Interpreting Googles Stance on Guest Blogging

On January 20th , 2014, Google’s Matt Cutts declared guest blogging a â€Å"spammy practice† and that those who are doing a lot of it are â€Å"hanging out with really bad company.† Cutts also said the following: â€Å"So stick a fork in it: guest blogging is done; it’s just gotten too spammy. In general I wouldn’t recommend accepting a guest blog post unless you are willing to vouch for someone personally or know them well. Likewise, I wouldn’t recommend relying on guest posting, guest blogging sites, or guest blogging SEO as a linkbuilding strategy.† Cutts explained that guest blogging was once a legitimate practice but had declined over the years to become spammier and spammier. He included several videos posted over the last few years where he had discussed this decline and warned webmasters that Google would be taking a stronger stance on guest blogging as SEO. Google did just that a few days ago. On March 19th , Matt Cutts announced on Twitter that Google had taken action against a large guest blog network. Today we took action on a large guest blog network. A reminder about the spam risks of guest blogging: http://t.co/rc9O82fjfn — Matt Cutts (@mattcutts) March 19, 2014 What are Guest Blogging Networks? Guest blog networks are networks that connect blog writers with blog owners, businesses, and marketers for the purpose of guest blogging. The idea is that bloggers exchange content with one another in exchange for valuable backlinks and exposure. Examples of guest blog networks include: MyBlogGuest, Guestr, GuestBlogIt, BlogDash, and Blogger LinkUp. After Cutts’ Twitter announcement, many speculated that the unnamed large guest blog network was most likely MyBlogGuest. What Happened with MyBlogGuest Currently, if you search for MyBlogGuest on Google, the site does not appear. Indeed, Ann Smarty of MyBlogGuest confirmed that the site had indeed been penalized. [Official] Even though #myblogguest has been against paying for links (unlike other platforms), @mattcutts team decided to penalize us†¦ — Ann Smarty (@seosmarty) March 19, 2014 On her blog, Smarty responded to the penalty by sharing her Webmaster Tools notice which inferred that Google didn’t like the links pointing to the site rather than any issues with guest blog links. She also outlined her plan for MyBlogGuest moving forward: Publishers will now have the option to nofollow byline links. Smarty reiterated that she has â€Å"trust in natural links† and that those links need to be follow links. Though Smarty has indicated that she doesn’t believe publishers will be affected by the MyBlogGuest penalty, Matt Cutts said that when Google â€Å"takes action on a spammy link network, it can include blogs hosting guest posts, sites benefitting from the links, etc.† Does this Mean Guest Blogging is Bad? Excluding an entire network from Google’s search results is certainly going to hurt but it doesn’t necessarily mean that all guest blog posts are spammy. In fact, Cutts has clarified that branding, exposure, increased reach, and community building remain good reasons to do some guest blogging. What he objects to is strictly using guest blogging for SEO purposes. What Google Really Wants To be clear, Cutts is also not objecting to multi-author blogs, either. He is focused on guest blogging as a link-building strategy and recommends caution when someone proposes a guest blog article. As you know, Google has penalized link farms, link exchanges, keyword stuffing, spammy article directories, and spun content because these practices resulted in unnatural, low quality content. What Google really wants remains constant: natural links, quality sites, and value-adding posts.