There’s no way around it. Google’s algorithm demands excellence. If you want to be a top ranking website, you need to prioritize search engine optimization. And one of the keys to getting SEO right is backlinks (i.e. other websites posting a link to your website). The more reputable the website, the more impact the backlink will have on how Google ranks you.

But backlinks do more than just aid your search ranking. They also enhance your reputation. When a customer or client sees the New York Times or Washington Post link to your website, their level of trust in you and your product or service skyrockets. Plus it’s a great way to reach new potential customers.

So how do you get backlinked? You can wait around for another company or organization to see your content and mention it to their audience. Unfortunately, this is a bit of a pipe dream. A much more proactive approach is to use HARO or helpareporter.com.

This website is a resource for reporters, as well as brands. They allow journalists and bloggers to post queries about a story they are covering. Experts on the specific topic can respond and provide valuable tips and quotes that the writer can then use in their piece. The expert’s or brand’s website is then backlinked in the published story.

Competing For Earned Media On HARO

HARO is an unparalleled resource. Nearly 55,000 journalists and bloggers use it and tens of thousands of queries are posted on the platform every single year. Writers who are on a tight deadline rely on HARO to get them the information and experts they need. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that all a brand has to do is respond to a query in order to get a great backlink. The platform boasts about 800,000 sources, which means that brands have some competition.

The good news is that not all 800,000 sources are regularly active and of the sources that are actively answering queries, many only target specific queries—after all, the sources should be experts and no one and no brand can be an expert in everything. In the end, this means that you will likely be competing with fewer than 100 other sources. So while it is likely that your query response will be read, you need to approach the query in the right way in order to stand out and increase your chances of being the chosen source.

Tips For Scoring HARO’s Earned Media

1. Be Prompt

Source requests are posted on HARO continuously. These are then emailed to sources three times every day—at 5:35 a.m., 12:35 p.m. and 5:35 p.m. eastern standard time. It is essential to not let these sit in your inbox for too long. The fact is, many of the journalists that use HARO are on a tight deadline. They will likely opt for the first great source that they get instead of waiting around for a day or two for more entries to come through. The higher in their response queue that you are, the more likely they are to see and use you as a source.

2. Know Your Goal

Getting backlinked through HARO can do wonders for a brand. The key, though, is to know why you want to get backlinked. If your main goal is SEO and to raise your ranking status with Google, you should aim to answer as many HARO queries as possible. If you, your coworkers, or your brand has knowledge about any topic, even if it doesn’t directly relate to your products or services, answering a query about it could help. In other words, the more backlinks the better—it doesn’t matter whether they are bringing valuable leads to your site, it only matters that Google’s algorithm is seeing trusted sources linking to your brand.

On the other hand, if your main goal is to attract new leads, it will do you no good to spread yourself thin and reply to as many source requests as possible. When you are chosen for these random queries, the backlinks will be clicked on by leads that you simply can’t convert. Instead, all effort should be put towards replying to source requests that apply to your products, services, brand, or possibly geographic location. It is these backlinks that will attract valuable leads.

3. Make The Reporter’s Job Easy

Journalists are in a hurry. They need their questions answered and quality quotes from valuable sources. If you want them to choose you as a source, you need to make it an easy choice. This means giving them exactly what they want upfront. Don’t just send them your credentials and contact information, offering an interview if they are interested. They can’t be sure that the interview will lead to anything valuable and they simply don’t have the time to waste.

Extra tip: Even if the query states that they are looking to interview an expert on x, y or z, still refrain from simply putting your contact details in the response. Instead, try and answer their question in the response, as well as putting in your contact information. If the response is of high quality, they’ll rather take it than spend time calling someone else.

There are two steps to crafting the perfect query response:

Step one is to showcase your credentials. State why you’re an expert on the topic. This could include your educational background or your experience in the industry. You might also point to the brand, the strong customer base it has, or any other strengths that point to it being an industry leader or innovator. And while it is important to flesh out why you should be the source and the brand should be backlinked to, it is even more important to compile this information in the most succinct way possible.

Step two is where you need to get creative. Everyone who replies to the query will likely have the most basic knowledge of the field. They will be able to offer a general tip or some decent information. Therefore, to stand out, you need to be different and provide something more substantial or less commonly known. It should impress the journalist and blogger and stay in their mind, even if they do go on to review some of the other submissions. Remember, a writer has a goal of making their piece interesting and drawing the reader in. You need to help them do this with the quote you provide.

Extra tips: Make sure you answer their query and not simply give general industry information. Also, write a professional, edited quote. This helps to minimize the amount of work the writer has to do. They can simply copy and paste your response. Sometimes your answer might be a 10-word answer, other times it will be a 10-paragraph essay. If it is the latter, provide a very brief summary that should be placed above your longer response.

4. Tell The Writer What You Want

Journalists are not mind readers. This is especially true if they are newer to HARO. They do not necessarily know that you would like a backlink. You need to ask for one. You should provide a ‘copy and paste’ example of how you would prefer to be quoted. This includes your name, job title and the link that you would like to be placed in the backlink.

Additionally, you should always include contact options. Journalists are thorough. Oftentimes they may want your quote explained further. Or they may just want to get extra information about you. You will have a much higher chance of getting backlinked if you offer up several contact options (i.e. a phone number and email address). These details should be accompanied with the best times to reach out over the next 48 hours. This ensures that they will get a hold of you when they call, making it convenient for both parties.

5. Get The HARO Subscription That Is Right For You

Free is great, but is it right? HARO has a freeium model. In other words, once you have subscribed to the HARO email list you don’t have to pay. You can still get all of the queries every weekday. However, to get additional benefits, you can pay a monthly fee. And for some businesses and individuals, this extra few dollars could be well worth it. The added benefits range from keyword and text alerts to search options to getting the HARO email an hour earlier than all free and base level subscribers.

These features are invaluable to certain brands, especially those that are in the more competitive niches. They allow you to more efficiently scan through the queries and submit responses. And for those who have used the free model successfully and are looking for a bump in submission acceptances, one of the paid subscriptions could offer just that. For everyone else, though, the free model is tried and tested. It works and will provide results as long as your query submissions follow the above guidelines.

Final tip: Put effort into the subject line of your submission. Add part of your response in the subject or at least make it clear that your quote provides a unique and interesting take.

HARO offers PR opportunities that many companies have never had access to before, or at least not for free. If you approach queries in a smart, consistent and calculated way, you will start to see results, enabling you to score plenty of earned media opportunities.

Kenneth Hitchner is a communications strategist who protects and promotes brands. He is currently the director of public relations and social media at Creative Marketing Alliance and CMA Association Management. In prior assignments, he served as the spokesman for NJ Transit, the deputy press secretary for a Governor of New Jersey and the chief content officer for a nonprofit the put downsized, college-educated professionals back into the workplace during the Great Recession of 2008.