In the latest Google Webmaster Help video, Matt Cutts discusses yet another question about guest blogging as spam: “I predict that in future Google will penalise guest blogging sites. Any insights on guest blogging as spam?”
Cutts notes the skepticism toward guest blogging has been increasing, as he continues to receive questions related to this particular strategy. He says that there are a lot of low-quality guest posts and guest blogging sites out there, and that Google will take a closer look at them if they are “automating that or abusing that or really trying to make a bunch of links without doing the sort of hard work that really earns links on the basis of merit”.
Two months ago, Cutts offered several tips on guest blogging without looking like spam. He repeats some of these tips in the new video to remind viewers what they should consider when guest blogging:
- Don’t use guest blogging as your only link building strategy – Relying solely on a single strategy will not help you earn the right amount of diverse, high-quality backlinks you need to build up your link profile.
- Don’t send out “thousands of blast emails” offering to write a guest post – Guest blog in moderation. Posting too many guest blogs in a short period might make Google think you are link spamming.
- Don’t use the same article on two different blogs, and don’t spin one article multiple times – Each guest post you produce should be unique and tailored specifically to the blog’s niche and target audience.
Cutts doesn’t exactly answer the original question, but toward the end of the video, he acknowledges that there’s “definitely a lot of abuse and growing spam that we see in the guest blogging space,” and that they will always be keeping a close eye on these spam methods and take the appropriate action to make sure they keep providing the best search results for their users.
Before Google started becoming more meticulous about reviewing a website’s link profiles, many webmasters and SEO providers used massive article and guest post publishing schemes to acquire as many backlinks as possible. Websites that relied on this type of link building strategy can get penalized under Google’s new guidelines and algorithms. Our link clean-up services may be just what you need to clean up your (or your clients’) links and help recover from manual penalty.
