A Complete Guide to HARO Link Building

In 2023, Google has reached a stage of evolution where quality is the single defining factor. Nowhere more so can this be said than in the arena of link building. 

Gone are the days when you can bash out a poorly worded post on a low-value guest blog. Instead, you need to establish your brand as a genuine source of expertise in your chosen field. 

Clearly, your own content has a role to play. But in terms of offline signals, there’s no better way of achieving this than by getting cited by reputable journalists in real-world news and media publications.

In this article, we’ll explore the subject of HARO links, which are a free and effective method for generating backlinks of a near unparalleled authority and credibility in major news outlets.

We’ll explain what these are, how to sign up with HARO, and the best techniques for ensuring success.

What is HARO?

Help a Reporter Out (HARO) is a service that connects journalists and other media professionals with sources for their stories. It is designed to help reporters find expert sources, gather information and quotes, and source data for their articles, stories, and other media projects.

HARO was founded in 2008 by Peter Shankman, a public relations and marketing professional, and the service has since grown to become a popular resource for journalists and media professionals around the world. In June 2010, HARO was purchased by Vocus, Inc who then merged with media giant Cision in 2014.

How Do You Use Haro For LinkBuilding?

To use HARO, reporters can sign up for a free account and submit a request for information or sources on a specific topic. These requests are then sent to a list of subscribers, who can respond with relevant information or offer to be interviewed as a source. 

Subscribers can also search the database of requests to find juicy PR opportunities that are relevant to their expertise or interests.

To sign up as a free subscriber, simply go to HARO.com and sign up. You’ll soon be receiving daily updates around Monday through Friday at 5:35 a.m., 12:35 p.m. and 5:35 p.m. EST.

Be warned, though; there are currently 800,000 subscribers to HARO, so competition is fierce! You’ll need to be quick to respond with exactly what the journalist wants if you’ve any hope of a good link. There are also a lot of emails that come through so it’s worth setting up a dedicated folder in your inbox, plus an automatic rule or your inbox will be snowed up pretty quickly.

Haro Free Vs Paid Accounts?

HARO offers both free and paid accounts. The main difference between the two is the level of access and the number of features available to users.

Free accounts:

• Free accounts are available to anyone who signs up for the service.
• Free accounts allow users to receive three daily emails with a list of requests from reporters.
• Free accounts allow users to respond to requests and pitch their ideas or expertise as a source.
• Free accounts do not include access to the full database of requests or too advanced search and filtering features.

Paid accounts:

• Paid accounts are available for a subscription fee.
• Paid accounts allow users to receive more frequent updates and a larger volume of requests.
• Paid accounts include access to the full database of requests and to advanced search and filtering features, which can help users find opportunities that are more relevant to their expertise or interests.
• Paid accounts also include additional features, such as the ability to create custom alerts and ability to track the success of responses and pitches.

Why Haro Links are the Best Way of Building Authoritative Backlinks

One of the factors that Google considers when evaluating the quality and relevance of a website or web page for its search results is Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (EEAT), a subject they go into in some depth in their Search Rater Guidelines.

Google wants its search results to offer a compelling and trustworthy experience for browsers and, with this in mind, they task their manual review team with assessing EEAT on any given web page, especially within sensitive niches such as health and money.

Of course, being used as a genuine source by journalists is, therefore, one of the best ways possible to show Google that your brand is a force to be reckoned with.

HARO links establish credibility and authority for a website because their presence suggests that the information or ideas presented on the site are reliable, and considered trustworthy by high-profile journalists. 

You’re demonstrating your brand’s expertise in an independent publication that employs proper journalistic methods. For a Google reviewer, this is a major thumbs up.

Is there Such a Thing as a Haro Link Building Service?

While certain services advertise themselves as a Haro Link Building Service, it’s a difficult proposition to build these types of backlinks on behalf of another.

Haro is highly competitive, and what separates success stories from failure is typically the quality and speed of any response. Journalists are busy people; they want something which bolsters the quality of their article, both in the quote offered and also the credibility of the spokesperson.

This is nearly impossible to arrange on behalf of third parties which is why Dream Digital doesn’t offer HARO as a service.

Instead, we want to help you achieve this kind of growth on your own.

5 Tips for Achieving Success When Responding to HARO Source Requests?

1. Check your inbox regularly and respond to your HARO opportunity quickly as you can
2. Ensure you have a genuine in-house expert with demonstrable credibility to act as the spokesperson for your brand. If you don’t have this, you’ll need to build that relationship before any serious journalist is likely to use your brand as a source.
3. Read the journalist’s pitch carefully and respond exactly as they have requested
4. Never spam the journalists with off-topic pitches 
5. If you get a successful pitch, offer to share the published piece via your brand’s social. Ask the journalist to bear you in mind if they need sources in the future.