR index but out of field has little practical value.

A high Domain Rating (DR) alone is meaningless for guest posts
if the site isn't relevant to your niche;

A high-DR site in an irrelevant niche provides minimal topical authority and can even be flagged if the links appear unnatural. The key metric now is Topical Relevance Score (TRS). Focus on sites that are highly interlinked with known entities in your niche, regardless of their raw DR score. A relevant link from a mid-DR site is far safer and more effective than a generic link from a high-DR powerhouse.

Google cares more about context than shiny metrics.

DR’s just decoration now. If the site is not part of your niche’s ecosystem, the link barely counts and can even look dodgy. A clean, mid DR, tightly-relevant link will outrank a random powerhouse every single time. All the factor other than metrics should also have equal dependence.

 

[praetserge]

Just reviewed a batch of guest post opportunities for a finance client half the sites were DR 60+ but had zero topical relevance. I would rather take a DR 25 blog that’s actually about money than a DR 70 lifestyle blog with random topics. Relevance > Metrics, every time. Thoughts ?

It's not only about relevance... most of the guest posts advertised on the forum have 0 traffic but 50+ DA.

 

[iAuthority]

That makes sense; in today’s SEO landscape, topical relevance matters more than raw metrics. A lower-DR site that’s strongly aligned with your niche will usually pass better contextual signals than a high-DR, off-topic blog.

In addition to that, mixing in a few high-authority multi-niche sites can still help diversify your profile and build trust, as long as the placement is contextual and well-aligned. A balanced approach tends to deliver the best long-term results.