undefined
Skip to content
Moz logo Menu open Menu close
  • Products
    • Moz Pro
    • Moz Pro Home
    • Moz Local
    • Moz Local Home
    • STAT
    • Moz API
    • Moz API Home
    • Compare SEO Products
    • Moz Data
  • Free SEO Tools
    • Domain Analysis
    • Keyword Explorer
    • Link Explorer
    • Competitive Research
    • MozBar
    • More Free SEO Tools
  • Learn SEO
    • Beginner's Guide to SEO
    • SEO Learning Center
    • Moz Academy
    • SEO Q&A
    • Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
  • Blog
  • Why Moz
    • Agency Solutions
    • Enterprise Solutions
    • Small Business Solutions
    • Case Studies
    • The Moz Story
    • New Releases
  • Log in
  • Log out
  • Products
    • Moz Pro

      Your all-in-one suite of SEO essentials.

    • Moz Local

      Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management.

    • STAT

      SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts.

    • Moz API

      Power your SEO with our index of over 44 trillion links.

    • Compare SEO Products

      See which Moz SEO solution best meets your business needs.

    • Moz Data

      Power your SEO strategy & AI models with custom data solutions.

    NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
    Moz Pro

    NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

    Learn more
  • Free SEO Tools
    • Domain Analysis

      Get top competitive SEO metrics like DA, top pages and more.

    • Keyword Explorer

      Find traffic-driving keywords with our 1.25 billion+ keyword index.

    • Link Explorer

      Explore over 40 trillion links for powerful backlink data.

    • Competitive Research

      Uncover valuable insights on your organic search competitors.

    • MozBar

      See top SEO metrics for free as you browse the web.

    • More Free SEO Tools

      Explore all the free SEO tools Moz has to offer.

    NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
    Moz Pro

    NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

    Learn more
  • Learn SEO
    • Beginner's Guide to SEO

      The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.

    • SEO Learning Center

      Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.

    • On-Demand Webinars

      Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.

    • How-To Guides

      Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.

    • Moz Academy

      Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.

    • MozCon

      Save on Early Bird tickets and join us in London or New York City

    Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints
    Moz API

    Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints

    Find your plan
  • Blog
  • Why Moz
    • Small Business Solutions

      Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.

    • Agency Solutions

      Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.

    • Enterprise Solutions

      Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.

    • The Moz Story

      Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.

    • Case Studies

      Explore how Moz drives ROI with a proven track record of success.

    • New Releases

      Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.

    Surface actionable competitive intel
    New Feature

    Surface actionable competitive intel

    Learn More
  • Log in
    • Moz Pro
    • Moz Local
    • Moz Local Dashboard
    • Moz API
    • Moz API Dashboard
    • Moz Academy
  • Avatar
    • Moz Home
    • Notifications
    • Account & Billing
    • Manage Users
    • Community Profile
    • My Q&A
    • My Videos
    • Log Out

The Moz Q&A Forum

  • Forum
  • Questions
  • Users
  • Ask the Community

Welcome to the Q&A Forum

Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

  1. Home
  2. SEO Tactics
  3. Link Building
  4. What is the exact difference between guest post and paid links?

Moz Q&A is closed.

After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.

What is the exact difference between guest post and paid links?

Link Building
guest blog posting paid links
9
11
4.0k
Loading More Posts
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as question
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with question management privileges can see it.
  • zeitnot
    zeitnot last edited by Oct 7, 2022, 8:04 PM

    What is the exact difference between guest post and paid links?

    Bucaly AsadTaqvi ryannbutler sanghera 4 Replies Last reply Oct 19, 2022, 8:59 AM Reply Quote 0
    • Kateparish
      Kateparish @zeitnot last edited by Feb 17, 2023, 12:52 PM

      @zeitnot When Google analyzes the post, it looks for some key things. One is a sponsored disclosure. It can say “sponsored,” “paid,” or “advertisement,” and should be easy to spot.
      Google also checks the content to see if it’s promoting something specific. It may come as paid material if there’s a lot of promotional language or mentions of some products or brands without context.
      Another thing Google looks for is affiliate links or patterns of content creation. If a website regularly posts sponsored or promotional content without saying so, it won’t appear as a high-quality source of information.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • topic:timeago_earlier,4 months
      • meltingpointgoat
        meltingpointgoat last edited by Oct 28, 2022, 9:07 AM

