You might have heard about backlinks if you are a part of the digital marketing world. A website’s performance can skyrocket with the help of backlinks. In reality, it’s hard to get a free backlink for a homepage.
Why?
Let’s dig deeper. Most websites put commercial products on the homepage. And no webmaster wants to refer your sales page for free. They will ask for money. In this case, HARO can be the best solution.
When it comes to earning quality backlinks for free, HARO is the best option. In fact, it’s more effective than the Skyscraper SEO technique. This Brian Dean technique doesn’t work properly all the time, especially at the initial stage.
When you implement this technique, there’s no guarantee of earning backlinks.However, things are different with HARO. Here, you will approach reporters directly. Plus, using this trick will save a lot of time. If you have no idea about HARO, we will help you out.
In this guide, we will share the basics of HARO. Plus, you will also learn how to use this platform to get high-authority backlinks for your website. Make sure you read each point carefully. So, let’s get started.
HARO stands for ‘Help a Reporter Out’. Well, it’s a very popular platform among journalists, bloggers, and influencers. By using HARO, a journalist can get public feedback. According to the official website, HARO has over 1 million sources, 75,000+ journalists, and bloggers.
On the other hand, some of the top media outlets including Fox News, Time, The New York Times, and ABC are using HARO. Hence, it’s a huge platform. If you follow the right steps, this platform will be a big help to promote your business. So, how could HARO help you when you are not a journalist?
To answer this, we have to think deeply. You can find journalists using this platform for daily queries. Most bloggers, website owners, and marketers answer those queries. If a journalist likes your answer, they will mention you.
Moreover, you can also reach out to them to get a backlink. Using HARO is a new way of building public relations. If you want to grow your website, you have to choose this method. When you get quoted in the media, it will give positive exposure to your site.
Well, HARO isn’t only about link building. There are so many things you can explore on this platform. In simple words, it will help you out in several ways. Let’s find out about the top benefits of HARO:
⦁ Niche Specific Audience — By using this platform, you can find the target audience based on your niche.
⦁ Increases Industry Visibility — As a newbie website owner, you have to increase online visibility. When you use HARO, it will help you gain industry visibility.
⦁ Drives Traffic — A great way to drive targeted traffic to your website. As we noted above, there are so many reputed media outlets available on this platform. If you get quoted, it will help your site a lot.
⦁ Free Publicity — One of the top benefits of using HARO is you can get free publicity. Even though you don’t have a website, you can improve your social media accounts.
⦁ Branding — No matter if you want to promote your social media account or small business, HARO can be the best platform for branding.
⦁ Collaboration — Many journalists like to work with bloggers and influencers. And it’s a good chance to build your business.
⦁ Build Relation — HARO lets you meet many well-known journalists, reporters, bloggers, business individuals, and influencers. You can build relationships by using the platform regularly.
Now you know the benefits of using HARO. If you are ready to use this website to grow your business, you have to follow the right steps. In the following list, we will share the step by step guide to use HARO for getting backlinks for your site. Let’s find out:
1. Focus on Your Niches
The best thing about HARO is there are several niches available. In this case, it can be a bit tricky. If you have a niche website, make sure you focus on the niche. On the other hand, if your website has more than one niche, you can use them as well. When you focus on your topic, it will be easy to answer the queries. Plus, you will be consistent when you are focusing on your niche.
2. Go For Relevant Sites
As we noted before, HARO has over 75,000 journalists and bloggers. That means there will be several websites. However, all these websites aren’t good for you. In this case, you have to choose relevant sites. When you choose the right site, you will get a more targeted audience. On the other hand, don’t go for low DA websites. Here, you have to check each site’s relevancy carefully.
3. Check Requirements
After creating an account, HARO will share an email with featured queries related to your topics. Go to your Gmail inbox and check all these questions. However, all these questions aren’t relevant to your site or industry.
Before you pitch one, you have to check all the requirements. Take time and study all requirements before pitching and writing your answer. You can also check the journalist’s website to know more details.
4. Filter & Pitch
It’s an important step before you write an answer. As we noted above, HARO will send a lot of featured queries related to your topic. However, most of them aren’t relevant. In this case, you have to filter your email first.
To do this, go to the search bar on your Gmail and write ‘HARO + topic’. For example, if you have a yoga website, write HARO Yoga on the search bar. So, you can get all the filtered emails.
5. Keep Your Answer Short
Now you have checked the requirements and filtered emails. It’s time to write your answer. Well, it’s not easy to write an engaging answer on this platform. Many people will write an answer for the same query.
If you are a newbie, you can read other answers before. On the other hand, you have to keep the answer short and engaging. Make sure you focus on the point. Plus, don’t write about the topic. A HARO answer has to be between 2–3 paragraphs.
6. Be Professional
No matter if you are a beginner or a pro, you have to be professional while writing an answer. HARO is known for professional reporters. And if you want to get featured on a high authority site, you have to maintain it.
Plus, you have to read all the details before writing an answer. To attract the journalist, you can add data as well. It will help your answer to stand out.
7. Be Unique While Writing The Answer
Now, writing the answer is an art. When you find the right queries, make sure you take the time to find what the journalist is looking for. Plus, we have already mentioned that there will be so many answers. So, you have to choose something unique.
Keep your writing as simple as possible. Avoid grammar and spelling mistakes. On the other hand, make sure you don’t send attachments while pitching. Plus, you can also reuse previous content. In fact, you can use data from your own website.
8. Track Your Responses
When you have answered the question, it’s time to track the responses. In most cases, you will not get an instant response. Most journalists on HARO get too many responses every day. Don’t expect success for all your answers.
To track your responses, you can use a sheet. It will be easier to understand everything. It can take more than one month to get a link back from HARO. So, be patient after writing the answer. In some cases, you have to wait for six months.
9. Track Link Placement
As we noted above, it will take time to get a link, especially when it’s a high authority website. If you get the link, make sure you check the placement. It will help you measure the conversion rate. If the journalist places the link on the right page, it will help your site to get more traffic.
If you are starting your blogging career, you have to think out of the box. Besides traditional methods, you can implement advanced techniques. Well, HARO is very good for getting quality backlinks.
Make sure you follow the above-mentioned methods to reach out to journalists. And you also have to be patient with everything. Don’t expect a miracle overnight. At the initial stage, you have to be consistent while writing answers.
