Study: 85.3% of Guest Post Sites Are Low Quality

A recent study by Link Panda has found that a significant majority, 85.3%, of websites that commonly accept guest posts are classified as low quality. The research, based on a 2024 audit by BuzzStream, defined low quality as having a Domain Rating (DR) below 40 and fewer than 10,000 monthly organic visits.

These metrics are crucial as sites falling below these thresholds tend to offer guest posts primarily for link selling rather than for their editorial value. Backlinks from such sites typically do not provide substantial benefits for a website's search engine ranking.

According to Link Panda, many sites in the current guest post marketplace operate more as paid link inventory rather than genuine editorial publications. Consequently, links obtained from these sources may not pass significant link equity to the target website.

The study concludes that businesses should default to rejecting guest post placement candidates that do not meet the minimum thresholds of DR 40 and 10,000 visitors. Quality assurance and careful vetting are essential to ensure guest posting strategies genuinely contribute to a site's organic growth.