Did you know that you can get high-quality backlinks from top media outlets for free? Yes, you read that right. You don’t need to spend a fortune on paid guest posts, sponsored articles, or shady link schemes. All you need is a little help from HARO.
HARO stands for Help a Reporter Out, and it is a platform that connects journalists and sources. Journalists use HARO to find sources for their stories, and sources use HARO to provide expert insights and get exposure and backlinks.
HARO is one of the best ways to build authoritative and natural links for your website, as you can get featured on sites like Forbes, Business Insider, Entrepreneur, and more.
In this guide, we will show you how to use HARO for link building, and share some best practices and tips to help you succeed. By the end of this guide, you will learn:
- How to get started with HARO
- How to write winning pitches for HARO
- How to track and manage your HARO links
- How to scale and automate your HARO link building process
Ready to get started? Let’s dive in!
How to Get Started with HARO
The first step to use HARO for link building is to sign up for HARO and choose the categories and frequency of the queries. HARO is free to use for sources, and you can sign up with your email address or social media account.
Once you sign up, you will be asked to select the categories that match your niche and expertise. There are more than 50 categories to choose from, ranging from business and finance to health and fitness. You can select as many categories as you want, but we recommend you be selective and only choose the ones that are relevant and suitable for your website.
You will also be asked to choose the frequency of the queries. You can opt to receive queries three times a day (morning, afternoon, and evening), once a day, or weekly. We recommend you choose the three-times-a-day option, as this will give you more opportunities and allow you to respond faster.
After you complete the signup process, you will start receiving HARO query alerts in your inbox. Each query alert will contain a list of queries from different journalists, along with their topics, deadlines, requirements, and contact information.
The next step is to filter and select the queries that are relevant and suitable for your niche and expertise. You don’t have to respond to every query, as this will be time-consuming and ineffective. Instead, you should focus on the queries that match the following criteria:
- The query is related to your niche and expertise, and you can provide valuable and credible information.
- The query is from a reputable and authoritative media outlet, and the link will be beneficial for your website.
- The query has a reasonable deadline, and you can respond in time.
To help you filter and select the queries, you can use some tools such as Gmail filters, Boomerang, or SaneBox. These tools can help you organize your inbox, prioritize your queries, and set reminders for your responses.
Here are some examples of good and bad queries, and why they are good or bad:
Good query:
“I’m looking for SEO experts to share their best tips on how to optimize a website for voice search. Please provide your name, title, website, and a brief bio, along with your tip and an explanation of why it works. The deadline is tomorrow at 5 pm EST. The article will be published on Search Engine Journal.”
This query is good because it is related to your niche and expertise, it is from a reputable and authoritative media outlet, and it has a reasonable deadline.
Bad query:
“I’m looking for sources who can share their personal stories of how they overcame anxiety and depression. Please provide your name, age, location, and a detailed description of your experience. The deadline is in two hours. The article will be published on a personal blog.”
This query is bad because it is not related to your niche and expertise, it is not from a reputable and authoritative media outlet, and it has a tight deadline.
How to Write Winning Pitches for HARO
The next step in using HARO for link building is to write effective pitches that will catch the attention and interest of the journalists. Your pitch is your chance to showcase your expertise and value and convince the journalist to choose you as a source.
To write winning pitches for HARO, you need to follow the 4 Cs: clear, concise, credible, and courteous. Here is what each C means and how to apply it:
- Clear: Your pitch should be clear and easy to understand, and answer the query directly and completely. You should use simple and straightforward language, and avoid jargon and technical terms. You should also use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation, and format your pitch with paragraphs, bullet points, and headings.
- Concise: Your pitch should be concise and to the point, and only include the information that is relevant and necessary. You should avoid rambling and repeating yourself, and keep your pitch within the word limit specified by the journalist. You should also respect the deadline, and send your pitch as soon as possible.
- Credible: Your pitch should be credible and trustworthy, and demonstrate your authority and expertise. You should provide your name, title, website, and a brief bio, along with any credentials, awards, or achievements that are relevant to the query. You should also provide facts, statistics, examples, or case studies to support your claims, and cite your sources if applicable.
- Courteous: Your pitch should be courteous and professional, and show respect and appreciation to the journalist. You should use a polite and friendly tone, and address the journalist by their name if possible. You should also follow the guidelines and requirements of the query, and avoid being pushy or spammy.
Here are some examples of good and bad pitches, and why they are good or bad:
Good pitch:
Hi John,
I’m an SEO expert and the founder of SEO Master, a website that helps businesses rank higher on Google. I have over 10 years of experience in the SEO industry, and I have been featured on Forbes, Entrepreneur, and Moz.
