For digital nomads, indie publishers, and anyone running a small site on the move.
Paid guest posts: rules for disclosure, rel=”sponsored”, and trust
The email lands while you’re tethering in a café. A polite stranger offers to pay for an article. They mention “permanent do-follow links,” a spot on your homepage, and a promise that the post will be indexed. It sounds like easy money when you’re counting nights in hostels and coffees by the refill.
I used to read messages like this with curiosity. Were they legit? Was I missing an easy income stream? Over time, I learned what sits behind most of these proposals.
This is a no-drama explanation, written in simple language, so you can decide calmly and protect your website.
What’s really being bought
The buyer usually isn’t paying for your storytelling or your readers. They are paying for the link. Often there is a middleperson, a link broker, who connects advertisers to small publishers and takes a fee. The aim is to push a client’s pages up in search results by placing links on other sites. Because of that goal, the pitch often asks for specifics: do-follow links that pass authority, no “Sponsored” label, and a quick turnaround.
These details matter more to them than whether your readers will enjoy the article.
Why “easy money” can cost you later
How much you’re going to get paid varies widely and depends on your site’s topic, audience fit, and trust signals. But what looks like quick cash can create real risk if you accept unlabeled ads or let paid links pass ranking value. Search engines treat paid links that pass PageRank as violations and can reduce your visibility or apply manual actions.
A “manual action” is a penalty that Google applies to a site or specific pages after a human reviewer determines they violate Google’s spam policies. It isn’t an algorithmic drop; it’s a deliberate enforcement action.
Recovery can take a long time.
| How you find out | How to recover |
|---|---|
| Google sends a notice in Search Console and lists details in the “Manual actions” report (which appears only if you have one). | Fix every cited issue (for paid links, add rel="sponsored"/rel="nofollow" or remove them; for spammy content, remove or rewrite it), document what you changed, then submit a reconsideration request in Search Console. If reviewers agree the problems are resolved, the manual action is lifted, though rankings may take time to rebound. |
There’s also a legal angle. 👩⚖️
Many jurisdictions expect clear disclosure when content is advertising. In the United States, the FTC requires clear and conspicuous disclosures. In the European Union, transparency rules apply to commercial communications and influencer content, with national authorities enforcing recognisable ad labelling.
How to say yes without wrecking your site
General advice is to treat paid placements as advertising, not editorial. Be upfront with anyone who contacts you, and set these guardrails:
Label it clearly.
- Use a visible Sponsored label on the article and any in-feed placements. Keep the disclosure near the headline and before the content so readers see it right away.
Use the right link attributes.
- Any paid link should use
rel="sponsored"orrel="nofollow". Do not agree to do-follow paid links.
Keep editorial control.
- You choose the topic, edit the copy, and approve the final draft. Keep the anchor text natural, limit promotional links, and require originality with no plagiarism or spun content.
Protect your site’s reputation.
- Avoid irrelevant third-party content that exploits your domain’s trust. Policies on link spam and site reputation abuse explicitly target these arrangements.
Set simple business terms.
- Ask for payment before publication, invoice properly, and avoid promising specific indexing or rankings. No one can guarantee a number one ranking on Google.
When you follow rules like these, you keep reader trust and protect your search visibility while still accepting collaborations that fit your niche.
How to say no when it isn’t right
If the contact promises “regular paid content” and a “long collaboration” but refuses a Sponsored label or insists on do-follow links, that’s a sign the deal is about gaming search engines, not serving your community.
Declining is easy and kind.
Hi [Name], thanks for your message. I only publish clearly Sponsored articles and I use
rel="sponsored"(orrel="nofollow") on paid links. I also keep full editorial control. If that works for you, happy to review a brief. If not, I’ll pass. All the best.
A note to fellow travellers and digital nomads
Running a website from buses, co-working spaces, and kitchen tables is both a privilege and a hustle. Your domain reputation is like your passport: protect it every day. A handful of fast, messy posts can cost more in visibility and trust than any quick win. Choose the offers that respect your readers and your rules.
That way you can keep moving and keep publishing with a clear conscience.
Sources and further reading
- Google Search Central: Qualify your outbound links (rel=”sponsored” and nofollow).
- Google Search Central: Spam policies for web search (paid links, link spam, site reputation abuse).
- Google Search Central: Do you need an SEO? (no one can guarantee a number one ranking).
- FTC (United States): Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking.
- European Commission: Influencer Legal Hub.
- UK ASA/CAP: Influencers’ guide to making clear that ads are ads.
- Italy (AGCOM): Linee guida e Codice di condotta per influencer.