Matt Cutts targets guest blogging. What’s next?
Matt Cutts, the SEO baron of Google, is about to make a lot of enemies in the collaborative blogosphere.
Known for his off the cuff statements about content and SEO practices, Cutts seems to merely reflect on the ever-shifting Google algorithm.
In a new blog post, titled “The decay and fall of guest blogging“, Matt Cutts states:
“If you’re using guest blogging as a way to gain links in 2014, you should probably stop. Why? Because over time it’s become a more and more spammy practice, and if you’re doing a lot of guest blogging then you’re hanging out with really bad company.”
So is Google about to penalize web sites and blogs that create a lot of collaborative content, via the use of content contributors?
Matt Cutts continues:
“Back in the day, guest blogging used to be a respectable thing, much like getting a coveted, respected author to write the introduction of your book. It’s not that way any more. […] So stick a fork in it: guest blogging is done; it’s just gotten too spammy. In general I wouldn’t recommend accepting a guest blog post unless you are willing to vouch for someone personally or know them well. Likewise, I wouldn’t recommend relying on guest posting, guest blogging sites, or guest blogging SEO as a linkbuilding strategy.”
So while Matt Cutts refers to the practice of intentional content contributions as the means to cross-linking, a spammy process that generates artificial relationships, he definitely appears to be unclear about what happens to the thousands of true collaborative web sites, where relevant content is a truly useful collection of resources.
As always, do not expect Google to be clear about this; the statements by Matt Cutts will only create bigger confusion in how user-contributed content is generated.
The truth is, that if you need unique articles that are relevant to your content, you can hire a professional copywriter that relinquishes any rights in the process.
Link to full article here.
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