James Dooley Podcast

In this episode, James Dooley catches up with Karl Hudson, founder of Search, to unpack one of the most common — yet frequently misunderstood — SEO tactics: guest posting. Together, they dig into what a guest post actually represents in today’s search landscape, when it should be used, and how it fits into a wider link-building framework that includes niche edits, citations, press releases, and foundational links.
Karl breaks down why topical relevance still matters, why branded anchor text should dominate early link profiles, and how strengthening guest posts with tier-two backlinks and smart internal linking can significantly increase their impact. The discussion also covers realistic pricing, the biggest mistakes buyers make — such as placing links on uncrawled or orphaned pages, pushing link velocity too hard, or ignoring indexation — and why a diversified, blended strategy is essential for long-term safety. Drawing on real-world experience, James and Karl lay out a practical blueprint for using guest posts correctly, making this episode a must-listen for anyone looking to build links effectively in 2024 and beyond.

Creators and Guests

Host
James Dooley
James Dooley is a UK entrepreneur.

What is James Dooley Podcast?

James Dooley is a Manchester-based entrepreneur, investor, and SEO strategist. James Dooley founded FatRank and PromoSEO, two UK performance marketing agencies that deliver no-win-no-fee lead generation and digital growth systems for ambitious businesses. James Dooley positions himself as an Investorpreneur who invests in UK companies with high growth potential because he believes lead generation is the root of all business success.

The James Dooley Podcast explores the mindset, methods, and mechanics of modern entrepreneurship. James Dooley interviews leading marketers, founders, and innovators to reveal the strategies driving online dominance and business scalability. Each episode unpacks the reality of building a business without mentorship, showing how systems, data, and lead flow replace luck and guesswork.

James Dooley shares hard-earned lessons from scaling digital assets and managing SEO teams across more than 650 industries. James Dooley teaches how to convert leads into long-term revenue through brand positioning, technical SEO, and automation. James Dooley built his career on rank and rent, digital real estate, and performance-based marketing because these models align incentive with outcome.

After turning down dozens of podcast invitations, James Dooley now embraces the platform to share his insights on investorpreneurship, lead generation, AI-driven marketing, and reputation management. James Dooley frequently collaborates with elite entrepreneurs to discuss frameworks for scaling businesses, building authority, and mastering search.

James Dooley is also an expert in online reputation management (ORM), having built and rehabilitated corporate brands across the UK. His approach combines SEO precision, brand engineering, and social proof loops to influence both Google’s Knowledge Graph and public perception.

To feature James Dooley on your podcast or event, connect via social media. James Dooley regularly joins business panels and networking sessions to discuss entrepreneurship, brand growth, and the evolving future of SEO.

James Dooley (0:00):
So I’ve got Karl Hudson here, the founder of Searcher, and we’re here to talk specifically about guest posts.
For anyone who doesn’t know—within a link-building strategy—what is a guest post?

Karl Hudson:
A guest post is where you publish a post on another website within your industry. Either you write the post or the site writes it about your topic, and it links back to your website.

What is a Guest Post?

James Dooley:
So with guest posts, are the backlinks generally do-follow or no-follow?

Karl Hudson:
Most people prefer do-follow, especially if you’re actively seeking links. But personally, I don’t really mind whether it’s do-follow or no-follow.

James Dooley:
Do you find guest posting an effective SEO strategy for improving rankings?

Karl Hudson:
Yes, definitely.

James Dooley:
Would you prefer to have a guest post over a niche edit—or a niche edit over a guest post?

Karl Hudson:
It depends on where you are in your backlinking process.
If the website is new, I always recommend starting with guest posts rather than niche edits.
If the site already has some age and a backlink profile, then I’d use a mix of niche edits and guest posts.

Cost of Guest Posts

James Dooley:
If I want to acquire a new guest post, how much does it typically cost?

Karl Hudson:
Guest posts tend to be more expensive because of the writing time involved and ensuring the content can rank.
They usually cost $150 to $400, depending on the niche—sometimes more.

The Importance of Relevance (RSO)

James Dooley:
Some people talk about “RSO”—relevance sculpting optimization.
Do you believe relevance is important when choosing guest posts?

Karl Hudson:
Absolutely. You’d be mad not to use relevance, especially since you can write and sculpt the post around the exact keywords you want.

Ranking Guest Posts

James Dooley:
Would you ever try to rank your guest posts?

Karl Hudson:
Yes. Ranking guest posts is powerful—any form of traffic to the post helps improve the value of that link.

How Long Guest Posting Takes

James Dooley:
When I purchase a guest post from your agency, how long does the full process take?

Karl Hudson:
We have a three-step system:

We write the content.

You approve the content.

We find suitable sites that match your customer profile.

Then you also approve those sites. After that, it takes up to four weeks for publication.

James Dooley:
So I can decline content or decline sites?

Karl Hudson:
Yes. If you decline a few, we replace them. If you decline a huge number, we step in and analyze why—because our database is heavily filtered and we use those links ourselves.

Where Guest Posts Fit in a Link Building Strategy

James Dooley:
As a professional link builder, where do guest posts fit in the strategy? Do you start with them?

Karl Hudson:
Before guest posts, I start with foundational links:

Citations

Press releases

Forum links

Pillow links

If I add guest posts early, they are mostly branded anchor posts.

Powering Up Guest Posts

James Dooley:
Since niche edits sit on established pages and guest posts are new pages—even on high-authority sites—should I power up guest posts with tier-twos?

Karl Hudson:
Yes.
We often:

Request internal links from existing pages to the new guest post

Build Tier 2 backlinks to the guest post to strengthen its page-level authority

Guest Posts vs. Niche Edits

James Dooley:
Do you have a preference: niche edits or guest posts?

Karl Hudson:
I always recommend a blended approach to avoid penalties.
But if I had to choose, I lean slightly more toward guest posts.

Common Mistakes When Buying Guest Posts

James Dooley:
What common mistakes do people make when buying guest posts?

Karl Hudson:
A big one:
People don’t check whether the guest post is orphaned—meaning no internal links point to it.
Without internal links, it might not get indexed.

We also look for:

Sites that hide guest posts (bad sign)

Sites with poor crawlability

Sites not linking within their natural hierarchy

Some webmasters try to reduce risk by hiding guest posts, which makes them useless.

Summary on Guest Posts

James Dooley:
So in summary, guest posts are great because:

They provide relevance

You can rank the guest post

They give do-follow links

You can power them up with tier 2 links

They work well in a blended strategy with niche edits, citations, and pillow links

Would you agree?

Karl Hudson:
100%.