---
title: "Guest Posting: What a Link From 378 Guest Post Sites Is Worth"
description: "mxverify prices a new link from 951 sites at link level B, the level of a guest, sponsored or placed article; 378 of them are publications. A guest post link from those is worth a median $30 to rankings (middle half $24 to $57). On publications' pages, 50% of the links our audits found were nofollow, and 97% of those read again weeks later were still there."
canonical: "https://bklink.uk/blog/guest-posting"
publishedAt: "2026-10-23T10:04:56.910Z"
updatedAt: "2026-10-23T10:04:56.910Z"
author: "Palash Bagchi"
category: "Research"
tags: ["research","guest-posting","guest-post-sites","backlink-value"]
series: "bklink Research"
image: null
---

# Guest Posting: What a Link From 378 Guest Post Sites Is Worth

mxverify prices a new link from 951 sites at link level B, the level of a guest, sponsored or placed article; 378 of them are publications. A guest post link from those is worth a median $30 to rankings (middle half $24 to $57). On publications' pages, 50% of the links our audits found were nofollow, and 97% of those read again weeks later were still there.

## What is guest posting?

Guest posting is writing an article for another website, under your own name or your company's, usually with a link back to your site. Some sites take guest posts on merit and charge nothing; many charge, and then the post is a sponsored or paid placement.

Google's rules cover both. Its spam policies give two examples of link spam that touch guest posts: links with optimized anchor text in guest posts, and paid articles whose links pass ranking credit ([link spam](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies#link-spam)). A paid link is within the rules when it carries `rel="sponsored"` or `rel="nofollow"` ([qualify your outbound links](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/qualify-outbound-links)). A guest post written for a site's readers, with a plain link, is not what the policy describes.

## What we measured

Two dated readings, both from our own records:

- **mxverify's value of every site it prices at link level B** — "a guest, sponsored or placed article, or a product or tool directory listing" — with what each site is mainly for, as of 23 October 2026: 951 sites. The 378 of them that are publications (news sites, magazines, blogs) are the guest post sites in this report. The full list is mxverify's [guest post sites](https://mxverify.uk/publications/level/b).
- **bklink's audits of links placed on publications' pages**, every level: 2,235 links on 1,564 sites, last read between 14 August 2026 and 23 October 2026.

**Disclosure.** The audits cover placements our users chose to audit, including our own accounts', not a random sample of the web. They record where a link sits, not how it was won, so a guest post and an article arranged another way look the same.

## The short answer

| What we measured | Figure |
|---|---:|
| Sites mxverify prices at link level B | 951 |
| … of them publications: the guest post sites here | 378 (40%) |
| Median worth of a guest post link from them | $30 |
| Middle half of guest post sites | $24 to $57 |
| Guest post sites where a link is worth $100 or more | 78 |
| Links found on publications' pages that were nofollow | 50% |
| Links on publications read again about 5 weeks later and still there | 97% |

## What a guest post link is worth

BV is what one new followed link from a site is worth to rankings, in dollars, by mxverify's BV 2.8 model. It is not a price: sites charge what they like, and BV is the figure to set beside the quote. A guest post is priced at level B, which keeps ×0.5 of what an editorial link from the same site would be worth (×1).

| What a guest post link is worth | Sites | Share |
|---|---:|---:|
| under $10 | 1 | <1% |
| $10 to $49 | 261 | 69% |
| $50 to $99 | 38 | 10% |
| $100 to $249 | 41 | 11% |
| $250 to $499 | 35 | 9% |
| $500 or more | 2 | 1% |

**Most guest post sites sit in one band:** 261 of 378 (69%) are worth $10 to $49 a link. The median is $30, the middle half runs from $24 to $57, and the highest is $596. Each band has its own list on mxverify, starting at [backlink sites worth $10 to $49](https://mxverify.uk/publications/value/10-49).

By what the sites write about:

| Category | Guest post sites | Median worth of a link |
|---|---:|---:|
| News | 177 | $30 |
| Crypto | 30 | $46 |
| Business | 28 | $30 |
| Technology | 24 | $34 |
| Finance | 15 | $37 |
| Other categories, or none read | 104 | — |

Category is mxverify's reading of each site's own homepage.

