How to find guest post sites in your niche

Finding sites that accept guest posts is easy. Finding ones that are worth your time is the hard part. Here is how to find guest post sites in your niche with free methods, and how to filter out link farms before you write a single word.

Published: 2026-09-12 · Satelo

Start with the right target

Before searching, write down two things: who your readers are and what you want from a guest post. A B2B accounting tool wants small-business owners and bookkeepers. A hiking blog wants outdoor enthusiasts. The best host sites are the ones those people already read, regardless of what any authority metric says.

Method 1: Google search operators

Many sites have a "write for us" page. You can find them with simple queries. Replace topic with your niche keyword:

• topic "write for us"
• topic "guest post guidelines"
• topic "submit a guest post"
• topic "become a contributor"
• topic "contribute" inurl:blog
• topic intitle:"write for us"

Be aware that the most obvious "write for us" pages attract hundreds of pitches and many are run by sites that accept anything. Use the results as a starting list, not a final one.

Method 2: Look where your competitors were published

If a competitor has written for a site, that site already accepts content on your topic. Two free ways to find these:

• Search the competitor founder’s name with "guest post by", "written by" or "author".
• Use a free backlink checker to see who links to the competitor. See our list of free Ahrefs alternatives.

Method 3: Find prolific guest authors

Some people in every niche write for many blogs. Find one author bio, then search their name. Their portfolio is a ready-made list of sites that accept contributors in your space.

Method 4: Industry newsletters and roundups

Weekly newsletters and "best posts of the month" roundups point to the blogs that actually get read. If a blog is regularly featured, it has an audience. Many of these blogs never advertise guest posting but accept a good pitch.

Method 5: Communities

Reddit, niche forums, Slack and Discord groups, and Facebook or LinkedIn groups often have threads where editors look for writers. Participate first; a cold "who accepts guest posts?" post rarely works.

Method 6: Sites that already link to similar resources

If you have published a strong guide, search for other guides on the same topic and look at who links to them. Those sites care about the subject and might welcome a fresh angle.

Method 7: Podcasts, interviews and expert roundups

Not every placement has to be an article. Interviews and expert quotes give you a mention and a bio link with less writing. They also work well for brand-new sites that do not yet have a portfolio.

Method 8: Your own network

Partners, suppliers, customers, former colleagues. A software integration partner may happily publish a joint case study. This is the easiest outreach you will ever do. Our cross-promotion ideas list more formats.

Method 9: Article exchange networks

If you prefer to skip manual prospecting, an exchange network does the matching for you. Satelo pairs sites with a similar Quality Score (within about 10%) and niche and runs exchanges in circles, so nobody swaps links directly. Articles arrive in WordPress via a plugin and links are marked rel="sponsored". It complements manual outreach rather than replacing it.

How to vet a guest post site before you pitch

This is where most people cut corners. A quick checklist:

You can combine several of these in one step with the free Satelo Quality Score check. It scores a domain from 0 to 100 using open data: Tranco rank, domain age, size in the Common Crawl index and PageSpeed results. It will not tell you everything, but it quickly separates real sites from empty ones. For a deeper look at warning signs, read how to spot PBN sites and our guide to checking a site before buying a placement.

Organise your list

A simple spreadsheet is enough. Useful columns:

• Site and URL of its guidelines page
• Editor name and contact
• Quality notes (score, topic fit, traffic signs)
• Two topic ideas that fit their content gaps
• Date pitched, follow-up date, status
• Published URL and link attributes once live

Prioritise in three tiers: dream sites (big, very relevant), solid sites (medium, relevant) and easy wins (small but active). Start with the middle tier to build a portfolio, then use it to pitch the dream sites.

How many sites do you need?

Quality beats volume. Twenty well-chosen, well-vetted sites with tailored pitches will usually beat two hundred generic ones. Expect many editors not to reply; a personal, specific pitch is the main thing you control.

Prospecting mistakes to avoid

• Judging by one metric. A high third-party authority score means little if the site has no readers. Look at several signals together.
• Ignoring small blogs. A focused blog with a few thousand loyal readers can send more useful visitors than a big generic site.
• Skipping the archive. Five minutes reading recent posts tells you more than any tool: tone, quality, and whether every article is someone’s paid placement.
• Collecting without sorting. A list of 500 unvetted sites is not progress. Twenty checked, prioritised sites are.
• Forgetting to re-check. Sites change owners and get sold. Re-check your list every few months, especially before paying for anything.

Next steps

Run your shortlist through the free Quality Score check, drop anything that looks empty or spammy, then use our outreach email templates to pitch the rest. New to the topic? Start with what guest posting is.

FAQ

What is the fastest way to find guest post sites?

Google search operators such as topic plus write for us give a quick starting list, but always vet each site for real traffic and topic focus before pitching.

Are sites with a write for us page bad?

Not necessarily. Many quality blogs have one. But the most visible ones get flooded with pitches, and some accept anything, so check them carefully.

How do I know if a guest post site has real traffic?

Look for signs of readers: comments, social shares, a Tranco rank, traffic estimates and indexed pages. A free Quality Score check combines several open signals.

Should I pay for guest posts?

You can, but then it is a sponsored post and the link should be marked rel=sponsored. Vet paid sites even more carefully.

Read next