Publisher Selection: Compare and Choose the Best Publisher

Building a comparison set

From Saved Sites, tick up to four checkboxes and click Compare at the top of the list. This opens a side-by-side table rather than forcing you to tab between profiles and lose track of numbers.

The comparison table is the fastest way to justify a purchase to a client or teammate, since every column lines up and the strongest cell in each row is subtly highlighted.

Rows that matter most

Domain authority and referring domains sit at the top, followed by organic traffic trend, spam score and average turnaround. Price per post and whether content writing is included sit near the bottom, since they shouldn't drive the decision alone.

• Domain authority and referring domain count
• Organic traffic trend (rising vs flat vs falling)
• Spam score and outbound link ratio
• Turnaround time and content-included flag

Reading traffic trend charts

Each comparison row for traffic includes a small sparkline covering the last twelve months. A flat or rising line is far more valuable than a high absolute number that's clearly declining month over month.

Making the call

Once you've narrowed to one or two sites, click Order from the comparison row to jump straight into the order wizard with the site pre-selected, skipping the marketplace search entirely.

Why this matters

Leveraging the Compare view effectively directly translates to making informed, data-driven decisions that impact your campaign's ROI. A superficial review, or a failure to meticulously cross-reference the granular metrics within the comparison, can lead to allocating budget to a sub-optimal publisher. For instance, overlooking a consistent decline in organic traffic on an otherwise high-DR site, because you focused solely on Domain Rating, means your content might land on a platform already losing its SEO footing, diluting the potential impact of your placement and ultimately hindering your own rankings.

Conversely, a thorough comparison, scrutinising traffic trends alongside topical relevance and audience demographics (where available), allows you to identify truly valuable opportunities. Imagine you're targeting a niche audience. The Compare view helps you spot a smaller publisher with lower Domain Rating but exceptionally high, stable, and topically aligned traffic trends within your specific niche. Choosing this publisher over a larger, generic site based on the nuanced comparison will yield more qualified referral traffic and stronger contextual relevance signals for search engines, leading to better long-term SEO gains and a more efficient spend of your link building budget.

Identifying Hidden Red Flags in Comparison Data

Beyond the headline metrics, the 'Compare' view offers several data points that, when cross-referenced, can reveal underlying issues or opportunities. A common pitfall is to solely focus on absolute traffic numbers without considering the 'Organic Traffic Value' or the 'Traffic Trend' chart. A site with high traffic but a low or declining traffic value may indicate an audience with low commercial intent, or traffic driven by irrelevant keywords, making it less effective for conversions or qualified leads. Scrutinise sites where a high Domain Rating doesn't correlate with robust organic traffic, as this can suggest an over-reliance on paid traffic or an artificial link profile.

Furthermore, pay close attention to the 'Referring Domains' count relative to the 'Total Organic Keywords'. A publisher with an unusually low number of referring domains but a very high keyword count, especially if many are branded terms, could indicate an unstable or recent surge in popularity that might not be sustainable. Conversely, a consistently high 'Keywords in Top 3' percentage, even for a smaller site, indicates strong topical authority and Google's clear favour for their content within that specific niche. This nuanced interpretation prevents misjudging a site's true SEO health and potential as a publisher partner, moving beyond simple vanity metrics to evaluate actual performance and resilience.

• Discrepancy: High DR, low organic traffic.
• Anomaly: Declining traffic, stable keyword count.
• Indicator: Low referring domains, high branded keywords.
• Signal: Consistent top 3 rankings for niche terms.

Do it now

Immediately navigate to the RankLinks Compare view and load a comparison set you previously created or start a new one with 3-5 potential publishers. Focus on the 'Organic Traffic' row. Now, look for any publishers where the 'Organic Traffic Trend' chart shows a noticeable dip or flatline despite a high overall traffic figure. Cross-reference this with 'Keywords in Top 3' and 'Referring Domains' to identify if the site's ranking power is genuinely eroding or if it's a seasonal fluctuation. This exercise solidifies your ability to spot nuances beyond the surface-level numbers.

• Go to RankLinks > Compare.
• Load an existing or create a new comparison set.
• Analyse the 'Organic Traffic Trend' for dips.
• Correlate traffic trends with 'Keywords in Top 3' and 'Referring Domains'.

Key takeaways

• ✓Compare up to four saved sites at once in a single table
• ✓Weight traffic trend and spam score above raw DA
• ✓Use the sparkline to catch declining sites before buying
• ✓Jump to the order wizard directly from the comparison row

Do it now

Learn to find and judge publisher sites before spending a penny. Browse real placement inventory.