An expert roundup post is a content format that collects brief answers, opinions, or tips from multiple industry experts on a single topic, compiling them into one comprehensive article. Typically, the publisher sends a question to a group of experts (10-30 is common), collects their responses, and publishes them in a single post with attribution. Expert roundups are a link building technique because the featured experts — incentivised by the promotion — frequently share and link to the article, each generating social shares and potentially backlinks from their own sites.
Expert roundups have declined in effectiveness from their peak in 2018-2021 as the technique became overused and many 'experts' queried were not genuinely authoritative. However, roundups from genuinely reputable contributors — practitioners with proven track records, measurable results, and recognisable names in the industry — remain valuable for both link building and E-E-A-T signaling.
How to create a high-quality expert roundup
- Choose experts carefully — prioritise practitioners with genuine expertise over high follower counts without substance
- Ask a specific, interesting question — avoid generic 'what advice do you have for beginners?' in favour of 'what is the single most underrated content marketing tactic that consistently outperforms for your clients?'
- Keep the question focused — one precise question produces better responses than multi-part questions
- Edit for quality — curate the best responses rather than including every submission regardless of quality
- Give attribution with links — link to each contributor's website and LinkedIn; this motivates sharing
- Notify contributors when published — give them the social sharing content as a direct link to their section
- Promote actively — a roundup with 20 contributors and 20 shares/links can generate significant initial traffic
Yes — if done well, with genuinely authoritative contributors. Low-quality roundups featuring anyone who responds regardless of genuine expertise have become ineffective. High-quality roundups featuring practitioners whose opinions are genuinely valued — with contributions that show real insight rather than generic advice — still earn links, social shares, and genuine authority. The bar has risen: curating 8 genuinely excellent responses from recognised practitioners outperforms publishing 40 average responses from semi-anonymous contributors.
The quality of contributors matters more than the quantity. A roundup with 10 genuinely respected industry practitioners will outperform one with 40 marginal contributors for both content quality and link building effectiveness. Practical ranges: 10-20 contributors for a high-quality roundup; 5-10 for a more curated 'expert panel' format. Very large roundups (50+) have become clichéd and are frequently perceived as link farming rather than genuine editorial curation.