Has HARO lost its edge for white hat link building?

[BlackShield]

A few years ago, HARO was gold. Clean, editorial backlinks from trusted sites. But lately, response rates are lower and competition is insane. I’ve gotten good results with niche-relevant guest posts instead. Curious if anyone is still using HARO successfully, or has it become too saturated to be worth the effort?

 

[cocomoxoxo]

Yeah, HARO's gotten crowded too many pitches, not enough wins. Guest posts or niche interviews feel way more predictable these days

 

[kshatriya]

It still works, one of my client's sites has over 90% of it's links through HARO only. Rest are citations, and link exchanges and it does pretty well. It was a new domain bought in 2021, and now years later it's at DR 40. I do understand that competition is pretty tough, but this is where having the right persona, with the right amount of social proof is important.

Take a look here at page 1 of the referring domains page for that domain.

 

[kshatriya]

Additionally, other methods to get links are still working. Write the best content (stuff that hasn't be rehashed or regurgitated elsewhere), setup tools, do broken backlink building, and the natural links do start coming in.

 

[needtraffic24]

Yeah, HARO's gotten crowded too many pitches, not enough wins. Guest posts or niche interviews feel way more predictable these days

HARO is very hard nowadays.

 

[BlackShield]

Additionally, other methods to get links are still working. Write the best content (stuff that hasn't be rehashed or regurgitated elsewhere), setup tools, do broken backlink building, and the natural links do start coming in.

Absolutely agree .creating unique, high value content and tools is definitely the long game, and it works well when done right. I’ve seen broken link building work too, especially when paired with genuinely useful resources.

 

[psychicrajsharma]

Many SEO professionals believe that HARO (Help a Reporter Out) has lost some of its competitive edge for building white hat links. In spite of the fact that it was once regarded as one of the most effective methods of obtaining backlinks from high-authority sites, increasing competition, low-quality queries, and spammy responses have reduced its effectiveness. In spite of this, strategic pitching and niche targeting can still prove effective.

 

[EthanWhite9]

HARO work but needs strong pitches now.

 

[JessiPinkme]

Yes, HARO still works but its harder now. Too many people are using it, so getting links is not easy. Guest post in your niche or reaching out to writers directly can give better results these days.

 

[watchdaride]

A few years ago, HARO was gold. Clean, editorial backlinks from trusted sites. But lately, response rates are lower and competition is insane. I’ve gotten good results with niche-relevant guest posts instead. Curious if anyone is still using HARO successfully, or has it become too saturated to be worth the effort?

HARO’s definitely lost some edge too saturated now, I’ve shifted to niche guest posts and got better ROI. rest let's wait for google updates to an end.