Guest Blogging
What to Do When a Guest Post Link Is Nofollow
Good publications increasingly mark contributor links nofollow. That is not a reason to decline the placement.
A placement lands, the article goes live, and the link is nofollow. For anyone who bought guest posting as a link tactic this feels like the deal failing. It is worth understanding why it happens and what the placement is actually worth.
Why Publications Do It
Google asks that links which are paid, sponsored, or supplied by a contributor rather than chosen by the editor should be marked. A publication running many contributed pieces applies it as policy rather than judging each one.
It is a sign of an editorially careful site, not a careless one. The publications least likely to nofollow are often the ones selling placements.
A nofollow from a publication people read is a better outcome than a followed link from one they do not.
What the Placement Is Still Worth
- Readers: People in your market encountering your thinking, which was the point.
- Credibility: A byline you can reference in a pitch, a proposal or a profile.
- Discovery: Journalists and buyers find suppliers through the trade press.
- Brand signals: Being mentioned in credible places is itself something search engines observe.
- The next placement: An editor who has run you once is far easier to pitch again.
When It Is Reasonable to Ask
You can ask politely, once, and only if the link is genuinely useful to the reader — a reference to original research or a tool, rather than to a service page.
Do not negotiate, do not offer anything, and do not ask twice. Pushing on link attributes marks you as someone chasing links rather than contributing, and editors talk to each other.
Where you do have a say, put the link somewhere it earns its place. A reference to a piece of research you published is more likely to survive editing than a link to your pricing page.
If the Link Is the Only Thing You Wanted
Then guest posting was probably the wrong tactic. Placements that guarantee followed links are the ones that come from sites selling them, with the risk that carries.
The value we optimise for is the audience and the byline, with the link as a by-product — which is why nofollow is not treated as a failed placement in our guest blogging service.