How To Get Those Coveted Media Links

Writing by Nick Stamoulis Tweet

SEOmoz has a great blog post about the author receiving a link from CNN. Is that a valuable link and can you do the same?

First, any relevant one way link is a valuable part of the ongoing long term part of link building and search engine optimization. Some links are more valuable than others, but if you get a link from any source be thankful. Media websites don’t have to link to you.

On the second question, can you get the same kind of link? The answer is yes, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be a link from CNN. It can be a link from any media source.

Understand that a respected media organization in your local area or one that serves your niche industry, or any media organization in general, with a website is likely to be considered an authoritative voice by the search engines. Even if the media website is outside of your niche, an authoritative link is a valuable link. But how do you get them?

No. 1, you have to be an authority yourself. Journalists like authorities. They interview people for stories who are authorities on their subjects. They keep lists of sources who are authorities in their fields. You’d like to be on that list, wouldn’t you?

Here’s how you get on the list:

• Write a press release and submit it to the most appropriate journalist at the media organization you want to target
• Wait to see if the press release is published or if the journalist writes a story off of it
• If a story is published based on your press release, write a thank you letter to the journalist, make it brief, and include a statement that offers free access to your knowledge on your niche subject any time the journalist has a story about the topic
• If the media organization decides not to write a story from your press release, write a letter anyway but don’t mention the press release; instead, just offer yourself available to the journalist at any time if they have questions about your area of expertise

Will this guarantee you a spot on the journalists list of resources? No. But you are guaranteed to never be on the list if you do nothing. If you present yourself professionally, courteously, and respectfully then you at least stand a chance of winning a journalist’s nod when they need information on a particular topic in which you have an expertise.