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HARO backlinks: how the relaunched HARO works, what a quote is worth, and how to pitch one that gets used

HARO is back under Featured, so here is how a reporter request turns into a quote and sometimes a link, and where that link sits in Google rules.

Published by AI Knows Us · Updated 21 October 2026

HARO backlinks are the links you earn when a journalist quotes you after you answer a request on HARO, the Help a Reporter Out service. HARO is running again: Featured (featured.com) bought it in April 2025 and still sends it as a free email three times every weekday. You answer a reporter's question, the reporter uses your quote, and the publication may link to your site. The link is a by-product of being a useful source, the publisher decides whether it appears and how it is tagged, and that is exactly why a good one is worth having.

What HARO is in 2026

HARO connects journalists who need expert sources with people who can answer them. A reporter posts a query, such as "looking for a payroll accountant to explain a new filing rule", and sources reply by email before a deadline. If the answer is good, it becomes a quote in the story.

The service has changed owners over the years. The facts below come from Featured's own pages, read on 21 October 2026:

  • Owner: Featured, operated by Terkel, Inc., says it acquired HARO in April 2025 and runs it at helpareporter.com as a standalone product.
  • Schedule: HARO publishes source requests three times every weekday, at 5:35am, 12:35pm and 5:35pm Eastern Time.
  • Cost to sources: Featured describes HARO as a free daily email. Featured itself has a free plan and paid plans on top, which add matching and drafting tools.
  • Reach: Featured states that HARO reaches more than 150,000 registered sources and more than 75,000 journalists and bloggers, as of August 2026.
  • Sister service: Featured also operates Connectively, a platform where experts answer publishers' questions, which it says it revived in June 2026.

So if you read in an older guide that HARO shut down, that guide is out of date. The email is back and the requests are live.

How a HARO answer turns into a backlink

The path from pitch to link has five steps, and you control only the first three.

  1. Sign up as a source and choose the categories you can speak to with real authority. Fewer, well chosen categories beat a full inbox.
  2. Read each edition quickly. Reporters get many replies, and the early, specific ones get read first. Matching tools, including Featured's own workflows, can alert you when a query fits your topics.
  3. Send a short, quotable answer with your name, title, company, one line on why you are qualified, and the page you would like linked, usually your bio or an About page.
  4. The journalist decides whether to use your quote. Many replies are never used. That is normal.
  5. The publisher decides whether the story links to you and with which attribute. Some add a normal followed link, some add a nofollow link, and some name you with no link at all.

Because the last two steps belong to somebody else, measure HARO by quotes published, then by links. A quote with no link still puts your name in front of readers and on a page that search engines and assistants read.

What each outcome is worth

What you getValue for searchValue beyond search
Quote with a followed link on a relevant siteHigh. An editorial link from a real publication is the kind Google's policies are written to reward.Referral visits and a credibility signal you can cite.
Quote with a nofollow or sponsored linkLower for ranking, still a real reference to your site.Referral visits and brand exposure.
Quote naming you with no linkAn unlinked mention. Worth a polite request for a link if the article is about your field.Your name and expertise in print, on a page others read.
Quote on a thin, off topic siteLittle. A link from a site that exists to host links adds no trust.Little. Skip queries from outlets you would not want to be seen in.

How to write a HARO pitch that gets used

Journalists are busy and skim. Write for the skim.

  • Answer the exact question in the first two sentences. Put the quotable line first, then the detail.
  • Bring one thing only you can say: a number from your own work, a short example from a client, or a clear opinion with a reason.
  • Keep it to about 150 to 250 words. Long pitches get cut or skipped.
  • State your credentials in one line, with a link to a page that proves them.
  • Respect the requirements. If the reporter asks for a licensed professional or a particular region, and you are not one, do not reply.
  • Answer from your own experience. A reporter wants a real person who knows the subject, and a generic, machine written reply is easy to spot and easy to skip. Drafting help is fine; the knowledge has to be yours.
  • Do not ask for a link in the pitch. Offer the page you would like credited, and leave the decision to the editor.

Where HARO links sit in Google's link rules

Google's spam policies define link spam as "creating links to or from a site primarily for the purpose of manipulating search rankings". The examples it lists include exchanging money, goods or services for links, and "advertorials or native advertising where payment is received for articles that include links that pass ranking credit".

A genuine HARO quote is none of those. The journalist chose your answer on its merits and the publisher chose how to link. That is an editorial link, the kind the policy leaves alone.

Two things change the picture:

  • Paying for placement. Some platforms, Featured included, also list sites that sell sponsored articles and link insertions. That is a separate, paid product. Google says paid links are acceptable when they carry rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow", so treat any paid placement as advertising, not as a HARO link.
  • Trading for the quote. If a site asks for money, a product or a reciprocal link in return for using your quote, it has stopped being journalism. Decline.

Our page on public relations and SEO covers how to run earned coverage and link building as one programme under these rules.

Other places reporters ask for sources

HARO is the best known name, and it is not the only one. Use the ones whose reporters cover your field.

  • Connectively, also run by Featured, where experts answer questions posted by publishers.
  • Qwoted, which describes itself as a network connecting journalists with expert sources, with a free sign up for experts.
  • Social posts. Many reporters post source requests on X and LinkedIn, often with a hashtag such as #journorequest. Featured says it gathers requests from Substack, X and LinkedIn as well as from its own services.
  • Your own media list. Reporters who quoted you once will often come back. Keep a simple record of who used you and what they cover.

Tracking what HARO actually brought you

Keep a sheet with four columns: date, query, outlet, and result (used, linked, attribute). Every few weeks, search the outlet for your name, because reporters rarely tell you when a story runs.

To confirm the link exists and see whether it is followed, run your domain through a backlink checker. Our comparison of backlink checker tools explains how each index finds new links and how quickly. Google Search Console's Links report shows the links Google itself has recorded, at no cost.

Judge the programme after two or three months of steady replies: how many quotes ran, on which outlets, and whether those outlets are the ones your buyers read.

Quotes are now read by assistants as well as readers

A published quote does more than earn a link. When somebody asks ChatGPT or Gemini "who is a good payroll accountant for a small business" or "which experts explain this rule", the assistant builds its answer from pages it has read, and a news story naming you as the expert is one of those pages. Featured has noticed the same thing: as of October 2026 it sells an AI visibility audit alongside its HARO tools. If you are pitching HARO to be seen as the expert in your field, it is worth checking whether the assistants already say so. AI Knows Us asks the assistants your buyers' questions and shows whether your business is named and which articles the answer leaned on, so you can see which of your quotes are doing that work.

Questions about HARO backlinks

Is HARO still running in 2026?

Yes. Featured acquired HARO in April 2025 and, according to its own site, sends source requests three times every weekday from helpareporter.com.

Are HARO backlinks dofollow?

Some are and some are not. Each publication decides how it links to sources. Some outlets add nofollow to every outbound link, and some name sources without a link.

Is HARO free for sources?

Featured describes HARO as a free daily email. Its paid Featured plans add tools such as query matching and pitch drafting on top.

Do HARO backlinks break Google's rules?

No, when the quote is earned on its merits and the publisher chooses the link. Paying or trading for a link in return for a quote is link spam under Google's policy.

How many HARO pitches should I send?

Send only the ones you can answer with real expertise, quickly. A few strong replies each week beat dozens of generic ones.

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