Presented in August 2023, this overview examines guest posting as a content marketing strategy, defining the practice, explaining typical costs, and outlining its role in link building and audience reach.
What is a guest post?
A guest post is an article published on a blog that does not belong to the author. The arrangement typically involves three parties: companies seeking the service, agencies that provide it, and bloggers who create and publish guest posts. Once published, a backlink to the author’s website is inserted—a practice known as link building. Guest posting serves as a marketing strategy to increase visibility, drive traffic to a site, and build authority.
Editorial note, 30 October 2026: this 2023 overview has been revised. The market figures in the original text could not be traced to a source and have been removed; what a guest post costs on this publication is set out below.
What drives the price
Two different things get priced here, and they are often confused. One is the writing: an article commissioned from a writer. The other is the publication: the slot on a site that already has readers. Almost all the money goes to the second, because it is the part nobody can produce on demand.
What a publication charges follows from what it has built. How long it has been online, how many readers reach it from search, whether the subject sits inside what it already covers, how long the article stays where a reader will find it. A site that accepts an article on any subject is selling traffic; a publication that only accepts articles on its own subject is selling its readers. The two cost differently, and for a reason.
Guest post publishing factors
The cost of publishing a guest post depends on several variables: article length, article quality, relevance to the blog’s audience, and the blog’s visibility and traffic. Benefits of guest posting include expanded visibility through exposure to a larger audience, increased traffic to the author’s website through reader clicks on backlinks, and enhanced site authority through association with established platforms.
What a guest post costs here
Cultural Heritage Online publishes guest articles on its own subject, cultural heritage, and on no other. The prices are published rather than negotiated: 150 dollars for one article of 1,200 to 1,800 words, 350 dollars for a feature with fact-checking and a longer run in the home showcase, 750 dollars a year for six articles over twelve months.
Every article is reviewed by the editors and labelled as partner content. What is not for sale is our editorial coverage, and what we do not sell is a link on a page nobody reads: the article goes into the magazine, beside the archive, and it stays at the same address. The three plans are set out at culturalheritageonline.com/guest-post/.
Frequently asked questions
What is link building?
Link building is the practice of inserting a backlink to the author’s website within a published guest post, helping to establish connection and drive referral traffic.
Why do authors use guest posting as a marketing strategy?
Guest posting increases visibility, drives traffic to the author’s site, and builds the site’s authority by associating it with established platforms and reaching new audiences.
What factors affect guest post pricing?
Pricing depends on article length, quality, relevance to the host blog’s audience, and the visibility of the host blog.
Sources
- S1 — Enge, Eric, Stephan Spencer, and Jessie Stricchiola. The Art of SEO. 3rd ed., O'Reilly Media, 2015. ISBN 978-1-4919-4801-9.
- S2 — Fishkin, Rand. Lost and Founder. Portfolio, 2018. ISBN 978-0-7352-1332-6.
Spotted an error? Write to editorial@culturalheritageonline.com and we correct it the same day.
