During a strategic call with Posticy, a Marketer raised a question that helped shape our approach to choosing publishing websites.
He already used Domain Authority, Domain Rating and organic traffic to assess potential placements. Those metrics were useful, but he wanted an additional KPI to support his purchasing decisions.
The conversation was about what could add value beyond the familiar SEO numbers. Could we bring together information about the website, its price and its performance on Posticy to help a Marketer decide where to publish?
We agreed that this was a sensitive topic. A score can influence where someone spends their budget. Its meaning needs to be clear, particularly when some information is available before an Order and other evidence only emerges after a placement has been delivered.
That conversation helped inspire the Posticy Quality Score. Its first version combines authority, traffic, performance on Posticy and price into one comparison signal.
Here is how to use it when building your shortlist.
Start with relevance
Before comparing scores, ask whether the website makes sense for your article and the audience you want to reach.
Check its topics, language, country and publication requirements. Read recent articles to understand what it publishes and how your content would fit. Review the offered link attributes and placement terms.
For example, a software company comparing a general lifestyle website with a specialist technology publication may find that the technology audience is a closer match. A higher score on the lifestyle website does not settle that decision.
Relevance remains a separate judgment. The Quality Score does not include language, country or link type, so you should review those details yourself. Our guide to finding high-DA websites and evaluating publishers explains how to assess a shortlist beyond its authority figures.
Use authority as one signal
Ahrefs Domain Rating and Moz Domain Authority help you compare domain strength. They are useful inputs, but they cannot answer every question about a placement.
A strong domain may have limited traffic. It may charge substantially more than comparable websites. Its Publisher may also have little delivery history on Posticy.
The Quality Score brings these other signals into the comparison. Authority contributes up to 40 points, while traffic, Trust and price contribute the remaining 60.
That makes the score a useful starting point for looking beyond a single metric. Choosing solely by authority is also one of the guest posting mistakes to avoid when planning a campaign.
Compare what you get for the price
Imagine two hypothetical websites that both fit your campaign:
- Website A has higher domain authority, limited traffic and a €300 placement price.
- Website B has moderate authority, stronger traffic and a €150 placement price.
Neither is automatically the better choice. Website A may offer a particularly suitable editorial environment. Website B may give you a more affordable way to reach a relevant audience.
The Quality Score helps you investigate that tradeoff. Its Price pillar compares a website’s placement price with comparable websites, while its other pillars account for authority, traffic and performance.
Price contributes only 10 points. A cheap placement therefore cannot achieve a high score through price alone.
For your campaign, also consider how each option fits your total budget. One expensive placement and several smaller placements create different opportunities, even when their individual scores are similar. See our guest posting campaign planning and budgeting guide for putting individual placements into a wider plan.
Look at the Publisher’s performance
SEO metrics describe the website. A placement also depends on the Publisher fulfilling the accepted Order.
The Trust pillar considers the website’s closed-order record, Marketer ratings and delivery reliability. This adds information about activity on Posticy to the external domain and traffic metrics.
For time-sensitive campaigns, that record can help you decide which websites deserve closer consideration. You should still review the delivery terms and make sure your article meets the Publisher’s requirements before submitting a Proposal.
New websites begin with a neutral Trust baseline. Limited history means there is less evidence to assess, so review their listing and requirements carefully rather than assuming they will perform poorly.
Read the score in context
In the Marketplace, a Quality Score of 0.70 means 70 out of 100. The badge’s hover information shows the full score and tier.
Use that number to organise your shortlist, then investigate the differences between websites. Two websites with similar totals may have different strengths: one may score better for authority, another for traffic or value.
The score also changes as the underlying information changes. Updated SEO metrics, closed Orders, ratings and price changes can affect the result.
A score is therefore a comparison based on available data. It does not guarantee search rankings, traffic or the outcome of an Order.
A practical shortlist process
- Filter for fit. Start with relevant topics, language, country and budget.
- Compare Quality Scores. Use the score to identify websites worth reviewing.
- Inspect the details. Check authority, traffic, price and available performance information.
- Read the requirements. Confirm accepted content, link attributes and delivery terms.
- Choose for your campaign. Balance relevance, expected value and budget before submitting a Proposal.
Keep the Quality Score within that process. It helps you compare options consistently while leaving room for the editorial and audience judgments that matter to your campaign.
Once you have selected a suitable Publisher, prepare an article that fits its audience and brief. If you need help with that step, Posticy Studio’s copywriting service can help prepare the content. Writing is a separate service and does not change a website’s Quality Score.
For the pillars, weights, tiers and scoring details, read How the Posticy Quality Score Works.
Why this is version 1
The strategic call also highlighted an important distinction: what can a KPI tell you before purchasing, and what can it tell you after Orders have been completed?
Before a purchase, domain metrics, traffic estimates and price provide comparison signals. After Orders close, delivery history and Marketer ratings add evidence about performance on Posticy. A website with little Order history naturally has less of that evidence available.
Version 1 brings these inputs together as a practical starting point. It does not measure the SEO return of an individual placement or predict what a future Order will achieve. We will use experience and feedback to assess how the KPI can become more useful over time.
Thank you to the Marketer who brought this idea into our strategic call. His request for an additional decision-making KPI helped shape this first version.