## Not every "guest post site" is a publication

Of the 951 sites mxverify prices at link level B, only 378 (40%) are publications:

| What the site is mainly for | Sites priced at level B | Median worth of a link |
|---|---:|---:|
| Publishers | 378 | $30 |
| Company and product sites | 154 | $63 |
| Directories | 147 | $91 |
| Syndication and press-release feeds | 45 | $16 |
| User-content platforms | 10 | $371 |
| Other (link networks and content farms, reference sites) | 6 | — |
| Not yet classified | 211 | — |

- **147 are directories and launch platforms.** Their links are listings, not posts: [directory submission sites](https://mxverify.uk/publications/type/directory).
- **154 are company and product sites**, some of them with a blog that takes posts: [company websites](https://mxverify.uk/publications/type/company).
- **45 are press-release and syndication feeds**, which republish copy rather than write their own: [press release sites](https://mxverify.uk/publications/type/syndication).
- **211 are not yet classified:** mxverify has not read what their homepage says they are for.

A "write for us" page or a sponsored-post price list does not make a site a publication. What the site is mainly for is the first thing to check.

## Do links on publications stay followed?

Our audits cannot pick out guest posts, so this is every link placed on a publication's page.

- **Followed or not.** Of the 1,430 links found on the page when last read, **722 (50%) were nofollow** and 708 were followed. Another 178 pages answered but carried no link to the site, and 627 could not be read.
- **Still there later.** Of 678 links read again 37 to 78 days later, **660 (97%) were still on the page**, and 356 of the 370 followed ones were still followed. These come from 3 campaigns, so a few campaigns weigh heavily.

For the same figures by type of site, see the [nofollow study](/blog/nofollow-links-study).

## How to check a guest post site before you pay

1. **What the site is mainly for.** It should be a publication with its own readers, not a directory, a press-release feed or a company page. Each mxverify report says which, from the site's own homepage.
2. **What a link from it is worth.** Enter the site in mxverify's [free backlink checker](https://mxverify.uk/) for its BV score: what a guest post link from it is worth to rankings, beside what the site asks.
3. **How its articles link out.** Open three recent posts and read the `rel` on their outbound links. If every one is nofollow or sponsored, yours will be too.
4. **Who shares its server.** A site on a server with dozens of near-identical "news" sites is likely one owner's network. The report's server section shows it; mxverify's [link networks](https://mxverify.uk/networks) list the shared servers.
5. **Whether its pages are indexed.** A post on a page Google never indexed passes nothing. The [Google index checker](/google-index-checker) answers it.
6. **Once the post is live,** check the link is on the page and followed, and again a few weeks later. A [bklink audit](/) does both.

## Method and limits

- **Level and type.** A site's level is the level its stored BV prices a new link at, as on mxverify's level B list, as of 23 October 2026. What a site is mainly for is mxverify's reading of its homepage; the 211 sites not yet classified are left out of the guest post count.
- **Value.** BV 2.8, for one new followed link, with relevance to your own site held at ×1. It is a model's estimate of ranking benefit, not a price, and it does not predict what one link will do for a particular site.
- **Audits.** Placed links only: a link a backlink scan found is left out. A link's state is its latest reading; "read again" means a second reading 7 or more days after the first. On the 378 guest post sites themselves, the audits found only 24 of 360 placed links on the page, too few to report on their own; hence every publication above.
- **One reading per link and per site.** The next edition re-reads the record and says what changed.


## Key Takeaways
- Only 378 of the 951 sites priced as guest-post links (40%) are publications; the rest are directories, company sites, press-release feeds or not yet classified.
- A guest post link from those publications is worth a median $30 to rankings by BV 2.8; 78 are worth $100 or more.
- 50% of links found on publications' pages were nofollow.
- 97% of links on publications read again weeks later were still on the page.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What is guest posting?

Writing an article for another website, under your own name or your company's, usually with a link back to your site. When the site charges for it, the post is a sponsored or paid placement.

### Are guest posts against Google's rules?

Not in themselves. Google's spam policies list links with optimized anchor text in guest posts as link spam, and paid articles whose links pass ranking credit; a paid link is within the rules when it carries rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow".

### How much is a guest post link worth?

By mxverify's BV 2.8 model, a guest post link from the 378 guest post sites in this report is worth a median $30 to rankings; the middle half run from $24 to $57. That is ranking benefit, not a price.

### Do guest post links stay live?

Mostly, on publications: of 678 links on publications' pages our audits read again weeks later, 97% were still there. Check yours on the page, and again later.

### Is every site with a "write for us" page a guest post site?

No. Of the 951 sites mxverify prices at the guest-post level, 40% are publications; the rest include directories, company sites and press-release feeds.

## Sources
1. [Google Search Central – Spam policies for Google web search (link spam)](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies#link-spam)
2. [Google Search Central – Qualify your outbound links to Google](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/qualify-outbound-links)
3. [mxverify.uk – Guest post sites (link level B)](https://mxverify.uk/publications/level/b)
4. [mxverify.uk – How the BV score is worked out](https://mxverify.uk/methodology)