Every so often, an email lands in my inbox that reminds me just how much snake oil still circulates in the world of SEO and link building.
Today’s gem came from a guy offering me a “direct opportunity to secure a guest post on MSN.com.” For the modest sum of $299, I could apparently have a permanent, do-follow backlink from one of the world’s biggest platforms. The pitch even included the usual bullet points: high domain rating, strong traffic from the U.S. and U.K., fast turnaround, no wasted weeks, yada yada.
Sounds tempting, right? Not so fast.
Why This Is a Bad Idea
On the surface, these offers play into exactly what site owners want to hear: quick authority, instant visibility, and backlinks from huge domains. But scratch beneath that surface, and the problems pile up quickly:
- It’s not real editorial placement. If someone is selling links on MSN (or any other major site), they’re either gaming the system or outright violating policies. That makes the link worthless in the long run.
- Google isn’t dumb. Paid guest posts sold en masse are against Google’s guidelines. At best, they get ignored. At worst, they trigger penalties that damage your whole domain.
- You’re renting, not owning. Even if the link goes live, MSN (or their partners) could pull it at any moment. You’ve got no control.
- It’s money wasted. If you’re spending hundreds of dollars on shady backlinks, you’re better off putting that budget into genuine content that earns links naturally.
The Better Alternative
Instead of chasing shortcuts like this, invest in making things worth linking to:
- Publish genuinely useful articles, guides, or case studies.
- Build tools, datasets, or resources that your industry actually needs.
- Share your work across the channels you do control — your site, your network, your socials.
That’s how authority builds over time. It’s slower, yes, but it’s real. And it can’t be yanked away because some random vendor got caught selling MSN “placements.”
Final Thought
I’m not singling out the sender of this email (he’s just one of thousands). But if you get offers like this, do yourself a favour: hit delete. Don’t be the person who wastes money on something that could actually harm your site.
In 2025, the only sustainable SEO is still the boring one: publish good stuff, make it fast, and let the links follow.
It’s not 2008 any more; but the more things change, the more they stay the same, I guess.