What do you usually check first before placing a guest post?

DR and DA are the last things I check, not the first. Those metrics are so easy to manipulate that they tell you almost nothing about whether a link will actually do anything.
First thing I look at is organic traffic trend in Ahrefs - not the current number but the graph over time. A site that had 50k traffic 2 years ago and now has 8k is a red flag regardless of DR. Google already started discounting it.
Second - how many outbound links in recent posts. If every article from the last 3 months links to 3-4 different unrelated sites, it's a link farm. Real editorial sites don't do that.
Third - does the site actually have a real audience. Check comments, social shares, whether the content makes sense for a human to read. A site with 40 DR and real engaged readers is worth more than a DR70 ghost town that exists only to sell links.
Traffic source breakdown matters too. If 80% of their traffic is from India or random tier 3 countries for an English language site, that organic traffic number is inflated and meaningless.

I usually check if the site has real traffic and not just fake matrics. also see if their content is relevant to my niche and links do not look spammy. otherwise it's not worth it.

Faisal Mirza said:

While doing outreach for guest posts, I’ve noticed everyone seems to have their own way of checking a site before placing a link.

Some people focus mainly on DR/DA, while others look more at organic traffic, niche relevance, or how natural the site looks overall.

In my experience, a site with real traffic and relevant content usually feels like a safer placement than just chasing high metrics.

Just curious what others here usually check first before deciding to place a guest post.

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I check three things in this order. Does the site get real organic traffic. Is the content actually written for readers or just for links. And does the niche make sense for my client. If all three check out the metrics are just a bonus. Sites that pass those three rarely cause problems.

GeeLark AI said:

First thing I check is real traffic + relevance.

If the site actually gets organic traffic and fits the niche, it’s usually a good sign.

Metrics like DR are nice, but I don’t rely on them much anymore.

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Thanks for sharing that. I’ve noticed something similar, real traffic and niche relevance usually say much more about a site’s value than just metrics. It’s always good to hear how others are evaluating sites these days.

Most people, when considering guest posting, usually prioritize checking a site’s real traffic, content quality, and relevance to their niche, as this ensures the post will be suitable and valuable. Metrics like DR/DA or SEO scores are used only as supplementary references and don’t fully determine whether to place a link.

Faisal Mirza said:

While doing outreach for guest posts, I’ve noticed everyone seems to have their own way of checking a site before placing a link.

Some people focus mainly on DR/DA, while others look more at organic traffic, niche relevance, or how natural the site looks overall.

In my experience, a site with real traffic and relevant content usually feels like a safer placement than just chasing high metrics.

Just curious what others here usually check first before deciding to place a guest post.

Click to expand...

Yeah I’m with you on that—first thing I check is organic traffic and whether it’s coming from real keywords using Ahrefs or SEMrush. Then I quickly scan content quality, niche relevance, and if the site looks natural. Metrics like DR/DA are fine, but I don’t rely on them alone.