The Most Valuable Media Placements

A robust backlink profile is imperative in SEO: without high-quality inbound links establishing authority in Google’s eyes, you won’t rank as highly in search. Not only that, but the quality of inbound links (backlinks) in your profile matter: the higher authority links, the better you rank.

But what does high authority mean? Publications that people trust tend to have extremely high domain authority. According to Moz’s Domain Authority metric, news sources like CNN and BBC have domains equal to those of internet titans like Amazon and Facebook.

But not every website with a high domain authority score is attainable for the everyday link builder. Some media outlets are the white whales of online PR, while other authoritative sites publish a surprising amount of content.  It’s important to stress that despite every best effort, not every piece of content will capture media attention, and top-tier publications are never a guarantee. Be sure to meter your (and your client’s) expectations around what are realistic results per content campaign. 

To make things simpler, we’ve broken down the most valuable, difficult, and attainable digital publishers for link-seeking content creators.

What are the Best Digital PR Placements?

RankPublisherFocusDomain AuthorityDifficulty
1BBC (UK)Global News965
2CNN (US)Global News965
3Reuters (UK)Global News955
4The Washington Post (US)Global News954
5The New York Times (US)Global News954
6The Guardian (UK)Global News955
7Forbes (US)Business News952
8HuffPost (US)US News944
9FOX News (US)US News943
10The Sun (UK)UK News945
11Financial Times (UK)Global financial news945
12The Wall Street Journal (US)Global financial news944
13The Telegraph (UK)Global News945
14The Independent (UK)Global News944
15El Pais (ES)Global News94n/a
16ABC News (US)US News944
17Bloomberg (US)Global Financial News944
18Time (US)Global News945
19Wired (US)Tech News945
20Business Insider (US)Business News943
21The Daily Mail (UK)Global News944
22The Los Angeles Times (US)US News944
23CNET (US)Tech + Product News944
24USA Today (US)US News944
25Le Figaro (FR)France News94n/a

To begin, we identify the 25 most valuable online content publishers in the world, based on Domain Authority. We’ve also assigned each publication a difficulty rating, based on our experience pitching content and digital PR campaigns to their editors.

Publishers with a difficulty rating of “5” are extremely hard to earn links from because they are so high quality – most businesses have no chance, unless they are the subject of a genuinely newsworthy event. Publishers with a difficulty rating of “1” are known to frequently feature or cite original research from businesses, many doing so on a daily basis.

It’s important to note that in our approach to link building, there are no paid schemes and no special relationships. We earn media strictly on the merit of the research our clients produce.

Next, we analyzed the top 100 publishers by Domain Authority, to determine what media verticals are most powerful for link building. While it’s no surprise that general news occupies most of the top 100, we were very interested to find that tech and product news is the next most prominent when it comes to the most valuable publishers by domain authority.

Consider this: CNETGizmodoThe Verge and enGadget all measure equal to or greater in Domain Authority than Newsweek, National Geographic, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, The Economist and Fast Company. CNET in particular is equal in authority to USA Today and the Wall Street Journal, and more authoritative than NBC News and CBS News. Sometimes “top tier” publications don’t always mean corollary levels of equity: it pays to double-check DA! 

Top 100 Publishers by Domain Authority

A pie chart showing the topics the top publishers cover

Top 5 Publishers by Vertical

Global News
BBC96
CNN96
Reuters95
The Washington
Post
95
The New York
Times
95
Business News
Forbes95
The Wall Street
Journal
94
Bloomberg94
The Financial
Times
94
Business Insider94
Technology
Wired94
CNET94
Gizmodo93
The Verge93
enGadget93
Entertainment
Buzzfeed93
Mashable93
Variety93
Hollywood
Reporter
93
Rolling Stone92
Science
National
Geographic
96
Psychology
Today
96
Science95
Science Daily95
Nature95
Sports
ESPN93
Sports Illustrated 91
Bleacher Report90
SB Nation90
CBS Sports90

Veteran link builders know that certain institutions outside media publishing – particularly those with .gov and .edu domains – deliver significant link equity. While most are extremely difficult to earn links from, we think it’s an important part of the picture as we as an industry seek to understand how and why links are valuable, and as we build link-building strategies for various organizations.

