Authority, Read Properly
Authority scores are the first thing most sellers price on, and the first thing most
buyers ask about. Moz Domain Authority and Ahrefs Domain Rating both summarise a
domain's backlink profile on a 100-point scale, and a higher score usually means a
higher rate. That much is reasonable: a link from a site that many other sites link to
is worth more than one from a site nobody links to.
What is not reasonable is pricing on one score alone. The two models disagree, and the
disagreement is informative. A site with DA 55 and DR 15 has a profile Moz rates well
and Ahrefs barely registers, which usually means a large number of weak links. Ask for
both scores, and treat a wide gap between them as a reason to look harder before you
accept a price based on the higher one. Why
the two part ways explains the mechanics.
Real Organic Traffic
Traffic is the factor that should move a price most, because it is the one that
describes readers rather than links. A site with steady organic visits gives your
article a chance of being found, and its links sit on pages Google keeps crawling. A
site with high authority and almost no traffic is selling the score, not an audience.
Use a tool estimate — Semrush and Ahrefs both publish one — and read it against the
number of keywords behind it. Thousands of visits from a handful of keywords means a few
lucky rankings carry the whole figure, and your article will not inherit them. Of the
84 sites in this directory, 37 show at least 1,000 monthly US organic
visits in Semrush’s estimate as of 14 Oct 2026; the full
table can be sorted by that column.
The Subject You Sell In
The same site will often quote different prices for different subjects. Finance,
crypto, health, legal and gambling-adjacent topics cost more almost everywhere, partly
because advertisers in those markets pay more for every channel and partly because
editors take on more risk publishing them. Some publishers decline those subjects
outright; others accept them at a premium. Say up front what your article is about, so
the quote you receive is the one that applies.
Relevance matters more than the premium. A placement on a site that already covers
your subject is worth more than a cheaper one on a site that does not, which is why
the directory is organised into subject hubs — the largest
being business guest
post sites, with 23 listings.
Link Type and Permanence
Ask two questions about the link itself. First, its attribute: a followed link, one
marked rel="sponsored", or one marked rel="nofollow". Google
asks publishers to mark paid links as sponsored, so be clear with yourself about which
you are buying and why; a seller who promises a followed link on a paid placement is
telling you how they treat Google’s guidelines. Second, its life: whether the post is
permanent or removed after a year. A placement that disappears in twelve months should
not be priced like one that stays.
Writing, Edits and Turnaround
A quote for publishing your own finished article is not the same product as a quote that
includes writing it. Writing adds cost, and so does a publisher’s editing if your draft
needs work. Turnaround moves the price too: some sites publish within a day or two,
others queue articles for weeks, and rushing a slow queue usually costs extra. When you
compare quotes, make sure each covers the same work — your article or theirs, the
number of links, and the expected publishing time.
Two Things That Should Not Move the Price
A high score with no audience. Authority can be manufactured with links from
networks of sites that exist only to pass authority to one another. A site priced high
on DA alone, with traffic near zero and a Spam Score in Moz’s medium or high band, is
the most expensive kind of cheap link. 77 of the 80
listings here with a Moz Spam Score sit in its low band (1–30%). Check before you pay; spotting a private blog network sets
out what to look for.
A price that never changes. A seller who quotes the same rate this month as a
year ago is either not tracking the site or not telling you when it changed. Real rates
move with a site’s traffic and with publishers’ own costs, which is why the listings
here carry no printed price: we quote today’s rate on request instead.
Comparing Quotes Fairly
To compare two quotes, put them on the same footing. Confirm each covers the same
work — who writes, how many links, which attribute, how long the post stays up. Then set
each price against the site’s real organic traffic and its relevance to your subject,
not against its authority score. The quote that buys the most relevant readers per unit
of spend is the better one, even when it is not the cheapest.
When you have a shortlist, send it to timeviewblog@gmail.com with
your topic and target URL. We reply within one working day with today’s price for each site and
its publishing terms, so you can compare them on exactly those lines. Before that, how to vet a guest post site covers the
checks worth running on each one.