SaulCode
Power Member
- Mar 5, 2018
- 617
- 132
I’ve been thinking about guest posts again after seeing mixed results this year.
A few years back, almost any decent site with traffic could move the needle. Now it feels different. Some guest posts seem to do nothing at all, even when the page gets indexed and stays live. Others still help, but only in certain cases.
From what I’ve seen, topical match matters way more than it used to. A link from a site that actually talks about your topic seems to stick better. Rankings hold longer. Traffic behaves more naturally. On the flip side, general sites that cover everything from travel to tech to health often bring short-term movement, then things fade.
Another thing I’ve noticed is how the link is placed. Posts that feel written just to drop a link don’t age well. Posts that look like normal content, even if they are guest posts, seem safer. Not talking about word count or fancy writing. Just content that fits the site and doesn’t scream promotion.
I’ve also seen cases where guest posts still work for new sites. They help with initial visibility and indexing. But once a site matures, low-quality placements feel useless. Sometimes they even line up with small drops, especially if too many go live at once.
What I’m unsure about is scale. Is it better to get a few strong topical placements, or many average ones spread out slowly? I’ve tested both, but results are not always clear.
Curious how others see it right now. Are guest posts still part of your strategy, or have you moved on to other link sources?
A few years back, almost any decent site with traffic could move the needle. Now it feels different. Some guest posts seem to do nothing at all, even when the page gets indexed and stays live. Others still help, but only in certain cases.
From what I’ve seen, topical match matters way more than it used to. A link from a site that actually talks about your topic seems to stick better. Rankings hold longer. Traffic behaves more naturally. On the flip side, general sites that cover everything from travel to tech to health often bring short-term movement, then things fade.
Another thing I’ve noticed is how the link is placed. Posts that feel written just to drop a link don’t age well. Posts that look like normal content, even if they are guest posts, seem safer. Not talking about word count or fancy writing. Just content that fits the site and doesn’t scream promotion.
I’ve also seen cases where guest posts still work for new sites. They help with initial visibility and indexing. But once a site matures, low-quality placements feel useless. Sometimes they even line up with small drops, especially if too many go live at once.
What I’m unsure about is scale. Is it better to get a few strong topical placements, or many average ones spread out slowly? I’ve tested both, but results are not always clear.
Curious how others see it right now. Are guest posts still part of your strategy, or have you moved on to other link sources?