        The main difference between guest posting and paid links is that with guest posting, you're providing valuable content for free. With paid links, you're just paying for a link. So from Google's perspective, guest posts are seen as more trustworthy than paid links. That's because when someone publishes a guest post on another blog, it's usually because they've been given permission by the blog owner to do so. I've made some guest postings for my friend's website when he started with dropshipping, and I've managed to land a few great guest posts for him, that increased the DR of the site eventually. Now, not gonna lie here, it's definitely a harder way to go, but if you put in the effort and do it consistently you'll see great results with GP, without putting any risk to the business.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • topic:timeago_earlier,9 days
        • sanghera
          sanghera @zeitnot last edited by Oct 19, 2022, 8:59 AM

          @zeitnot In Guest Posting, you add your Comments/ Blog content on a High authority website with a link to your website , While paid links refer to posts contributed to a website with monetary charge in exchange for quality backlinks

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • AsadTaqvi
            AsadTaqvi Banned @zeitnot last edited by Oct 16, 2022, 1:59 PM

            @zeitnot Well, guest posts are also paid and free too. Top sites required quality content only and on other hand paid links are where you insert a link in an existing article/blog. Many websites accept paid guest posts only

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • ryannbutler
              ryannbutler @zeitnot last edited by Oct 12, 2022, 3:00 PM

              @zeitnot In paid guest posting, you get paid for writing a guest post, whereas for paid links, you pay to the linking site. If you want organic links to your site you can try a tool called Postifluence. It's one of the best & affordable SEO tool I have ever used. It helps to find the top ranking guest posting websites and brings high-quality backlinks from there.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • LutforDigital
                LutforDigital last edited by Oct 12, 2022, 10:38 AM

                Guest post are free, while the paid links require payment 😧 .

                Basically if you pay for guest post it will be counted as paid links. And google suggest using rel="sponsored" for this kind of links.

                In reality we pay bloggers or webmasters for publishing guest post , which is not recommended by google.

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • Parker_Adam_916
                  Parker_Adam_916 @zeitnot last edited by Oct 12, 2022, 6:19 AM

                  @zeitnot The results shown on Google search are both ads and organic.

                  Paid results are created by users using Google ads where he/she introduces their ads to Google.

                  Organic results are shown on Google search results while a software called spider crawls a website and indexes them.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • zeitnot
                    zeitnot @Parker_Adam_916 last edited by Oct 11, 2022, 11:09 PM

                    @Parker_Adam_916 thanks for fast response.
                    My second question is how google understands whether the post is paid or natural earn?

                    Parker_Adam_916 Kateparish 2 Replies Last reply Feb 17, 2023, 12:52 PM Reply Quote 0
                    • Parker_Adam_916
                      Parker_Adam_916 last edited by Oct 10, 2022, 5:27 AM

                      Guest Post – A guest post is ananrticle written by someone else and posted on your website. You do not have to pay anyone to write a guest post. If the author is willing to share their knowledge, then they should be given credit for doing so.

                      Paid Link – A paid link is any aancle where the writer is being compensated for writing the content. Usually, these articles are sponsored posts. Sponsored posts are often written by people who work at companies that sell products related to the topic of the article. These companies may offer compensation to the writers of the posts in exchange for them promoting the company’s product.

                      zeitnot 1 Reply Last reply Oct 11, 2022, 11:09 PM Reply Quote 0
                      • Bucaly
                        Bucaly @zeitnot last edited by Oct 9, 2022, 8:03 PM

                        @zeitnot
                        www.6li.com.tr

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • 1 / 1
                        1 out of 11
                        • First post
                          1/11
                          Last post

                        Got a burning SEO question?

                        Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.


                        Start my free trial


                        Browse Questions

                        Explore more categories

                        • Moz Tools

                          Chat with the community about the Moz tools.

                        • SEO Tactics

                          Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers

                        • Community

                          Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!

                        • Digital Marketing

                          Chat about tactics outside of SEO

                        • Research & Trends

                          Dive into research and trends in the search industry.

                        • Support

                          Connect on product support and feature requests.

                        • See all categories

                        Related Questions

                        • Veptune

                          Backlinks from The Sun, New Yor Post, etc...

                          backlinks paid links

                          Hello there, Some of my competitors have backlinks from very well-known newspaper websites like New York Post or The Sun. And it is really obvious that their backlinks are paid ones. On these news websites, they don't talk about ghost writing stuff or "partnership" for backlinks. They only write about banner advertising. So I was wondering how they can get a backlink from them.
                          Do some writers sell those backlinks somewhere else, under the table? Are they in contact with SEO agencies who paid them and if this is the case, does their "manager" know it? or does the company directly have partnerships with SEO agencies? Basically, how to get a backlink from the NY Post or The Sun ? Thanks

                          Link Building | Jun 20, 2024, 12:59 PM | Veptune
                          0
                        • Scottlinklater

                          Do You Risk A Penalty From Local Paid Directories in 2022?

