This week’s Ask an SEO question comes from John in London, UK, who asks:
“I came here from your post Should You Use Nofollow, Sponsored or UGC Links?
In the “Affiliate Links” paragraph you wrote, “These should be sponsored because you post them to earn a commission.”
My question is, should this strategy be implemented for guest posts as well?
When I’m going to publish my article on someone’s site, should I tell him to use the sponsored link attribute?
I’m running an affiliate site and I know my outbound links should be sponsored, but for backlinks I don’t know exactly.
I hope you can understand my question. Looking forward to your response. “
Hi John,
Thank you for writing a follow-up to my post and for asking this great question.
Before I give you the answer, the editor asked me to share this article about Google warns visitors for posting backlinks.
In short, if you pay for a guest post, the link should have the sponsored tag when you sponsor it.
But keep in mind that any attribute attached to a link will signal to Google that it is not a natural link, and if it is, the link may not help your SEO.
The debate over how nofollow actually delivers value, as some Googlers have said, is a suggestion, not a guarantee.
To be on the safe side, I think both “nofollow” and “sponsored” are bad for SEO.
The full answer is to determine if the link is natural, in the author’s bio, or if the person reading it will find value by clicking on it.
If you are a cited expert on a topic, and the site lets you write as an expert, and you link to a page on your site that provides a value-added explanation of a concept, then paying attention may be meaningful association.
Here are two examples:
1. You are talking about a topic that has a formula or needs an in-depth explanation.
But this explanation does not add value to the article. You can give yourself a backlink to help readers learn more.
2. The same goes for your author bio.
If you are a regular contributor and people subscribe to your column, it makes sense to have a backlink to your website so your fans can engage with you.
If your website features features that you publish elsewhere, get accolades, and certifications, it also helps build the “EAT” concept.
But there is a thin line.
If you pay to post, you will need an ad disclaimer stating that payment was exchanged (cash, product pending review, etc.).
Google will eventually be better at finding this.
When Google does this, I think they try to associate a “dofollow” link to your site with a disclaimer, and that link probably doesn’t matter (if at all) since it’s clearly sponsored or placed by you as the author of.
So why not just remove the disclaimer?
In the absence of a disclaimer or disclosure, you may have violated the FTC (Here is a great guide they created) and some international guidelines. I’m not a lawyer so I can’t say for sure, but you need to be careful.
I believe they have the same restrictions on you in the UK.
If the blog you publish is part of a PBN (Private Blog Network), and the PBN is mapped or known to Google, and you use this same type of guest posting as a link acquisition tactic, you may be penalized.
Many people who use guest posting backlinks try to hide their backlinks or make them look natural by linking to competitors and other trusted resources, but it’s not foolproof and it can still be tracked.
You are in a very grey area. If you want to be safe, ask for sponsorship or nofollow tags, and only post to sites that drive relevant audiences to your own site.
Guest posting backlinks is not a good strategy in itself.
A good strategy is to create really good content that solves a problem or provides an easier way to understand a topic.
Next, contact the blog owner via a custom-written email — don’t use a template — and let them know you like their site, with a specific callout to show you read it.
Finally, it is mentioned that their website does not have AB’s solution.
AB is where you come in.
You can now provide a link and say it might be beneficial to their readers, or ask if they can review it or ask for feedback.
By asking permission first, I get a better response rate because I approach bloggers in a friendly and more engaging way.
But you have to customize your emails and make them about them, not you.
I hope this helps, this is a great question! This topic comes up frequently.
More resources:
Featured image: KatePilko/Shutterstock
