Marketing 2 min read

Google's Mueller Talks About Guest Posting for Links

Sammby / Shutterstock.com

Sammby / Shutterstock.com

Earlier in the month, SEMRush offered a guest posting service. The service company promised to connect publishers to high-quality sites that would publish a guest article that SEMRush would provide.

At the time, Google‘s John Mueller called it out as unnatural link scheme. He described the service as the kind the “webspam team might take action on.

Although SEMRush has stopped offering the service, the discussion on guest posting for links didn’t stop. In a recent tweet, Mueller talked more about guest posts.

Here’s a break down of what he said.

The Problem with Guest Posting

According to John Mueller, guest posting is a problem for Google because it results in unnatural links.

The value of guest posting is brand building — it’s a way to reach a broader audience. So, the links should have the rel-sponsored / rel-nofollow attached to prevent them from passing signals, says Mueller.

He further explained:

“Essentially if the link is within the guest post, it should be nofollow, even if it’s a “natural” link you’re adding there.”

Guest post links are problematic even in author bylines.

No Google Penalty for Guest Posts

A twitter user speculated whether Google would issue penalties for guest posting for links. But, according to Mueller’s response, that’s unlikely to happen any time soon.

The webmaster trend analyst at Google wrote:

“Unless this storm in a teacup triggers a lot of people to start, I don’t see a need for the webspam team to jump in.”

He then pointed out that writing guest posts for links is not a new practice. As a result, Google has collected years of data for training algorithms that can catch and devalue guest post links.

If all that work is for ignored links, why not just do something useful instead?” says Mueller.

Read More: Google Updates Advertising Policies, Bans Certain Categories

First AI Web Content Optimization Platform Just for Writers

Found this article interesting?

Let Sumbo Bello know how much you appreciate this article by clicking the heart icon and by sharing this article on social media.


Profile Image

Sumbo Bello

Sumbo Bello is a creative writer who enjoys creating data-driven content for news sites. In his spare time, he plays basketball and listens to Coldplay.

Comments (0)
Most Recent most recent
You
share Scroll to top

Link Copied Successfully

Sign in

Sign in to access your personalized homepage, follow authors and topics you love, and clap for stories that matter to you.

Sign in with Google Sign in with Facebook

By using our site you agree to our privacy policy.