5 Factors to Consider When Publishing Quality Guest Content –

I run a local computer repair business in Brisbane, Australia and I love writing. As a result, I’ve written quite a number of articles over the last year, primarily about business and technology. I write from my own personal experience and expertise and I like to see my writing published on high quality websites where it can be of benefit to others.

When seeking maximum impact from publishing guest content on the internet, there are various factors to consider. I’d like to look at five factors which are of importance to me. In fact, you might consider these to be five filters through which I examine any website where my writing might be published. If I can tick all five boxes for a prospective publisher, I’m definitely onto a winner.

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Check out the Top 5 factors to consider when publishing quality guest content –

1. Domain Authority (DA) –

The domain authority of a website is usually the first factor people consider when deciding whether to submit content to the site. DA is a ranking score created by Moz and they describe it as follows.

“Domain Authority (DA) is a search engine ranking score developed by Moz that predicts how likely a website is to rank on search engine result pages (SERPs). A Domain Authority score ranges from one to 100, with higher scores corresponding to a greater ability to rank.”

In general, a site is considered as having more authority on the internet if it has a high DA value. As a result, sites with higher values are assumed to be the most beneficial when building authoritative backlinks.

It’s clear that genuine authority sites do indeed have high DA values. For example, Google is 100, Facebook is 96 and the BBC is 95. Sites like these have generally been in existence for many years and have established their reputation totally naturally.

There are, however, many blogs and other sites which have relatively high DA values, but which don’t have the same intrinsic authority. Whilst it’s natural to seek out sites with high domain authority when wanting to build authoritative links, it’s somewhat unnatural for a site to have a high DA value (50+) if it has only been in existence for a short time. There are numerous blogs with DA values above 50 which welcome guest posts, but which have only been in existence for a year or two.

One wonders whether Google attributes any real value to links from sites which have sprung up and quickly attained high DA values. For this reason, it’s necessary to consider other factors in evaluating a site’s standing on the internet.

2. Traffic –

The second factor I consider, after noting a site’s DA, is its monthly organic search traffic volume. Various tools can be used to provide this data. My favorite is Semrush, though there is a limitation to the number of sites you can analyse in a day when using the free version. The Semrush domain overview displays a chart for any site, plotting the monthly organic search traffic over the last two years. It also offers a chart which tracks the number of organic keywords for which the site is ranking.

There are numerous blogs which have high DA values, but hardly any organic traffic. In fact, there are blogs which have practically no traffic, in spite of their high domain authority. When considering a site’s level of authority, I tend to filter out any site which has monthly organic traffic of less than 1000.

The flip side is that there are blogs which have a large volume of traffic, but which have a relatively low DA value. For example, I’ve just had a post published on a site which has a DA of just 45 but with organic traffic of 135,000 visits a month. Again, one wonders what is more significant to Google. In my view, a high DA value may have been attained by manipulation, but it’s much more difficult to manipulate genuine search traffic to one’s site.

3. Site Vintage –

The third factor I use in assessing a site’s level of authority is the period of time for which that site has been in existence. Normally I would use Who.is to find out when a site was first registered. Of course, older sites may have changed hands over the years, but at least you can see if a site has only been in existence for a short period of time.

In general, if a site was launched within the last couple of years, I will treat it as having lower value from Google’s perspective. This is especially so if it has attained a high DA value in such a short time, in which case I will view the site with some suspicion.

4. Niche –

In order to maximize the value of posting your quality content, it’s essential to seek out blogs and sites which are in a niche which is relevant to you. I operate a computer repair business and so, for me, the only relevant niches are business and technology. For this reason, I rarely publish my writing on more generic blogs. Rather, I look for blogs in my niche, which publish high quality content. The more selective they are about the content they publish the better.

I was recently communicating with the site owner of a tech blog. His site had a lovely clean design, a respectable DA value, and significant traffic. However, I noticed that he had recently published posts about nightstand must-haves, tips for police organizations, and marketing strategies for family lawyers. I told him that I had decided not to publish anything with him because his blog was no longer a tech blog.

When publishing your content, it’s important to consider what other content is published on the site in question. Google is looking for high quality content which ‘informs users and educates another site’s audience’. For this reason, it’s essential that your content is published on sites whose readership would benefit from your specific expertise.

5. Cost –

When publishing guest content, the sites with the greatest authority will normally have no charge for posting your article. However, the corollary is that your content must be of the highest quality in order to meet their requirements and benefit their audience.

Some months ago I had an article published on the Zapier blog. The site’s domain authority is 76, its monthly organic traffic is almost three million, and it was established in 2011. Zapier’s blog exists for the benefit of small businesses, and so they ticked every one of my boxes. I worked with their editor to craft my content according to their requirements, and the whole exercise cost me absolutely nothing.

The blog on the Zapier website doesn’t exist for the purpose of financial gain. Rather it’s a resource for small business owners, such as myself. By contrast, many of the blogs publishing guest content exist purely to earn a financial return. Many will accept almost any content, as long as they are able to profit by doing so. Always communicate directly with the site owner, rather than with link-builders.

Conclusion –

So there you have top 5 factors to consider when publishing guest content on the internet. Of the highest importance is the quality of the content you are creating. In producing high quality material, you want your expertise to be showcased on the most worthwhile sites possible. This means sites which have genuine authority in your niche, significant traffic, and which have established their reputation over a significant period of time.

This guide to publishing quality guest content on the internet was written by Norm McLaughlin. Norm is the founder of Norm’s Computer Services, a computer repair and IT support business in Brisbane, Australia.

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