Bas van den Beld

Hi Steve, I will indeed be doing a case study on it and we'll even do a hangout talking about site migrations.

@Patrick, we are far from a 'generic tech blog' actually. Yes we now look at more than search, but it is more about the combination of things. Search needs other channels and other channels need search, so we want to get these channels interacting more and better. I've explained it more here: http://www.stateofdigital.com/concept-of-state-of-digital/

Also we are taking an approach which will not only help that but also will make sure the search marketers get what they want, or any other marketer for that matter. We are labelling articles with job roles, meaning that you actually don't have to be 'bothered' by articles which don't fit your specific needs. 

And we still have the same writing team on board as well, so the content from them will be as great as ever :) 

webmaster @ stateofsearch will get it to me :)

Show me one David.

Hi Anthony, 

yes, I agree the title could make for a misunderstanding. As well as the line on the about page. That was there for the e-mails I was getting (which didn't make a difference btw). But last week at BrightonSEO I was also (again) targeted in person by people I didn't know who were almost 'throwing' guest posts in my face. That combined with some developments I am seeing in the market made me decide today I would close it all together for requests, friends or no friends.

It is similar to how link requests were made and the stance people made indeed. But I do feel there is more to this.

Marketers (whether its inside or outside search) are too easily embracing tactics, without properly thinking about the consequences. Now guest posting is the new hype. Yes, I could have just written that: think about it, but my experience is that making a stance like this has more impact and makes people think more. That's what I hope will happen.

And you know what :). To be honest, I don't think guest posting is the solution tactic for many businesses. Reaching out to those who are influential is much more valuable. But that is a different discussion :)

Hi, just getting into this discussion. I'd like to add something to clarify my post (I am the writer). 

First things first however. Bill Sebald, you mentioned a non-approved comment? Is that on State of Search, because I am not seeing that.

One thing I am not doing is not looking at young talent anymore. I think State of Search is the living proof of how talent does get a chance to blog. If you read the post you will notice a couple of things:

I am not saying "no" to guest posts period, I am saying "no" to guest post requests. The trend at the moment is too many guest posts going around which are just aimed at getting your profile out or getting the link. It is not JUST about the link anymore (Anthony), it is also about authorship and much more.

I will still be putting up guest posts, but with a specific aim, not because someone asks, but because I believe for example the person is talented. I am all for talent development, anyone who knows me will acknowledge that. And I believe this way will actually benefit new talent. You will be seeing new talent coming onto the site soon. Just like you could have seen new talent coming in the past years. Each blogger on State of Search started out with a relatively low profile (few exceptions) and we helped them create a profile.

The most important message here is not 'do not guest post', it is 'think about who gets to write'. Keeping things open for guest post requests would mean going with a trend which is making that content quality is going down (in general). I want to go for the quality. And that is WITH new talent, because they will ALWAYS have a chance with me. Just with a different approach.

Must read post for anyone in the industry