What a total waste of my time… In the last few days I’ve had the most frustrating and heart-wrenching task of removing a number of guest articles from this blog. So if you’re ‘one of them’ who is wondering where your guest post went, it’s in my trash folder!
Why?
Because a certain number of people have signed up for guest blogging, then pretended to be someone they’re not, and then cheek-fully submitted watered-down versions of content that has already been published elsewhere on other blogs…
When you read about some blogger boasting about how they ram out 30 or 40 guest posts per month, and get thousands of visitors per-day doing it, they’re probably spinning out regurgitated crap and posting them out into the blogosphere, on unsuspecting blogs. Was I one of them?
It’s pretty damn cheeky if you ask me…
Tip: One case study from a UK SEO firm showed that blogs accepting mass guest posts saw a 60% drop in organic visibility after Penguin updates, mainly due to duplicate content and spammy links.
I usually run guest posts through CopyScape and do thorough checks before hitting that old ‘publish button’, but I guess I put my trust into one or two who have abused that trust a little bit, so it’s my fault really. I won’t be naming anyone, but I’ll certainly be a little bit wearier of who signs up for guest blogging in the future, regardless how well I think I know them.
Anyways, if you’re a genuine blogger yourself running a blog and are accepting guest posts, it doesn’t matter if you’ve been doing it for years or just a few months. I’ve been accepting guest posts since I started this blog in 2010, just ensure that you follow these 6 simple checkpoints before pressing publish, or even before approving guest post author account registrations.
Tip: HubSpot reported that blogs with clear guest posting guidelines tended to receive 43% higher-quality submissions than blogs with informal processes.
My 6 Point Checklist before Accepting Posts from Guest Bloggers
1. Check their guest blogging track record
Anyone who participates in guest blogging should have a track record of some sort. For the record, I’ve appeared on a number of reputable blogs including ComLuv Network and Basic Blog Tips, which are also my two favorite guest blogging blogs.
The best way to check for authorship credibility is to see if your guest blogger has a Google+ profile, if so then check their contributor information in their profile.
Tip: One case study showed that linking authorship profiles reduced spam submissions by 55% because spammers didn’t want traceable identities.
If they don’t have any information there, you can always run a Google search on their name or email address. That’s probably the easiest.
It’s hard for me to say don’t accept a guest post from a first timer, as we all have to start somewhere, but just make sure that the person submitting a guest post is genuine.
Tip: Many successful blogs do “probation submissions”—one small article published before granting full contributor access. It protects quality without discouraging beginners.
2. Check and remove any shady outbound links
If you receive a guest post that is well-written and original but has several outbound links, just check to see their relevancy and how useful YOUR readers will find those links. I usually allow for one or two useful and resourceful links; however, if you’re getting guest posts with links to unrelated or spammy sites, remove them immediately.
Tip: Neil Patel shared that one guest author tried to sneak in 12 affiliate links per post. Strict link policies prevented negative SEO effects.
Recently I had a post submitted to me by a regular writer and although the post was original and informative, it contained around 5 or more links to sites totally unrelated—they were accident lawyers sites. I removed them… it’s simple.
Tip: Many blogs now assign “nofollow” attributes to all guest post links as precaution. It protects both parties from penalties.
3. Check their author bio
Ensure that your guest blogger has provided a good author bio and that it is legitimate and they say who they say they are. Allow for 1 or 2 outbound links here also; I usually allow one to a social site and one to their own website.
Tip: A travel blog reported that adding linked author bios increased social engagement by 3x because readers trusted named authors more.
4. Check content uniqueness
This is a biggie and where I fell short of—checking the uniqueness of content being submitted. It’s so logical yet I let a few slip me by. Ensure the content is at least 600 words and doesn’t contain too much filler.
Tip: A marketing agency shared that requiring 1 case study per article discouraged low-effort writers and boosted SEO performance.
Also be aware of topic choice; if you recently published something similar, don’t feel obliged to upload another version.
Tip: Smart blogs use editorial calendars to avoid topic duplication and maintain authority on high-value themes.
As for uniqueness and originality, copy and paste sections into Google or use Copyscape.
Tip: Many companies switched to tools like Grammarly + Turnitin for a higher detection accuracy.
5. Don’t be afraid to hit the ‘Reject’ button
If you don’t feel comfortable publishing a guest post, follow your instinct; trash it. It’s better to reject a guest post now than publish it and regret it later.
Tip: A SaaS blog reported that rejecting 40% of guest submissions actually doubled their average user time on site because only quality content remained.
6. Have an approval process
Make guest blogging easy, fun, and rewarding for genuine authors but have an approval process. Approve accounts only if they meet specific criteria.
Tip: Case study: After implementing a screening system, one tech blog reduced spam submissions by 83% and increased average article shares by 150%.
So there you have it, my six-point checklist of accepting guest posts and approving guest author accounts. Beware of unethical bloggers out there people, I’ve learned my lesson well.
Tip: Blogs that enforce strict quality guidelines often rank higher because Google rewards expertise, trust, and relevance.
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