Guest blogger links - what do you think of this?

This shouldn't be a problem if the guest blogger has done a good job on his article. Moreover, it's only a fragment of the traffic the article generated from google, and is better than having 100% of nothing.

Generally you should allow the Guest Blogger to link back to their own site in the byline. This is quid pro quo for them contributing to your blog.

Whether you allow them to link from within the body of the post depends on the relationship that you have with the blogger. I'm not sure if others will agree but I think anchor text linking within a blog post to another site can look unprofessional.

Linking to your own posts though can be a really good idea though. I think James Altchur does a really good job of this (sorry a little off topic)

You need to "pay" people who write for you. You can pay them in money, or links or some other commodity, but you need to reward them somehow.

Not if I paid him.

If I wasn't paying, then I have to ask what's in it for him, and it only seems fair that he should get credit, a photo, and a link.

However, I would prefer to give him an "about the author" page with his off-site links on it, not a direct link off every article he writes. I'd sell that idea by letting him put full contact information on it - picture, bio, FB, Twitter, email, home page, etc. In fact, I might even go so far as to let him put his opt-in form directly on his author page.

Like CDarklock said...

If you paid the guy, then he should follow whatever guidelines you agreed to before-hand. If not, then it is considerate for him to receive some form of compensation for writing for you. This compensation can come in the form of a link to one of his sites, his facebook page, twitter, etc.

Hope this helps!

Usually what I do, is to make a deal with my guest bloggers.

They get a high pr top quality backlink (I know SEO and how expensive these links are), so usually we email each other back and forth, partner up, and I end up getting 50% of their earnings (or really I can't be sure of that).

If our deal makes me at least that amount of money, I estimate their backlink is worth considering the traffic they get, I let the post stick. If not, the deal is off.

I know this might sound a bit cold and cynical, and of course other times they have something to offer in return which would suffice. Sometimes I even let my contacts and "partners" in the niche get one for free, because even so, it's not all bad for me either.

So to sum up the answer. No, I would not let a complete stranger post a link to his website just in return for a blogpost, which I could do myself in about 15 minutes. For friends, for strenghtening the bond with your partners and friends, yes, but never forget how valuable a contextual link from your site is, and use that knowledge to make a few bucks for yourself