Question

Calling all SEO experts: I am having a hard time finding the answer to this –– and I am not an SEO expert. But I am sure anyone that does have the answer would help educate A LOT of us in this group. My focus over the years has been news, eco news. When I worked for Discovery they trained us in SEO, as every blogger then had to tag images, write meaningful but compelling keyword laden headlines. Not easy! I noticed as Buzzfeed and Facebook clickbait became the norm, Google ads went down and many sites went bust. Those that didn’t may have accepted donations for guest posts. And this is my question. my 13 year old site is in bad need of a facelift. We earn revenue from guest post donations. I want to invest in the site after letting it slide for a number of years when I sidelined into hightech. And my question is about home page layout for a news site. Should I just fix up the existing template or risk some major upheavals and loss of traffic, potential guest post donations, if I change themes and the layout? Are there some theme formats and layouts that are more attractive to those looking to rank pages for SEO (guest post)? Of course I know that everyone prefers to be on the homepage. But where on the homepage, does it matter? What if there were dozens of other stories on the homepage like the New York Times? Thanks so much! And this is the link, if it helps: Any help counts and if you give me a great answer I will pay it forward. Answer in the comments or email me directly: editor@greenprophet. com
https://www.greenprophet.com/

Answer 1

I don't think you'll have to invest a dime. There are a number of guest post link providers available who buy/sell guest post links from websites like yours whose buyers typically pay $500 or more for a DA50+ link. While these links will drop off the home page after they're posted, your email address is about to blow up with offers from people willing to donate to your website in exchange for a guest post on a website with metrics like those.  

Comments

@phenothiazine thanks Jason. How many days should a guest post stay on the homepage to be attractive?  

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@poisonous Zero. All guest posts are brand new pages on an existing website. Any short-term benefit gained from homepage placement is an additional exposure, not an expectation by the contributor whether paid or not for their contribution.  

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@phenothiazine learning new things every day. If a link from my site can help a business you are connected with or if there is an NGO you support, PM me with the details.  

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Will do. Thanks. Green Prophet is a great domain that could be leveraged in a number of unique ways beyond that of a news website. Do you have any plans beyond those related to guest posting to monetize the website?  

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@phenothiazine let’s talk. Would be happy to split revenues with you.  

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@poisonous happy to share my thoughts. Send me a message and we'll figure out a time to chat.  

Answer 2

Why change the home page layout? Is there are particular reason you would want to do that? For the most part, anyone wanting to have a link from you would consider the look of the home page a secondary issue. It's the DA they will be looking at with the added bonus of a boost in traffic while it's on the home page if they write a great headline and have a great image. Be careful about how you go about 'advertising' that you accept guest posts and if you are going to start publishing more posts, perhaps ramp it up steadily instead of sudden splurges.  

Comments

Oh, and I have some clients with some lovely sites who I'm sure would love to have links on your site.  

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@craftwork we have a well oiled editorial. Not looking for a lot of guest posts. We are looking for new writers. You can email me: karin@greenprophet. com

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@craftwork I feel the layout is dated.  

Answer 3

So I posted this question in a few forums. This is the only group that had anything to say. Thanks so much. It really relieved a lot of stress.