HARO backlinks: what changed and how to earn them now

HARO backlinks are links earned when a journalist quotes your answer to a source request and the publication links to you. Cision discontinued the service, then called Connectively, on 9 December 2024; Featured bought it, and the emails resumed in April 2025. Today HARO is a free email newsletter of journalist requests, sent three times each weekday, and whether a link appears is the publication's decision.

What are HARO backlinks?

HARO backlinks, also called HARO links, are links earned through Help a Reporter Out, when a journalist uses your quote or expert comment in a published article. Answering journalist requests to earn them is HARO link building. A writer asks for sources. You reply with a useful answer. If the answer makes it into the story, the writer or editor may include your name, your company and a link. The request, the answer and the decision all happen off your site, on the journalist's terms.

You do not choose the anchor text or the final article. The journalist chooses the source, and the publication decides what appears on the page. HARO's own about page describes the result this way: "If published, the source is credited — often with a link back to their website — in major publications and beyond." So, on HARO's own account, a link is a common result of being quoted, and both the link and the way it is marked, dofollow or nofollow, are the publication's choice.

The appeal of the channel is that the demand already exists: the journalist is writing the story and looking for someone like you. The people who answer range from founders and in-house marketers to small agencies replying on behalf of clients. The better way to think about HARO is as a source-request channel within digital PR. You earn attention by being useful to people writing real stories, and the link is one possible outcome of that work.

What changed with HARO?

The confusing part is that "HARO" has meant more than one thing over time. The dated record runs like this:

• 2008: Peter Shankman starts Help a Reporter Out.
• 2010: Vocus acquires it.
• 2014: Cision acquires Vocus, and HARO becomes a Cision brand.
• 2024: Cision renames HARO as Connectively, then closes it. Cision's notice says: "As of December 9, 2024, the Connectively (HARO) platform has been permanently discontinued."
• 16 April 2025: Featured announces that it has bought HARO from Cision, in a press release carried by PR Newswire, and HARO emails start again on 22 April 2025.
• 26 May 2026: HARO's blog announces that Connectively is coming back as well: "Featured now owns both brands. And just like we revived HARO, we think Connectively deserves a second life." The same post says HARO will stay a free newsletter sent three times a day.

So check the date on any HARO guide: one written while HARO ran as Connectively describes a platform that closed in December 2024, and the email that came back in April 2025 returned to HARO's original format.

How does HARO work now?

You sign up free at helpareporter.com as a source. HARO is free for sources and for journalists, and it is paid for by advertising in the newsletter.

Once you are registered, the requests arrive by email. A HARO blog post of 30 September 2026 states the current cadence: "HARO delivers journalist requests to subscribers in three weekday editions: Morning at 5:35 a.m. ET, Afternoon at 12:35 p.m. ET, and Evening at 5:35 p.m. ET." Each request gives the topic, the type of source needed, a deadline and any instructions the writer wants you to follow.

Two platform rules are worth knowing before you pitch. The first concerns which outlets may post requests. HARO's submission guidelines of 26 November 2025 state: "Outlets must have a minimum Domain Authority of 20 or receive at least 10,000 monthly visitors (via Moz, Ahrefs, or internal HARO review)." The second concerns AI-written replies. In a post of 8 July 2025, HARO announced that it scores every pitch with Pangram, an AI-text detection tool, and that a journalist can tick "No AI responses" to filter flagged pitches out.

The work on your side is simple to describe. Scan the emails, pass over anything outside your expertise and answer the requests where you can add something specific. Each request carries a deadline, so the working habit is to check the digests at set points in the day and answer while the request is still open. A useful pitch includes a direct answer, a short credential line, any requested examples and contact details in case the journalist needs a follow-up.

Is HARO good for backlinks?

HARO can earn you links, and three dated sources show what that looks like in practice: a detection vendor's study of the platform's data, the platform's own figures and one person's published tally.

