Link building strategy
Link Building for New Websites: A Practical 6 Month Plan
A new site needs a few trusted links, not a big package. This month by month plan shows what to build and when.
Read articleHow to Check Guest Post Site Quality Before You Pay
Most bad guest post links look fine on a price list. This is the 12-point check I run on every site before I place a client link, with the red flags to watch for.
This is the exact checklist I use to check guest post site quality before placing a link for a client. It takes 10 minutes per site and saves money and rankings. It is part of my link building guide.
Quick answer
A good guest post site has steady organic traffic from Google, content relevant to your niche, indexed pages, real authors and a limited number of sponsored posts. Red flags are high DA with no traffic, posts on every topic, sudden traffic drops, and pages full of casino, loan and unrelated outbound links.
Why checking sites matters
Guest post marketplaces list thousands of sites, and a large share of them exist mainly to sell links. A link from such a site is at best wasted money. At worst it adds to a pattern Google’s spam policies call link spam. After more than 5000 orders across marketplaces like Adsy, Legiit and NicheRanker, I reject far more sites than I approve.
The 12-point checklist
| # | Check | Good sign | Red flag |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Organic traffic | Steady traffic, ideally 1,000+ visits a month | DA 40+ with under 100 visits |
| 2 | Traffic trend (12 to 24 months) | Flat or growing | A cliff after a Google update |
| 3 | Traffic country | Matches your market | All traffic from an unrelated country |
| 4 | Ranking keywords | Real topic keywords | Only brand name or spammy keywords |
| 5 | Niche relevance | Site and post fit your topic | “General” blog about everything |
| 6 | Indexing | site:domain.com shows many pages | Few or no pages indexed |
| 7 | Sponsored post share | Mostly editorial articles | Every post is a paid post |
| 8 | Outbound links | Links to useful sources | Casino, loans, CBD and adult links everywhere |
| 9 | Content quality | Real authors, original writing | Spun text, AI filler, no author info |
| 10 | Domain history | Same topic for years | Expired domain rebuilt on a new topic |
| 11 | Write for us pages | None, or a normal contributor page | Price lists and “DA 50 guest post $10” footers |
| 12 | Link placement | In the article body, dofollow | Author bio only, or forced nofollow |
How to run the checks step by step
- Traffic: enter the domain in Ahrefs or Semrush. Look at organic traffic, the 2 year graph and the top countries.
- Keywords: open the top pages report. Real sites rank for real topic keywords on many pages.
- Indexing: search
site:domain.comin Google and, for the final article, check the exact URL after it goes live. - Content: open 5 recent posts. Are they useful? Are they on one topic? Do they all have the same “sponsored” style?
- Outbound links: scan those posts for links. A site that links to anything for money is a risky neighbour.
- History: check the Wayback Machine to see what the site was before.
- Compare price to value: high price does not mean high quality. Compare traffic and relevance across your shortlist.
Need a quick reference for the metrics? Read DR vs DA.
Signs a site is part of a PBN
- Many sites with the same theme, the same “about” text or the same authors.
- Links between the sites in the network, but little real traffic.
- Hidden owner information and cheap shared hosting.
- An expired domain with a strong old link profile and new unrelated content.
For more on why these links are risky, read guest posts vs PBN links.
Example
A seller offers a “DR 65 tech blog” for $40. Ahrefs shows 180 organic visits a month, a traffic crash in the last core update, and the last 20 posts cover crypto, pets, travel and plumbing with 3 outbound links each. I would reject it. A DR 38 home improvement blog with 15,000 monthly visits from the US, real authors and only a few sponsored posts would be my choice for a US contractor, even at $150.
After the link goes live
- Check the link is in the body text, dofollow, with the agreed anchor.
- Check the article is indexed within 2 to 4 weeks.
- Recheck that the link is still live every month. I do this for every client link for 6 months and replace removed links free.
Done for you
I have placed 5000+ links for clients, including brands like Capterra UK, Adobe and OKX. I only use real sites with real traffic, and every link is checked live for 6 months.
Frequently asked questions
How much traffic should a guest post site have?
There is no fixed rule, but I prefer sites with at least 1,000 organic visits a month, steady over time and from your target country.
Is a high DA guest post always good?
No. DA can be inflated. Always check organic traffic, relevance and the site’s outbound links.
How do I know if a guest post site is a PBN?
Look for many similar sites linking to each other, hidden ownership, little traffic and expired domains with new, unrelated content.
Should I avoid sites that label posts as sponsored?
No. Honest labelling is fine. Avoid sites where almost every post is a paid post with unrelated links.
How long does it take to check a site?
With Ahrefs or Semrush open, about 10 minutes per site using the 12-point checklist.
Sources
Facts checked against these official pages on 10 October 2026. Read my editorial policy.
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