HARO is an excellent platform for earning high-quality backlinks from the most reputable websites and boosting traffic and ranking. Being a HARO link-building service provider, we have served many clients with links from websites with DA (Domain Authority) and PA (Page Authority) rankings above 50.
It has also raised a crucial question that we often face: "How do we land big links for SEO? What secret have we found for HARO’s link-building strategy?
The truth is that we keep our HARO strategy simple and streamlined. The secret lies in understanding the client's business type, finding accurate HARO links and their matches, responding faster, compelling pitches, and building long-term relationships with the journalists.
Our HARO link-building team, with its industry knowledge, effectiveness, and continuous responses, brings remarkable SEO links for different businesses. As a HARO link provider, we understand that our strategy might be helpful for you, too. So, we share our strategy and process for getting high DA and PA HARO links with you today.
HARO Link Building Strategy: How We Land Big Links for SEO?
Getting HARO links requires time, patience, compelling pitches, and effort to stay on topic. There's no rocket science behind it.
Understanding Your Business
Every business and website has a different audience, keywords, articles, and targets. Similarly, their targeted backlinks from HARO or any other platform vary greatly. The media mentions and backlinks from journals, newspapers, and websites will also be distinctive.
Therefore, once clients contact us for HARO media mentions, we set up a meeting to understand their business requirements and targeted audience. Our experts also monitor and observe the client's website and identify its targeted keywords and audience.
If it is an automobile-based website, our expert HARO link builders will target Forbes or pet stores or websites; the target HARO media placement could be The Conscious Cat, etc. The key is to analyze the client's business type and find the correct HARO links.
Choosing the Right Website and Media
Each day, HARO receives hundreds of journalists' daily series and sends them to subscribers. However, not all these queries and websites are suitable for HARO links. Thus, we strictly maintain our "Quality over Quantity" policy to receive the best HARO links from websites.
For this, we maintain:
- Websites that have at least 50 DA and PA ratings
- Website audience that resonated with your business
- Queries that go with your articles and websites
Finding the right website for HARO links is crucial because backlinks from irrelevant websites might not be effective. Instead of getting 200 traffic from a low DA and PA website, it’s better to get 50 traffic from websites such as Forbes, Fortune 500, etc.
Research for Finding Proper Queries
Proper keyword research is key to finding the right website and queries from journalists to get HARO media mentions. Besides, checking frequently and browsing HARO's emails are good ways to find the correct queries quickly.
Browsing different queries
Experts would browse through different HARO categories from HARO emails. These categories can include technology, automobiles, gardening, agriculture, etc. The idea is to find the right niches or categories that fit the clients' niches.
Keyword searching
While category identification gives a generalized idea about the HARO queries, searching through keywords offers more specificness. The best HARO keywords for technology may include mobile apps, computers, technological changes, etc.
Keyword research makes finding the proper HARO queries easier since journalist use various keywords to develop their queries. A few examples of HARO search queries may include:
- What sustainable fashion tips are helpful for an eco-friendly fashion retailer? (Fashion niche)
- What is the future of the remote job culture in the tech and business industry? Does it need any particular changes and focus? (Tech and Business niche)
- Do you think educational apps will change how colleges and universities deliver education and programs in the future? (Education and App niches)
These queries have keywords such as sustainable, fashion tips, remote jobs, educational apps, etc. So, experts quickly find the correct queries when they search these keywords.
Enabling alert options
HARO lets people create alerts for specific keywords with their latest Connectively platform. It's also possible to set alerts for particular keywords in Gmail to quickly filter out queries. Once HARO link builders enable the alert option and specify its keywords, they will receive quick alerts.
The alert option is crucial because HARO link building largely depends on fast responses. With alerts for the targeted queries, it becomes easy to respond to them faster.
Faster Responses Is Critical
Once HARO experts find suitable queries for your required backlinks or media mentions, it's time to respond as fast as possible. Quick responses are critical because everyday journalists receive hundreds of responses.
Thus, late responses mean the journalist might have already got their answer. On the contrary, faster responses increase the chance of high visibility, and journalists will most likely check the response. In our experience, reactions within 3 to 5 hours of the query placement will likely get the media mentions in HARO.
For this, our trained and expert team ensures the fastest response. Being the first insightful response can significantly increase the chances of getting featured since journalists work on a tight schedule.
