What Is HARO? SEO Glossary

Learn what HARO means in SEO, why it matters, and how to use it.

What Is HARO?

HARO (Help A Reporter Out) is a platform that connects journalists and content creators with expert sources who can provide quotes, insights, and commentary for their articles. For SEO professionals, HARO is one of the most effective ways to earn high-quality backlinks from authoritative news outlets, magazines, and industry publications.

The platform works by sending daily emails with queries from journalists who need expert input for their stories. Sources respond with relevant expertise, and if selected, they receive a mention and typically a backlink in the published article.

The ownership history matters because it shaped the platform you use today. Peter Shankman founded HARO in 2008. Vocus acquired it in June 2010, and Vocus merged with Cision in 2014, which made HARO a Cision property. Cision rebranded it as Connectively in 2023, then announced on November 8, 2024 that the Connectively platform, formerly known as HARO, would be permanently discontinued on December 9, 2024 so the company could focus on its CisionOne product. The brand did not stay dead. Cision sold HARO to Featured.com, and Featured announced the revival on April 15, 2025, with query emails resuming on April 22, 2025. The revived service runs under the original HARO name at helpareporter.com, is free for both journalists and sources, and is funded through newsletter sponsorships rather than subscriptions. When you read older SEO guides that describe HARO as "Connectively," treat that as a snapshot of the 2023 to 2024 era, not the current product.

Why HARO Matters for SEO

HARO matters because it provides access to backlinks from websites that are otherwise extremely difficult to get links from through traditional outreach. Publications like Forbes, Business Insider, The New York Times, Healthline, and hundreds of other high-authority sites use HARO to find sources. A single successful HARO pitch can earn you a backlink from a domain with a DR of 80 or higher.

These links carry exceptional weight because they are genuinely editorial. A journalist chose to include your quote because it added value to their article, not because you asked for a link exchange or paid for placement. This is exactly the kind of natural, editorial link that Google values most highly.

Beyond the direct link equity benefits, HARO placements build brand credibility and E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) signals. Being quoted in reputable publications establishes you and your brand as an authority in your field, which aligns with how Google evaluates content quality and source trustworthiness.

HARO responses can also generate referral traffic from readers who see your quote and click through to learn more. While the primary SEO value is the backlink itself, the brand exposure and traffic are meaningful secondary benefits.

How HARO Works

The process begins with signing up as a source on the HARO platform. Once registered, you receive three daily emails (morning, afternoon, and evening) containing journalist queries organized by category: business, technology, health, lifestyle, general, and more. Each query includes the journalist's topic, what they need from sources, their deadline, and sometimes the publication name.

You scan these queries for topics where you have genuine expertise, then craft a response that directly answers the journalist's question. Responses should include your credentials, a concise and quotable answer, and your website URL for attribution. Journalists receive many pitches for each query, so quality and relevance determine who gets selected.

If the journalist uses your input, they publish the article with your quote and typically a link to your website. The turnaround from response to publication can range from a few days to several weeks depending on the publication's editorial schedule.

Response rates vary widely. Industry estimates suggest that about 5% to 15% of well-crafted HARO pitches result in a published mention. This means consistency is essential. Responding to relevant queries regularly over weeks and months yields compounding results.

Best Practices for Using HARO

Respond quickly. Journalists work on tight deadlines and receive dozens of pitches for popular queries. Responding within the first few hours of a query being published significantly increases your chances of being selected. Set up alerts or check emails as soon as they arrive.

Be genuinely helpful, not promotional. Journalists want expert insights, not marketing pitches. Provide substantive, quotable answers that add real value to their article. Skip the self-promotion and focus on being the most helpful source they hear from.

Lead with your credentials. Start your response with a brief introduction that establishes why you are qualified to speak on the topic. Include your title, years of experience, relevant certifications, or notable accomplishments. Journalists need to verify source credibility.

Keep responses concise and quotable. Journalists prefer responses they can use with minimal editing. Write in clear, direct sentences. Aim for 200-400 words unless the query asks for more detail. Format your answer so key points stand out.

Target queries strategically. Do not respond to every query you see. Focus on topics where you have genuine expertise and can provide unique insights. Quality responses to relevant queries convert at a much higher rate than generic responses cast widely.

Track your pitches and results. Maintain a spreadsheet logging each pitch with the query topic, date, publication (if known), and outcome. This helps you identify which types of queries convert best and refine your approach over time.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Pitching topics outside your expertise. Journalists verify source credentials. If your response lacks depth or your background does not match the topic, you will not be selected and may damage your reputation for future queries.

Writing responses that are too long. Journalists are busy. A 1,000-word response when 300 words would suffice is more likely to be skipped entirely. Be thorough but respect their time.

Ignoring the specific question asked. Many sources use HARO queries as a springboard to talk about whatever they want. Answer exactly what the journalist asked, then add supplementary insight if relevant. Off-topic responses get discarded.

Giving up too quickly. HARO is a numbers game that rewards consistency. If your first ten pitches do not get placed, that is normal. Refine your approach and keep responding. Most successful HARO practitioners report that results accelerate after the first few months.

Not including your website URL. If you forget to include your URL or only provide a social media link, you miss the backlink opportunity entirely. Always include the specific page you want linked and make it easy for the journalist to attribute you correctly.

In Practice

A worked example shows how a HARO pitch turns into a link. Suppose you sign up as a source at helpareporter.com and the morning email carries this query from a personal-finance writer.

Summary: Tips for first-time homebuyers in a high-rate market
Category: Business and Finance
Email: query-8821@helpareporter.com
Media Outlet: anonymous
Deadline: 5:00 PM ET today
Query:
Looking for mortgage brokers or financial planners. What is one
specific move a first-time buyer can make to lower their monthly
payment when rates are above 6 percent? Need a name, title, and
company for attribution.

A response that gets selected looks like this. It leads with credentials, answers the exact question in a quotable block, and supplies the attribution the journalist asked for, including the page you want linked.

Subject: First-time buyer query, mortgage broker source

I am Jordan Lee, a licensed mortgage broker with 11 years at
Northbridge Lending. Here is a quote you can use directly:

"Buy a temporary rate buydown instead of stretching your budget.
A 2-1 buydown drops your rate two points in year one and one point
in year two, which can cut a first-year payment by several hundred
dollars while you wait for a refinance window."

Attribution: Jordan Lee, Senior Mortgage Broker, Northbridge Lending
Profile to link: https://northbridgelending.com/team/jordan-lee
Available for a follow-up call before your deadline.

If the writer publishes the piece with that quote and links the profile URL, you earn an editorial backlink. The link is editorial because the journalist chose to cite you for the value of the answer, not because you asked for it. That distinction is what makes HARO links align with the kind of expertise and trust signals Google describes in its helpful-content and E-E-A-T guidance.

What Is Link Building? covers the broader discipline that HARO fits inside.
What Is a Backlink? explains the core asset a successful HARO pitch earns.
What Is Digital PR? describes the outreach strategy HARO is a tactic within.
What Is E-E-A-T? details the trust framework that editorial mentions reinforce.
What Are Referring Domains? clarifies why links from many distinct publications matter more than many links from one.

Conclusion

HARO is one of the most accessible and high-reward strategies in off-page SEO. It offers a direct path to earning editorial backlinks from major publications that would be nearly impossible to obtain through cold outreach. Success with HARO requires speed, expertise, concise writing, and persistence. By making it a consistent part of your SEO workflow, you can build a portfolio of authoritative backlinks that significantly boost your domain's ranking power and establish lasting credibility in your industry.