Guest posting services: what they sell, and the risks
Most guest posting services sell links. Google's rules on paid links decide whether that's an ad or a risk.
Facts checked 15 Oct 2026 · by the AdSworn team
Guest posting services place articles that mention or link to your business on other people's websites, usually for a fee per post. When money changes hands for a link, Google's spam policy treats it as a paid link: it's allowed only when the link is marked rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow". A service that sells "dofollow" links for rankings is selling something Google calls link spam. Buy placements for the readers instead: a labelled sponsored post on a page with verified traffic.
What guest posting services sell
A guest posting service finds websites that will publish an article for you, writes or edits it, and places a link back to your site. Most price per post, often by a site metric. Some send real outreach to editors; many run lists of sites that publish anything for a fee.
Strip away the wording and there are two different products in this market:
| Link-selling service | Labelled sponsorship | |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay for | A link meant to pass ranking credit | Readers seeing your message |
| The label | Often none | "Sponsored" on the page |
| The link | Sold as "dofollow" | rel="sponsored" |
| What decides the price | Third-party site scores | The page's real traffic and audience |
| Google's view | Link spam | Normal advertising |
The difference between an unpaid guest post and a sponsored post is covered in sponsored post vs guest post. This page is about the paid services.
What Google says about paid links
Google Search Central's spam policies define link spam as links made mainly to manipulate rankings. Its examples include paying money, or giving goods or services, for links or for posts that contain links. They also name sponsored articles and advertorials with links that pass ranking credit, and guest posts or articles with keyword-stuffed anchor text.
The same page says buying and selling links is a normal part of advertising, and it's "not a violation of our policies" as long as the links are qualified with rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored". Google's page on outbound links says to mark paid placements with sponsored, and that nofollow is still acceptable, though sponsored is preferred. More in rel="sponsored" vs nofollow.
Paying to be on a page is fine. Paying for a link that pretends it wasn't paid for is what Google's policy calls link spam.
The risks of buying "dofollow" guest posts
- Your site carries the risk. Google defines link spam as links made to or from a site to manipulate rankings, so the buyer is part of it, not just the seller.
- The money is spent on the wrong thing. A link on a page nobody reads sends no customers. If the ranking credit is discounted, nothing is left.
- Hidden labels break ad law too. In the US, the FTC's guide to native advertising says paid content that misleads readers about being an ad is deceptive, even if every claim in it is true.
- Sites built to sell links rarely have readers. Many exist only to publish paid posts. Their traffic numbers are often estimates from third-party tools, not readings from Google.
If you're tempted to buy links directly, read buying backlinks first.
How to judge a guest posting service
- Ask how the links are markedIf they promise "dofollow" or "no sponsored tag", they're selling the thing Google's policy names. A good answer is rel="sponsored".
- Ask whether the post is labelledPaid content needs a clear label like "Sponsored" in front of it.
- Ask for the page's real trafficClicks from Google Search Console or page views from Google Analytics, for the exact page, ideally read-only. A domain score isn't traffic.
- Ask what searches bring readersIf nobody can tell you who reads the page, you can't tell whether they'd buy from you.
- Ask what happens if it comes downKnow the term, and what you get back if the post disappears early.
The alternative: a labelled sponsored post, bought for readers
The honest version of a guest post is a sponsored post on a page that already has the readers you want. You pay for the audience, label it, and mark the link rel="sponsored". You don't get ranking credit, and you don't need it: you get customers reading about you on a page they found while searching for what you sell.
That's what AdSworn sells. Each page for sale shows its traffic read from Google Search Console and Google Analytics and the Google searches that bring its readers. A sponsored post is a briefing about your company inside an article that ranks, labelled "Sponsored post" in the page's HTML, checked daily, for 12 weeks or a year. Orders start at $75 for 12 weeks or $150 a year. You pay nothing until the site approves, AdSworn holds the payment until the post is verified live, and you get a full refund if it never runs. Every link is rel="sponsored": AdSworn never sells or promises rankings.
| Page | Search that brings readers | Banner / 4 weeks | Featured / year |
|---|---|---|---|
| The History of the Batman Logohatchwise.com | “batman logo” · 575 clicks | – | $890 |
| The History of the Tommy Bahama Logohatchwise.com | “tommy bahama logo” · 4 clicks | – | $115 |
| My Honest Review of DesignCrowd's Graphic Design Company [Updated for 2026] – Logo Design Magazinelogodesign.org | “designcrowd reviews” · 2 clicks | – | $165 |
Straight answers
Are guest posting services worth it?
Only if you're paying for readers. A placement on a page with real, verified traffic from your buyers can send customers. A paid link on a page nobody reads, sold for rankings, is what Google's spam policy calls link spam.
Is buying guest posts against Google's rules?
Paying for links that pass ranking credit is. Google says paid links are fine when they're marked rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow".
What is a dofollow guest post?
A paid post whose link has no rel="sponsored" or nofollow, so it tries to pass ranking credit. Google's spam policy lists that kind of paid link as link spam.
Do sponsored posts need to be labelled?
Yes. In the US the FTC expects paid content to carry a clear label, like "Sponsored" or "Ad", placed in front of or above the headline.
What should a guest post cost?
Price it on the readers, not a site score. Turn the price into a cost per 1,000 page views using the page's real traffic, and compare that with your other channels.