Creating Compelling Pitches
While faster and better responses are critical for HARO link-building, creating compelling pitches is equally essential—and maybe more so. The key to creating a persuasive pitch includes a catchy title, making the content informative and insightful, and showing actual relevancy and expertise.
Engaging subject lines
Only two to three responses out of ten get HARO media mentions. It shows how tough it is to be featured in HARO journals. So, how do you grab the attention of the journalists with such a competitive edge?
The secret is creating engaging subject lines. With an effective and catchy subject line, journalists are more likely to read the responses. The subject line is the first impression, and it must be clear, concise, and relevant.
The subject line must include proper keywords, and for better visibility, use "HARO" at the beginning. If the search query is "Suggest me some useful travel tips for budget-conscious backpackers in Southeast Asia", the best possible subject line could be "HARO: Budget Backpacking in Southeast Asia: Expert Tips & Tricks.”
Insightful and informative content-body
The content-body or HARO pitch shouldn't be lengthy and a full-fledged article. To get media mentions, it's best to follow a word count of 200 to 300 for each piece of content.
The content should be insightful, with accurate data, personal experience, and quotable content. Bullet points are also helpful to improve the clarity and argumentative quality of the pitch.
Experts also offer interview availability and additional resources to ensure journalists get what they want precisely. The focus is on providing accurate and genuine value to the journalists' queries rather than getting backlinks.
If your pitches are useful and practical, journalists' will happily feature you in their writing on high-authority websites. For the subject line, “HARO: Budget Backpacking in Southeast Asia: Expert Tips & Tricks.”
“Hi [Journalist Name],
Your query about budget backpacking in Southeast Asia hits the spot! As a Southeast Asia travel writer with 5+ years on the road, I can offer backpacker-tested hacks to stretch your dollar.
- Secret weapon: Skip pricier tourist spots and explore local markets for exceptionally cheap, delicious street food (think $2 for a plate of pad Thai!).
- Accommodation hacks: Go beyond hostels. You can find guesthouses with stealer pricing. Also, always negotiate with a smile—it's expected!
- Travel like a local: Skip taxis and choose budget-friendly buses and trains. Use metros to roam around the cities and thoroughly enjoy the local vibe.
- Free adventures: Every city has hidden gems! Temple hopping, exploring local parks, and free walking tours are all wallet-friendly options.
These tips, plus negotiation strategies for tours and avoiding tourist traps, will ensure your readers have an epic Southeast Asian adventure without breaking the bank!
For further insight, I'm always available for an interview to discuss the points intensely."
As you can see, this pitch focuses on the topic without any irrelevancy. It also uses bullet points to grab the attention more. Including statistics, numbers, research references, and real-life events in the pitch is always useful.
Also, use anecdotes and examples from personal experience to connect better with the query. Case studies and stories are an excellent way to grab attention.
Furthermore, quotations are exciting to share first-hand experience. Finally, ensure you link to proper guidelines or data in the webpage within the pitch.
Proofreading is necessary
Even expert writers can make silly mistakes that involve minor grammatical issues and misspellings. Thorough and accurate proofreading helps avoid such errors. Also, proofreading helps make the content even more insightful with multiple revisions.
Follow-ups
Even after perfect pitches, HARO responses might not be visible to the journalists. Thus, a simple but heartwarming follow-up can do the job. Once the time to respond to the query is over, sending a polite follow-up mail to the journalist is always a good idea.
It increases the chance of getting featured more frequently than anticipated. It’s also a great way to establish personal relationships with the journalists for media mentions.
Building Relationships Beyond the Link
HARO isn't just about backlinks. It's about building connections! With consistent and valuable insights, experts catch the eye of a journalist who could be interested in a future collaboration. It will work wonders for guest posts on their website.
Also, with personal bonding, journalists will contact the experts directly. It bypasses the steps involved in HARO link building and makes getting media mentions faster and easier.
Tracking the Success
It’s crucial to know if the expertise and effort for HARO are paying off. Therefore, we monitor metrics like the number of backlinks we have secured and the referral traffic they generate. Monitoring brand mentions and sentiment is critical to see how the contributions are received.
Finally, we will arrange everything in a user-friendly dashboard or Spreadsheet and deliver the outcomes to you.
Conclusion
HARO's link-building strategy is effective with proper planning and execution. However, managing the queries, pitches, and follow-ups can be challenging for individuals.
Instead, you can seek expert assistance to land those big HARO links through us and see your website traffic boom. Our expertise will ensure you get high-quality media mentions and see your website traffic rise with excellent results.
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