Pangram's case study, published on 23 September 2026, covers pitches sent through Featured's platforms, HARO and Connectively included: "Featured received 1,394,740 pitches in response to 42,392 journalist requests between June 2025 and July 2026. Of those, Pangram flagged 292,895, or roughly 21%, as fully AI-generated." On what journalists picked, the study reports: "Across Featured, only 1 in 10 AI-generated pitches are selected by journalists for publication; in contrast, approximately 1 in 3 human pitches are selected to be featured in an article." Two things are worth noting about this sample: Pangram sells the detection tool, and Featured supplied the data. The selection figure also counts pitches chosen for an article, not links. The same case study reports that, out of a pool of more than 2,500 journalists on HARO, 35% switch on the filter that hides pitches flagged as fully AI-generated, although the filter is off by default.

HARO's own figures come from a blog post of 31 August 2026, which draws on what the platform describes as more than 2 million pitches and 100 million emails sent through HARO over the past year. In that post, HARO says about 32% of journalist requests are rejected during its approval process, after a review of the journalist, the publication and the request. Its advice to sources is: "Ten highly relevant pitches consistently outperform a hundred generic ones." These are the platform's own figures and its own advice.

The third source is one person's record. Ashmaad, who runs a small tech site alone, published his tally on Epic Tech News on 14 September 2026: "Here is the honest tally after two months and four pitches. Zero published backlinks so far." Of the four pitches, one was declined with an invitation to pitch again, one drew a personal reply, one drew no answer and one was still open. It is one account of four pitches, not a rate.

Read together, the numbers say that on Featured's platforms about one human-written pitch in three is selected for an article, and that a link then depends on the publication.

Where HARO fits in a wider link plan

A HARO request and a placement work in opposite directions. With a request, the journalist sets the topic, chooses the source and the publication decides the link. With a placement, you choose the page the link points to and the anchor text. They are two ways to get a link, and they do different jobs.

The second is what we do. Our Curated Links are links added to articles that are already published, and our Guest Posts are new articles published on real, independently owned websites in your niche. After publication we check that the page is live, that the link is in the body copy, that the anchor and target URL match the order and that the page is indexable, and only then is the URL reported to the dashboard. That post-publication check is part of the quality assurance we run on every link. For other ways to earn a link by being quoted, see our guide to editorial links.

HARO alternatives worth comparing

If you are serious about journalist sourcing, compare HARO with other active source-request channels. The right mix depends on geography, budget, pitch volume and the kind of experts you can put forward. Each of the four below works on the same basic pattern as HARO: a journalist posts a request, and sources answer. The prices below are as listed on each platform's own pricing page on 3 and 4 October 2026.

Two more names come up in older lists. Connectively, back under Featured since 2026, is the platform version alongside the HARO newsletter, with a free plan and paid plans. Help a B2B Writer now redirects to MentionMatch, which describes itself as connecting B2B writers with expert sources.

Start with the platform that matches your market, and add another when you have the expert time to answer more requests. None of the four replaces the habit of answering well; the platforms change how many requests you see and how quickly you see them. For a wider comparison, see our longer list of HARO alternatives.

How to earn HARO backlinks now

Five habits carry the work of earning HARO backlinks, from who you put forward to what you record. None of the five needs a paid account; all of them reward preparation.

Choose the right source identity

Start with the expert, not the website. Journalists need named sources with a reason to comment. That might be a founder, operator, consultant, clinician, engineer, analyst or in-house specialist. A named person with clear experience gives the writer someone they can quote.

Write down the expert's strongest topics before you scan requests. Include industries, job roles, operating experience and the areas they will not cover. That list is what you filter every request against, and it stops the drift towards answering everything. One expert with a tight topic list will serve you better than a roster of names who can comment on anything.

Your source bio should be short and practical. Give the journalist enough context to trust the answer: name, role, company, a relevant credential and a link to a page that confirms who the person is. HARO's pitch tips post of 8 August 2025 makes the same point: journalists want to see your qualifications and check them quickly.

Filter requests before you pitch

The first filter is relevance. Can your expert answer the question directly, or are you bending the topic until it fits? If the fit takes a paragraph to explain, it is not a fit.

HARO's post of 31 August 2026 gives two questions to ask yourself before you send anything: "Do my credentials match what the journalist is looking for?" and "Can I offer something the journalist can’t easily find elsewhere?" If the answer to either question is no, leave the request for someone better placed. Passing on a request costs nothing; a strained pitch costs the expert's time.

