Guest posting still works when the post serves the site's readers. How to find sites that take guest posts, check them, pitch the editor and follow up.
Guest posting still works when the post is written for the other site's readers and the site is one people read. Google says it does not discourage guest articles that inform an audience, but it treats posts written mainly to build links at scale as a link scheme. Some big industry sites now take contributors by invitation only. Below is what two of them require, how to find sites that take guest posts, how to check a site before you pitch, what to send, and when to follow up.
What Google says about guest posts
In a 2017 reminder about article campaigns, Google's webspam team wrote that it "does not discourage these types of articles in the cases when they inform users, educate another site's audience or bring awareness to your cause or company." What breaks its rules is "when the main intent is to build links in a large-scale way back to the author's site." The warning signs it lists include keyword-rich links, the same or similar articles on many sites, and writers who do not know the topic.
Google's current spam policies say the same in their list of link spam. They include "Exchanging money for links, or posts that contain links" and links "with optimized anchor text in articles, guest posts, or press releases distributed on other sites." So a guest post written for the site's readers is fine. A paid guest post with a followed link, or a batch of near-identical posts with keyword anchors, is not.
What two big industry sites require
We read the contributor rules of two large search marketing sites to see what the top end of guest posting looks like.
Search Engine Land's contributor page was last updated on April 5, 2023. It says writing opportunities "are offered on an invite-only basis" and that "We do not accept unsolicited pitches at any time". It says "Most subject-matter experts invited to write or speak start out as being quoted in our editorial content." Its sales team sells sponsored articles separately.
Search Engine Journal's guidelines (last updated November 2023) say "Search Engine Journal contributors are invited by the editorial team only." Its editors remove links that look promotional, and it reserves the right to nofollow or remove any link at any time, before or after publication. It states that "Buying, trading, or selling links is strictly prohibited." A contributor becomes eligible for a followed link on their profile page only after writing at least five articles for the site and contributing regularly.
At this level, you earn a guest slot by being a useful source first. Other sites set their own rules, which is why checking each one matters.
How to find sites that accept guest posts
- Search for sites that ask for contributors. Use Google's quote operator from its search operators help to find exact phrases next to your topic, such as your topic plus write for us, contributor guidelines or submit a guest post, each phrase wrapped in quote marks.
- Look at where people in your field already write. Search a known writer's name in quotes with the word guest or contributor, and note the sites that publish them.
- Check the publications your customers read. If a trade site or industry blog has an author list with outside names, it may take contributors, even if it has no guidelines page.
- Use a prospecting tool to speed up the list. SerpCrest's Link Prospect Finder finds blogs that accept guest posts, resource pages and best-of lists in a niche, merged by site and scored by authority.
Put every site in a spreadsheet with its guidelines URL, editor name and contact route.
How to check a site before you pitch
Google's 2017 reminder says that when a site publishes articles with spammy links, it "may change Google's perception of the quality of the site and could affect its ranking." That is a reason to avoid sites that publish anything with a link in it. Spend ten minutes on each one.
- Read the guidelines page. Does it accept pitches or work by invitation? Does it say how it treats links, whether it nofollows them, and whether it bans paid or traded links?
- Look at recent guest posts. Are they useful articles on one topic area, or a mix of casinos, loans and unrelated products? A site that publishes anything for anyone is a warning sign.
- Check for a price list. If the site asks for payment for a followed link, that is the paid link Google's policy describes.
- Estimate its search traffic. Ahrefs' traffic checker says it shows "organic search traffic estimates for any website or webpage" in a free version. Treat the numbers as estimates and look at the trend, not one figure. A site whose traffic has fallen away is likely to give you a link few people will see.
- Check that the site's pages are in Google. Search site: and the domain. If few pages appear, think twice.
Our post on how to vet a backlink before you pay goes further into these checks.
How to pitch
Read three or four recent posts on the site first, then send a short email to the named editor. Include who you are and why you know the topic, two or three specific titles that fit the site and are not already covered there, one line on what each post would teach its readers, and links to one or two things you have written.
Here is a template:
Hi [editor name], I read your recent piece on [topic] and noticed you have not covered [gap]. I work on [your field] at [company] and would like to write one of these for your readers: [title one], [title two] or [title three]. Each would include [what makes it useful, such as your own data or examples]. Here are two pieces I have written: [link], [link]. Would one of these fit?
Do not ask for a link in the first email. Write the post first, follow the site's rules on links, and link to your own site only where it helps the reader. Our breakdown of outreach email anatomy and reply rates covers subject lines and personalization in more depth.
When to follow up
In a 2019 study of 12 million outreach emails with Pitchbox, Backlinko found that "only 8.5% of all outreach emails receive a response" and that "sending just one additional follow-up can boost replies by 65.8%." That data is from 2019 and covers all kinds of outreach, so treat it as a rough guide.
Send one polite follow-up about a week after the first email, in the same thread, with a short new reason to reply, such as a new title idea. The first follow-up does most of the work; after that, decide whether the site is worth another try. Our post on follow-up returns explains why more follow-ups bring less each time.
After the post goes live
Check that the post is published as agreed, that your link is there, and whether it is followed. Keep a list of every guest post with its URL and date, and check it every few months, since editors can change or remove links later, as Search Engine Journal's rules say it may.
Our advice: pitch fewer sites and write better posts for them. Start this week by finding ten sites with the searches above, checking each one against the list, and pitching the three whose readers are closest to your customers.