                          local seo link building paid directories paid links directories

                          Hi there, I have a client who wants to advertise in a local directory along the lines of "find your nearest plumber". The directory only has paid listings and they are follow links and they also mention your site or generated landing page may get a nice bump on google. Is there a risk that they may get a penalty for using this directory? The client wants to use it regardless of if it gives them an SEO boost but obviously wants to avoid any penalties at all costs. Thoughts on this? Thanks in advance

                          Link Building | May 31, 2024, 7:45 AM | Scottlinklater
                          0
                        • Caffeine_Marketing

                          When conducting a link building strategy does it matter the country the link is from?

                          We are a UK business and if we have links mostly from US based blogs and websites does this penalise us.  The links are from relevant websites and topics.  Should we be focusing on .co.uk sites

                          Link Building | Dec 24, 2019, 1:43 PM | Caffeine_Marketing
                          1
                        • NSnidhi

                          How you do guest posting on behalf of your clients? What do you use in the author bio - your name, client's name or a fake name?

                          I would like to hear from SEO agencies or link building teams - how you manage guest posting on behalf of your clients? 1. What is your outreach process - Do you pitch as a marketing manager or as a subject expert? 2. What do you mention in your author bio? Your name and your bio as outreach manager/ marketing manager? Your client's name and client's bio? A fake name - as a subject expertise? 3. Which email ID and contact details you use? - Your work ID/ client's ID/ Fake Gmail ID? I work for an SEO agency and I am interested in content and SEO related blog posts. But, I have many clients in the home improvement, real estate, food, fashion and other industries. I don't feel right to use my name when posting a guest blog on their behalf. What you guys prefer? Any thoughts?

                          Link Building | Jul 6, 2018, 10:25 PM | NSnidhi
                          0
                        • NCOREGSEO

                          Backlinks vs External Links vs Referral Links vs Outbound links

                          Hello all, I was just wondering if you could explain the difference between all the links above? I'm confused as they all seem to be the same or similar and I would just like to clearly know what distinguishes them from eachother. Thanks for your help, Jayne

                          Link Building | Aug 31, 2017, 5:03 AM | NCOREGSEO
                          0
                        • aronwp

                          How can I find the best sites to guest post on while linking back to my article?

                          Whats the best way to find sites to guest blog on. There are just so many and I don't want to make bad choices so my current rankings don't get hurt

                          Link Building | Nov 23, 2013, 3:09 AM | aronwp
                          0
                        • Charlessipe

                          Site Published Our Guest Post but Removed the Link Back

                          I recently developed a nice article for a career site and they agreed to publish it as a guest post. Once they published the article I noticed they had removed the link back to my site in the byline. What is a best way to approach this situation? Would you ask them to take down the article if they are unwilling to link back to your site?

                          Link Building | Jan 9, 2013, 8:19 PM | Charlessipe
                          0
                        • JesseCWalker

                          Do links within imbeddable widgets carry link juice?

                          I'm dipping my toes into infographic design. On of my desired outcomes is to gain links by having other sites embed my graphic. I'm considering using Tableau's interactive data visualization software to do so; thus creating a widget, embedding it on my blog, and including the embed code for others to post. Is it possible to include a juice passing link in such an infographic?  I know its possible to include links inside the tableau graphic but not sure if they have straight SEO value. If these links are not juice passing would it be better to go with a simple image link that passes value?

                          Link Building | Nov 16, 2011, 8:10 AM | JesseCWalker
                          1

                        Get started with Moz Pro!

                        Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

                        Start my free trial
                        Products
                        • Moz Pro
                        • Moz Local
                        • Moz API
                        • Moz Data
                        • STAT
                        • Product Updates
                        Moz Solutions
                        • SMB Solutions
                        • Agency Solutions
                        • Enterprise Solutions
                        Free SEO Tools
                        • Domain Authority Checker
                        • Link Explorer
                        • Keyword Explorer
                        • Competitive Research
                        • Brand Authority Checker
                        • Local Citation Checker
                        • MozBar Extension
                        • MozCast
                        Resources
                        • Blog
                        • SEO Learning Center
                        • Help Hub
                        • Beginner's Guide to SEO
                        • How-to Guides
                        • Moz Academy
                        • API Docs
                        About Moz
                        • About
                        • Team
                        • Careers
                        • Contact
                        Why Moz
                        • Case Studies
                        • Testimonials
                        Get Involved
                        • Become an Affiliate
                        • MozCon
                        • Webinars
                        • Practical Marketer Series
                        • MozPod
                        Connect with us

                        Contact the Help team

                        Join our newsletter
                        Moz logo
                        © 2021 - 2025 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
                        • Accessibility
                        • Terms of Use
                        • Privacy

                        Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.