Quick answer: HARO (Help a Reporter Out) emails journalist and blogger queries to sources who might have expertise. You reply with concise, quotable answers. When a journalist uses your contribution, you may earn a mention and often a link back to your site. Treat it as earned media and relationship work, not a bulk link scheme. Quality pitches and real expertise beat volume.
Link building has a bad reputation because so much of it is spam. HARO-style journalist requests are different when you behave like a source, not a link vendor.
How HARO fits into SEO in 2018
Search engines still use links as one signal of which pages matter. Links from news sites, trade publications and respected blogs can help, especially when they sit on relevant articles people actually read.
HARO does not guarantee links. Many queries get dozens of replies; only a few sources appear in the finished piece. Some mentions are branded text without a link. That is still useful PR. Track mentions and links separately.
This work sits beside clearer on-page practice such as solid anchor text on your own site and fixing crawl errors so earned traffic can land cleanly.
Setting up without drowning in email
HARO sends batches of queries (commonly multiple times per day). To stay sane:
- Sign up with an accurate profile of topics you can speak on.
- Filter categories hard. Only subscribe to beats you can answer with authority.
- Skim subject lines quickly; archive the rest.
- Block a short daily window for pitching rather than reacting all day.
- Keep a swipe file of approved bios, stats you can share, and past quotes.
If your company has subject-matter experts (founder, engineer, clinician), route relevant queries to them. Journalists want the person with the experience, not a rewritten marketing paragraph.
What a strong HARO reply looks like
Journalists are busy. Your reply should be easy to lift.
Subject line: clear and specific, often including the query title or a tight angle.
Opening: one line on why you are relevant (role, years in field, concrete context). Skip fluff.
The answer: short paragraphs or bullets that directly answer the question. Include a quotable line. Avoid sales copy and keyword stuffing.
Optional proof: a public data point, a method, or a brief example you are allowed to share. Do not invent statistics.
Bio and contact: name, title, company, site URL, phone or email, and headshot if requested. Make linking easy by including the preferred URL once, naturally.
Speed: many queries close fast. A good reply in an hour often beats a perfect reply tomorrow.
Topics that tend to work for service businesses
- Explanations of processes buyers misunderstand
- Seasonal or timely commentary where you have real exposure
- Mistakes you see repeatedly in your field
- How-to detail that only practitioners know
- Local or industry-specific angles for trade press
Avoid pitching on topics where you have no experience. One inaccurate quote can damage trust with that journalist forever.
Tracking pitches and results
Keep a simple sheet:
- Date and query title
- Outlet if known
- Who replied from your team
- Status (sent, published, linked, mention only, ignored)
- URL of the published piece
- Notes for follow-up
When a piece goes live, thank the journalist briefly. Do not immediately ask for another link. Build a short list of reporters who cover your beat and treat them like professional contacts.
Combining HARO with other digital PR
HARO is one channel. Others include:
- Original data or surveys you publish and pitch
- Expert commentary for industry newsletters
- Helpful resources journalists already cite (calculators, definitions, public datasets)
- Local news angles for brick-and-mortar stories
If your site also needs local visibility, press mentions complement Google My Business posts and review work rather than replacing them.
Risks and bad patterns
- Spray-and-pray identical pitches to every query. Reporters notice.
- Thin affiliate or casino-style sites pitching as “experts”. That damages the channel for everyone and can look manipulative.
- Demanding a dofollow link in the pitch. You can make linking easy; you cannot order editorial policy.
- Buying “HARO link packages” from strangers. You want editorial placement you can stand behind.
- Ignoring disclosure when you have a material connection the journalist should know about.
Google’s link schemes guidelines still apply to manipulative patterns. Earned editorial links from genuine commentary are the point of this channel.
Measuring business value
Look beyond domain metrics:
- Referral visits from the article
- Branded search lift after major coverage
- Leads that mention the article
- Relationship value with a reporter who may return
A single excellent trade publication link can outperform dozens of low-quality directory links. Patience beats chasing daily link counts.
Building a reusable expert kit
Before you scale pitching, assemble assets your team can reuse:
- A 50-word bio and a 120-word bio
- A high-resolution headshot on a plain background
- Three proof points you are allowed to share publicly (methods, ranges, anonymised patterns)
- Preferred URL for each major topic (service page or guide, not only the homepage)
- A one-page “what we will not claim” list so juniors do not invent numbers under deadline pressure
Store these in a shared folder. The fastest way to miss a good query is hunting for a headshot while the deadline passes.
On-site readiness when traffic arrives
A press link that sends curious readers to a slow or confusing page wastes the win. Before a big pitch push:
- Confirm the destination URL loads on mobile
- Make the next step obvious (newsletter, guide, contact)
- Remove outdated offers from the linked page
- Check that analytics tags fire so you can see referral traffic
Technical hygiene such as HTTPS and clean indexing supports every channel, including PR referrals. Pair outreach with the same standards you use for organic landing pages.
Internal links after a win
When a press piece goes live, update a relevant guide on your site with a natural citation to the coverage if it helps readers. Keep your own anchor text honest. Also check that the landing page you shared still matches the quote context so new visitors are not confused.
FAQ
Is HARO free?
There has long been a free source tier with email alerts; paid tiers may add filters or tools depending on the product offering at the time you sign up. Confirm current plans on the official site.
Do all HARO links help SEO?
Editorial links on real articles are generally the ones worth earning. Noindex or spammy mirror sites are not the goal. Judge the publisher the way a reader would.
How many pitches should I send per week?
Only as many as you can answer well. Three thoughtful replies beat thirty generic ones.
What if they use my quote without a link?
That still builds brand presence. You can politely share a preferred URL next time; do not harangue the writer.
Earn attention like a source, not a spammer
HARO link building works when you offer journalists something they can use: clear expertise, fast responses and quotable insight. Keep filters tight, track outcomes, and fold wins into a wider PR and SEO programme.
If you want help pairing digital PR with technical and on-page search work, our search visibility service covers content, crawl health and earned visibility as one system rather than isolated tactics.