I would love to share my best tip on how to optimize a website for voice search. Here it is:
- Use natural and conversational language. Voice search users tend to use longer and more specific queries, and they expect natural and conversational answers. Therefore, you should use natural and conversational language on your website, and match the intent and tone of your target audience. You can use tools like Answer the Public or AlsoAsked to find out what questions your audience is asking, and use them as keywords and headings on your website.
This tip works because it helps you create content that is relevant and engaging for your audience, and that matches the way they search and speak. This will improve your user experience, and increase your chances of ranking higher on voice search results.
I hope this tip is helpful for your article. If you need more information or have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Best,
{{your_name}}
This pitch is good because it is clear, concise, credible, and courteous. It answers the query directly and completely, it provides the name, title, website, and a brief bio of the source, it provides a tip and an explanation of why it works, and it uses a polite and friendly tone.
Bad pitch:
“Hey,
I know a lot about SEO and I can help you with your article. Here is my tip:
- Use keywords. Keywords are important for SEO and voice search. You should use keywords on your website and optimize them for voice search. You can use tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush to find keywords and optimize them.
This tip is awesome and it will make your website rank higher on voice search.
Please use my tip and give me a link to my website. My website is www.bestseoever.com and it is the best SEO website ever.
Thanks.
{{your_name}}
This pitch is bad because it is not clear, concise, credible, or courteous. It does not answer the query directly and completely, it does not provide the name, title, website, or a brief bio of the source, it provides a vague and generic tip without any explanation of why it works, and it uses a pushy and spammy tone.
How to Track and Manage Your HARO Links
The next step to use HARO for link building is to track and measure the results of your HARO link building efforts, and manage and maintain your HARO links. This step is important to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of your HARO link building strategy, and to leverage your HARO links for further opportunities.
To track and measure the results of your HARO link building efforts, you need to use tools such as Google Analytics, Ahrefs, or SEMrush. These tools can help you monitor the performance and authority of your website, and the traffic and rankings of your HARO links. You can use these tools to find out:
- How many HARO links you have acquired, and from which media outlets
- How much traffic and referral traffic you have received from your HARO links
- How your HARO links have affected your domain authority and page authority
- How your HARO links have influenced your keyword rankings and organic traffic
- How your HARO links have improved your brand awareness and reputation
You can use these metrics to evaluate the return on investment (ROI) of your HARO link building efforts and to identify the areas of improvement and optimization.
To manage and maintain your HARO links, you need to follow some best practices, such as:
- Thanking the journalists for featuring you as a source, and expressing your gratitude and appreciation
- Sharing the articles that contain your HARO links on your social media platforms, and tagging the journalists and the media outlets
- Monitoring the status and quality of your HARO links, and reporting any issues or errors to the journalists
- Building relationships with the journalists and the media outlets, and offering them more value and insights for future collaborations
These best practices can help you manage and maintain your HARO links, and leverage them for further opportunities. You can use your HARO links to:
- Boost your credibility and authority in your niche, and showcase your expertise and value
- Attract more traffic and leads to your website, and convert them into customers
- Reach out to more journalists and media outlets, and pitch them more ideas and stories
- Diversify your link profile, and improve your SEO and ranking
How to Scale and Automate Your HARO Link Building Process
The final step to use HARO for link building is to scale and automate your HARO link building process and increase your results and efficiency. This step is optional, but it can help you save time and money, and achieve more with less.
To scale and automate your HARO link building process, you need to use tools such as Pitchbox, HARO Helper, or LinkBuilder. These tools can help you automate and streamline your HARO link building tasks, such as:
- Finding and filtering the queries that are relevant and suitable for your niche and expertise
- Writing and sending pitches that are clear, concise, credible, and courteous
- Tracking and measuring the results and impact of your HARO link building efforts
- Managing and maintaining your HARO links and relationships with journalists and media outlets
These tools can help you scale and automate your HARO link building process, and reduce the manual work and hassle involved. You can use these tools to:
- Increase the number and quality of your HARO links, and get featured on more media outlets
- Improve the response rate and success rate of your pitches, and get more publications and mentions
- Optimize the ROI and performance of your HARO link building strategy, and grow your website and business
- Focus on the core and strategic aspects of your HARO link building process, and delegate the rest
Wrapping Up
HARO is one of the best ways to use HARO for link building, and get high-quality backlinks from top media outlets for free. HARO can help you boost your credibility and authority in your niche, attract more traffic and leads to your website, and improve your SEO and ranking.
To use HARO for link building, you need to follow these steps:
- Get started with HARO, and choose the categories and frequency of the queries
- Write winning pitches for HARO, and follow the 4 Cs: clear, concise, credible, and courteous
- Track and manage your HARO links, and measure the results and impact of your HARO link building efforts
- Scale and automate your HARO link building process, and increase your results and efficiency
We hope this guide has helped you learn how to use HARO for link building, and inspired you to try it for yourself. If you need help with your HARO link building strategy, or want to learn more about our link building service, please feel free to contact us.
