A seller’s screenshot of DA, DR and traffic answers almost none of the questions that decide whether a link is worth buying. Work through the steps below in order. The early ones rule sites out quickly, so you only do the slow checks on sites worth the effort.
1. Start with relevance, not metrics
Ask whether a reader of this site could plausibly want to visit yours. If the honest answer is no, stop. A link from an unrelated site is weak at best, and at worst it looks like what it is: a bought link.
Look at the site’s main topics and the sections that get traffic. A broad site can still be relevant if it has a genuine section on your subject.
2. Check that the traffic is real search traffic
Compare the organic traffic estimate with the link metrics:
- Strong DA/DR with little or no organic traffic is the most common pattern among sites built to sell links. Treat it as a red flag until explained.
- Look at the trend, not one number. A site that has lost most of its traffic in the last year may have been hit by a Google update.
- Find out which pages get the traffic. If it all goes to a few posts unrelated to your topic, the site’s traffic does nothing for a link elsewhere on it.
Remember that traffic figures are estimates modelled from rankings. Use them to compare sites, not as exact counts.
3. Look at the link profile
- Compare referring domains with total backlinks. Millions of links from a few hundred domains suggests sitewide or automated links.
- Check whether DA and DR roughly agree. A gap of 25+ points means the tools see different link profiles; look at the actual referring domains.
- Skim the referring domains themselves if you can. Links mainly from other link-selling sites, scraper sites or unrelated foreign-language spam say more than any score.
4. Read the outbound links
This is the step most buyers skip, and it is the most revealing. Open five recent posts and look at who they link to:
- Many unrelated commercial links (casinos, loans, CBD, essay writing, random e-commerce) mean the site sells to anyone. Your link would sit in that neighbourhood.
- Look for a “write for us”, “sponsored post” or price-list page offering links in every niche.
- Check whether sponsored posts are labelled and whether their links carry
rel="sponsored". That tells you how the site handles paid links, and Google asks for exactly this.
5. Check the Spam Score, and what it is based on
A medium (31–60%) or high (61%+) Moz Spam Score isn’t proof of anything, but it is a reason to do steps 4 and 6 carefully. A low score doesn’t clear a site either. It means Moz found few of the features it associates with penalized sites.
6. Make sure the site is indexed and its old guest posts are too
- Search for an existing guest post’s exact URL. If past paid posts aren’t indexed, yours won’t be either.
- Check that older sponsored posts are still live. Some sites delete them after a few months.
7. Check the history of the domain
The registration date shows when a domain name was first registered, not who has run it since. Look at archived snapshots of the site. A sudden change of topic, language or design can mean an expired domain was bought and repurposed, which Google’s spam policies cover as expired domain abuse.
8. Evaluate the exact page, not just the domain
The domain’s metrics describe the whole site. Your link gets the page it sits on.
- Guest post: a new page starts with no links or traffic. Ask where it will be linked from (homepage, category pages, newsletter) and whether it stays there.
- Link insertion: check that specific page’s own traffic, rankings and backlinks, and whether your link fits the paragraph.
- Shared link: look at every other link on the page.
See guest post vs link insertion vs shared link for how the types compare.
9. Agree the terms in writing
Before paying, confirm the exact URL or page, how many other outbound links it will carry, the anchor text, whether the link will be qualified with rel="sponsored" or nofollow, and how long it stays live. Buy from the site owner where you can, not a reseller.
10. Weigh the price against what the evidence supports
A link is worth what it can realistically deliver: relevant readers, referral visits, and a credible mention on a page that ranks. If the evidence for those is thin, a high DA doesn’t rescue the price.
Red flags at a glance
| Red flag | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| High DA/DR, little or no organic traffic | Common pattern on sites that exist to sell links |
| Price list for links in every niche | The site serves buyers, not readers |
| Many unrelated commercial outbound links | Your link joins a bad neighbourhood |
| Medium or high Spam Score | Features Moz associates with penalized sites |
| Old guest posts deindexed or deleted | Your post may go the same way |
| Sharp topic or language change in the site’s history | Possible repurposed expired domain |
| Seller won’t name the exact page | You can’t evaluate what you’re buying |
Every analysis on this site runs the data-based parts of this checklist for you, shows the evidence, and adds checks specific to that site under Before you pay.
Questions about this guide
What is the quickest way to rule out a website?
Relevance and traffic. If the site doesn’t cover your topic, or its organic traffic is negligible or collapsing, the later checks rarely change the answer, so you can stop there.
Should I judge the page or the whole domain?
Both, but the page decides more. Domain metrics describe the whole site, while your link sits on one URL, and that URL needs to be indexed, on topic and reachable from the rest of the site for the link to count for anything.
Is one red flag enough to reject a site?
One flag is a reason to look harder; several together usually settle it. A site that sells to every niche, shows falling traffic and links out to gambling or loan pages is rarely worth the risk, whatever its DA.