A guest posting list starts small and tidy, then grows into a messy sheet of domains, half-remembered prices and notes nobody can read. When that happens, you pitch the same site twice, forget which price was best, and lose good opportunities in the noise. This guide shows a simple way to organize your list with shortlists, tags and notes so it stays useful as it grows.
Why a guest posting list gets messy
Most lists fail for the same reasons:
- Domains come from many sources (marketplaces, searches, competitor backlinks) with no record of where.
- Prices are copied once and never updated.
- Rejected sites stay mixed in with good ones.
- Notes live in emails, chat messages and memory instead of the list.
The fix is not a fancier tool. It is a clear structure and a few habits.
Split your list into stages
Instead of one long list, think in stages. You can use separate tabs or a single “Stage” column.
- Prospects: every domain you have found but not yet reviewed.
- Shortlist: sites that passed your quality checks.
- In progress: sites you have pitched or ordered from.
- Live: sites where your link is published.
- Rejected: sites you decided against, with a reason.
Keeping rejected sites (instead of deleting them) saves time. When the same domain turns up again from another source, you can see at a glance that you already ruled it out and why.
Once a link is live, move it to a dedicated tracking sheet. Our guide on tracking the backlinks you buy covers the columns for that stage.
Columns for a useful guest posting list
Keep the columns focused on decisions. Here is a starting set:
| Column | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Domain | One row per site, no duplicates |
| Stage | Prospect, shortlist, in progress, live or rejected |
| Source | Where you found it (marketplace, search, competitor, outreach) |
| Tags | Topic, country, type and other labels |
| Traffic | Estimated organic traffic and trend |
| Metrics | DA, Trust Flow or whatever you use as a filter |
| Lowest price | The best current price and where it is listed |
| Price checked | The date you last checked the price |
| Contact | Editor name or email for direct deals |
| Notes | Short, specific comments |
Use tags to filter fast
Tags turn a long list into something you can slice in seconds. Keep a fixed set of tags and stick to it, otherwise you end up with “finance”, “Finance” and “fin” meaning the same thing.
Useful tag groups:
- Topic: the niche or sub-niche, such as fitness, SaaS or travel.
- Country or language: where the audience is. See guest posts in other languages if you work across markets.
- Product type: guest post, link insertion or both. Our post on guest posts vs link insertions explains the difference.
- Budget tier: for example low, mid and high, based on your own price bands.
- Sensitive niche: whether the site accepts topics like gambling or crypto, and if it charges extra for them.
With tags in place, you can answer questions like “which shortlisted German fitness sites accept link insertions under my mid budget?” with one filter.
Review your tag set every few months. Merge tags you rarely use, and add a new one only when you find yourself writing the same thing in the notes column again and again.
Write notes you will understand later
A note like “ok site” is useless three months later. Good notes are short and specific:
- “Editor replies within a week, prefers how-to articles.”
- “Traffic dropped sharply in spring, recheck before buying.”
- “Asked for a higher price than the marketplace listing.”
- “Rejected: most recent posts are unrelated sponsored content.”
Date your notes when they describe something that can change, such as traffic or price.
Keep prices current
Prices are the column that goes out of date fastest. The same site can be listed on several marketplaces at different prices, and those prices change.
Before you move a site from shortlist to in progress, check its price again. A free backlink price checker like LinkAcquire lets you paste your shortlisted domains and see offers side by side, cheapest first, so you can update the “Lowest price” and “Price checked” columns in one pass. If one listing looks far higher than the rest, our guide to spotting inflated guest post prices can help you decide.
A short weekly routine
Ten or fifteen minutes a week keeps the list healthy:
- Review new prospects and move each one to shortlist or rejected.
- Follow up on anything sitting in “in progress” for too long.
- Move published links to live and copy them to your tracking sheet.
- Recheck prices on shortlisted sites you plan to buy soon.
- Merge duplicates and fix any inconsistent tags.
If you buy placements, remember that Google asks for paid links to use rel=”sponsored” or nofollow. Many SEOs still buy followed links and accept the risk, and a tidy list makes it easier to see what you have done.
FAQ
Should I use a spreadsheet or a dedicated tool for my guest posting list?
A spreadsheet is enough for most people. What matters is consistent columns, a fixed tag set and regular updates, not the software.
How many sites should be on my shortlist?
Keep it small enough that you can review each site properly and act on it soon. Long shortlists tend to go stale before you use them.
Why keep rejected sites in the list?
So you do not review the same domain twice. A short rejection reason also helps if the site improves and you want to reconsider it later.
When your shortlist is ready, sign up for free and check current prices for every domain on it with LinkAcquire.