Write the pitch around the journalist's request

HARO's advice of 31 August 2026 sets the order: "When responding, get to the point: lead with the most relevant credential, answer the journalist’s questions directly, and provide a quote they can use as-is." HARO's pitch tips post sums up the top tip of Hazel Navarro, a psychotherapist who answers HARO requests, this way: "Include a brief line or two about your credentials before diving into the pitch."

Then answer exactly what is asked. If the journalist asks for one mistake, give one mistake. If they ask for a short prediction, give the prediction before the explanation. Add the proof: a specific example, a figure you are allowed to share, or a practical detail from the expert's work. Do not open with a long brand pitch or a paragraph about your campaign; the journalist already has a deadline. If the request asks for a headshot, a location or a social profile, include it with the pitch rather than sending the journalist hunting.

The last check is quotability. Read the answer as though it will be lifted into an article with minimal editing. If it needs three paragraphs of setup to make sense, tighten it. Journalists are not short of words; they are short of usable ones.

Pangram's sample gives one more reason to write each answer yourself rather than have a tool generate it. In Pangram's study of pitches sent between June 2025 and July 2026, about one human-written pitch in three was selected on Featured's platforms, against about one in ten of the pitches flagged as fully AI-generated.

Keep link expectations clear

Put your website URL in your source details, or the page that covers the topic you answered on, and leave the rest to the publication. The writer and editor decide whether a link appears, where it points and how it is marked.

If a link appears, record the live URL, the anchor text, the destination page and the surrounding context. If you get a mention without a link, record that too. If the journalist comes back with a follow-up question, answer it quickly and helpfully; that reply is part of the pitch. If you hear nothing, assume the pitch was not selected and move on.

Track what you send

Keep a simple log of requests, pitches, topics, experts, publications, outcomes and links, and review it once a week. Mark which pitches drew no answer, which earned a reply, which became a mention and which became a link. The log shows which experts get picked up, which angles draw replies and which request types lead nowhere, so each week's pitches are chosen on evidence rather than habit. Agree beforehand who can approve a quote, so a reply goes out before the deadline.

Questions to ask a HARO link building service

If you pay someone to pitch for you, four questions tell you what you are getting.

• Which platforms? HARO, Connectively, Qwoted, ResponseSource, SourceBottle or others. Ask where it looks and why.
• Who writes each pitch? And which named expert it goes out under. The answer tells you whose credentials the journalist will check.
• What is reported? You want the live URL, the anchor text, the destination URL and where on the page the link or mention sits.
• How long does it take? Ask for dated examples. A place in a named publication is the editor's decision, so what a provider can describe is its process and its past results.

Ask all four before you order. If you are weighing up outsourcing link building beyond journalist requests, our guide covers that wider decision.

HARO backlinks FAQs

What is HARO SEO?

HARO SEO is the use of Help a Reporter Out source requests to earn media mentions and links. You offer expert comment to journalists, and where a publication quotes you, it may also link to your site.

Is HARO still around, or did HARO shut down?

Cision discontinued the service, then operating as Connectively, on 9 December 2024. Featured bought HARO, and the emails resumed on 22 April 2025. Connectively also returned under Featured in 2026.

Is HARO free?

Yes, for sources and for journalists. HARO is paid for by advertising in the newsletter. Featured and Connectively each have a free plan alongside paid plans.

What are the best HARO alternatives?

The four worth comparing are Qwoted, ResponseSource, Featured and SourceBottle. Qwoted is a network connecting journalists with brands and experts, ResponseSource covers UK journalist enquiries, Featured is a PR platform that includes HARO requests, and SourceBottle sends source alerts by email.

Are HARO backlinks dofollow?

The publication decides whether to link and how the link is marked. A quote can run with a dofollow link, a nofollow link or no link at all. Record the attribute you find.

How long do HARO links take to work?

It depends on the journalist's deadline and the publication's schedule. In one first-hand record published on 14 September 2026, four pitches over two months had produced one decline, one personal reply and no published link. A log of what you sent shows which requests led to a reply, a mention or a link.

Is HARO good for link building?

On Featured's platforms, a case study by Pangram of 1,394,740 pitches sent between June 2025 and July 2026 found about one human-written pitch in three was selected for an article. A link then depends on the publication.