Buyer's scorecard
Buy curated links with a scorecard, not a hunch
Brands search your name before they answer a pitch. Links from the right sites make that search look better. This scorecard rates any donor row in under two minutes.
SEOSMMS editorial team ·
Rule of thumb
If a donor scores under 6 of 10, close the tab
A cheap link on a site your audience would never open is a loss at any price. Score first, add to the basket second.
- Seven or more: add it to the basket
- Five to six: look for a better match in the same niche
- Four or less: skip, even at $1
The scorecard
| Line | Question to ask | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Topic | Does the site cover your field, not just something nearby? | Niche column, then a visit |
| 2 Audience | Would your followers read this site? | Language and homepage |
| 3 Traffic | Is organic traffic believable for what it publishes? | Traffic column |
| 4 Authority | Is Domain Rating sensible for the price? | DR and price columns |
| 5 Neighbours | Are the other articles real, or all paid posts? | Browse five articles |
| 6 Referring domains | Does the count look natural next to the traffic? | Referring domains column |
| 7 Language | Same language as your page? | Language column |
| 8 Fit with your page | Can one sentence link to it naturally? | Your target URL |
| 9 Price | Is the cost in proportion to your whole budget? | Price column |
| 10 Gut check | Would you be happy if a brand clicked it? | Your own judgement |
Why a media kit changes the maths
Most creators send a kit as a PDF. The PDF lists followers and rates. It never lists what a stranger finds when they type your name.
That second look happens in Google. It is brief, a few seconds at most, and the first three results decide the mood. Three results from respected sites in your field say more than a polished slide. Links help those results exist and stay put.
You do not need dozens. Pick the three or four donors that would look best on a screenshot, and stop there. The scorecard keeps you honest about that.
A worked example, clearly hypothetical
Say you run a travel-photography blog. You see two rows. Row A: a camera-gear review site, English, steady traffic, DR in the 40s, $18. Row B: a general lifestyle directory, DR looks higher, $4.
Row A scores 8: topic yes, audience yes, a natural sentence about lenses links to your post, and the other articles read like real reviews. Row B scores 3, because its articles are a mix of casino and crypto posts, and no photographer's follower would ever open it.
The $4 link looks like a bargain. It is the expensive one. Buy A.
Red flags that cost a point each
- Articles on unrelated topics sit side by side on the same site
- Traffic number far above anything the content could earn
- No author names or about page on the donor
- Price that seems tiny next to a high Domain Rating
- A language that your page does not use
- Titles stuffed with exact-match keywords
After the purchase
Your order appears in ordered links with a status. When it is live, open it and read it as a stranger would.
Keep a note of date, donor, and price. Easy. After a month, glance at Search Console for the target page. For the full budgeting view see the $100 versus $1,000 plans, and for the order of operations on a new page the bio-link walkthrough helps.
Do not expect certainty. Scores reduce regret. They cannot buy you a ranking.