Backlinks from reputable and authoritative media sources can be extremely beneficial for your website. Fortunately, it is not necessary to know a report or a media house to score a media link. HARO can be used for attaining valuable links from some of the major publications, without even knowing the editor. Skim through to learn how HARO can aid you in getting more backlinks, and how to capitalize and excel with HARO link-building campaigns.
What is HARO?
Help a Report Out (HARO) is a globally recognized online service for journalists that has turned into a key source of generating backlinks for businesses globally.
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HARO gives journalist access to a powerful database of journalists featuring latest stories and events. It also offers opportunities for businesses to access and secure exceedingly treasured media coverage.
This backlink outreach service sends out a wide range of queries by journalists at least three times a day. The queries are divided into various categories that target different industries and sectors.
Regardless of the industry you operate in, HARO helps you get authentic backlinks for promotion and publicity purposes. The more backlinks your website pages have, the more organic traffic it gets from Google.
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According to a recent study by Boni Satani, 53% of 2, 500 queries generated by reporters had a DR of more than 70%, while around 74% of the 867 queries had a DR of more than 72% as well.
How to Use HARO? A Step-By-Step Guide for Beginners
1. Register Yourself as a Source
The initial step to secure your first-ever backlink is to visit the HARO website and register yourself. Click on ‘ I am a source ‘ and then on ‘ Subscribe now ‘ to view the availability of various plans.
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Free plan, standard plan, advanced plan, and premium plan are the types of plans on the HARO website. However, the average cost of a backlink is $361.44.
Choose the plan as per your requirements, fill in the company’s information, and register yourself for further updates and emails.
2. Find as Many Opportunities as Possible
Once you have registered yourself with HARO, you will receive three different emails on a daily basis. 5:35 am, 12:35 pm, and 5:35 pm Eastern time ( ET ) will be the timings of emails from Monday to Friday.
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The queries on the email will be categorized into several segments like healthcare, construction, technology, travel, and more. You are required to look at all the queries every day and find those that suit your business requirements.
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The success of finding quality links through HARO is only achievable if you respond to the links quickly. Check your emails as soon as they become a part of your inbox.
- Choose the optimum leads: Instead of answering all the relevant queries, filter out the ones that end up giving you the best results. The lead should help you meet the goal and establish a reputation for what you want to be known for.
- Do extensive research: Not all media outlets are reliable for your business’s promotion. The digital marketing company should find the credibility and desirability of the media outlet before responding to the query.
3. Build a Successful Pitch
Responding to queries is the same as making a pitch. Journalists receive a plethora of pitches every now and then so your pitch should be unique enough to grab the attention. Make it short, sweet, and to the point.
- Provide a complete bio: Provide the biography of your company, the name of the author, and a bit of detailing about your experience.
- Add the essential details: Formulate an ideally suitable query in an original yet quotable manner. Mention all the necessary details and points in the query.
- End with a CTA: Always respond with an appealing CTA so responders can easily contact you and get back to you.
- Make backlinking easier: Provide downloadable versions of your business’s logo, headshot, and features on the website. HARO does not accept attachments so ensure to provide downloadable links.
Still confused about how to pitch? Here is Julian Goldie explaining how you can make your HARO pitch irresistible!
4. Look Out For a Replacement
Once you have made a pitch, and you are content with it you must be waiting to get a placement. Usually, journalists respond when they pick your pitch.
In case they forget, a business alert can be set up for your company’s name. You can also keep yourself updated by following the author’s feed.
How To Get More Backlinks With HARO?
While HARO is a commendable way for the exposure of your business but sometimes it gets difficult to find credible leads.
When it comes to determining the quality of backlinks, a digital marketing company looks at the website’s domain authority ( 65% ), ratings of the domain ( 48% ), and authority of pages ( 36% ).
View All the Emails in Your Inbox
Among all three emails, filter out the one that seems relevant to you. Do not limit yourself to the category you want because it will limit your possibilities.
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Go through all the available lists, and choose the ones that fit your business requirements.
Know the Rules of Using HARO
Before you respond to any query, you need to check the rules provided by HARO. Going against those rules means minimizing the potential of the pitch you make.
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Get the Best Leads
HARO is not only used for getting exposure but it can also be used for getting leads that will be helpful for your business in the long run.
Help in Growing HARO
Share the queries of HARO via email and or social media with the people who tend to have relevant experience. This practice is encouraged by HARO as it helps them grow their service.
Respond Quickly
HARO reporters get a wide range of responses every now and then so respond to the lead whenever you find it. There is a high likelihood of getting the placement quickly if you respond to the queries promptly.
Make as Many Connections as Possible
When the placement is secured, be confident enough to ask the reporters about social media connections on
If you cultivate such connections with well-renowned reports, there is a high chance that they might feature your business in other stories later.
Patience Is Key
Articles can take an extortionately long amount of time to get published so a lot of patience is required to go a long way.
Follow The Instructions
Many queries have specific instructions and following those instructions might make your business much more desirable. Responses with no requirements are often discarded.
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Don’t Go Off-Topic
It decreases credibility and might ban you from using HARO. Ensure to come up with a relevant, on-topic pitch that can be exceedingly helpful for the reporter.
Wrap Up
In order to rank your website #1 on Google you need to have 3.8x more backlinks in comparison to the top 10 websites on google.
HARO is a comprehensive service that has been helping a wide range of reporters, but it can also help your digital marketing agency greatly.
By securing highly-relevant backlinks from well-renowned media sites, you can establish the credibility of your business in the entire industry. Thus, you end up getting the publicity you need.
FAQs
1. Is HARO good for search engine optimization?
Yes! HARO is one of the optimum resources for link building. Just be quick and responsive to the queries as soon as you see them.
2. Why is HARO important?
It’s important because it’s a free service and one of the fastest ways to get media coverage.
3. Who uses HARO?
Journalists, bloggers, influencers, and other non-profit companies make use of HARO.