While news is still the main focus of outreach, it’s important to not leave other valuable opportunities out of your strategy!

Most Valuable .Gov and .Edu Websites

.Gov Websites
National Institutes of
Health (NIH)
95
Centers for Disease
Control (CDC)
94
National Aeronautics &
Space Admin. (NASA)
94
National Oceanic &
Atmospheric Assoc. (NOAA)
93
The White House93
Library of Congress93
Privacy Shield93
National Park Service (NPS)92
National Archives92
Food and Drug
Administration (FDA)
92
.Edu Websites
Harvard University94
Yale University93
University of California – Berkeley93
Stanford University93
University of Michigan93
University of Washington93
Princeton University93
Columbia University93
Academia93
Cornell University93

Finally, as an extension of our analysis looking at the difficulty rating for top publishers, we established the top five link building targets in each of six media verticals, based on our own experience pitching hundreds of campaigns to these publishers over the last five years. These rankings are based on a combination of Domain Authority and our placement rates (how frequently a pitch results in a link). These hit the sweet spot of achievable, quality backlinks for any campaign. 

Also, we’ve included the three toughest targets in four major verticals, based on our experience. If you have a finite amount of time to spend pitching content, note that your chance of earning links from these publications is lower than comparable outlets in these verticals. As such, your outreach strategy and including a mixture of difficulties is important. 

Best Publishers for Link Building, by Vertical

Best Link Building Targets by Vertical

General News
The Oregonian88
Connecticut Post75
USA Today96
Digital Journal86
New York Post91
Business
Forbes95
Business Insider94
CNBC93
The Motley Fool91
Inc91
Local News
Patch90
Business Journals91
CBS Local92
FOX Localvaries
NBC Localvaries
Entertainment
Daily Mail94
Lifehacker93
Bustle86
BroBible69
Radass41
Technology
Site Pro News55
PC Mag92
ZD Net93
Digital
Information World
58
Tech Republic87
Career/HR
The Ladders71
Confessions of
the Professions
38
Human Resources
Online
53
HR Daily Advisor65
Benefits Pro63

Toughest Link Building Targets by Vertical

General News
CNN96
BBC96
The Economist93
Business News
Reuters95
Bloomberg94
Harvard Business Review91
Entertainment News
Rolling Stone92
Thrillist87
BuzzFeed93
Technology News
Wired94
Tech Crunch93
Ars Technica91

So how do I get those placements? Strategy.

The best outreach is targeted at scale, responsive, and finite. Instead of taking a “throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks” approach to pitching, which will annoy journalists more than earn you high-quality links, take a moment and devise your outreach strategy.

Are there particular publications that you’d really like to see links from? Do you notice any writers covering topics adjacent to your content at that publication? Are you able to write in a tone or vocabulary that matches the publication?

All of these are great questions to ask yourself when devising an outreach strategy. It’s also helpful to map out all of the angles your content captures and create a wishlist of journalists at multiple publications who cover stories similar to what you’re pitching. 

The next step is writing the pitch. 

Pitching Top-Tier Publications

When pitching a top-tier publication, it is important to keep in mind that thousands of other PRs and content creators across the country are all trying to earn coveted placements in top-tier publications. As such, understanding that a journalist’s inbox will be filled with thousands of pitches is paramount: if you want to get in, you must stand out.

Look at your subject line: is it short enough to fit in a phone preview? Most journalists look at pitches on their phones, so if you can’t say it in a few words, you might want to hone your angle. Stats are a great option to entice an open! 

Next, think about your pitch: how can you stand out from thousands of pitches that are copied from email to email? For top-tier journalists, a little legwork can go a long way: personalize your pitch and reference past works or why you think a story could work for their audiences based on what you’ve seen so far. 

Most importantly, keep it brief: showcase why this angle matters and how it advances the narrative of a story already in the news.

Whether it’s new statistics that add context to an already-identified trend – as in the case of a recent piece on side hustles we earned hundreds of links for – or a survey that identifies a previously unknown trend, journalists in top-tier publications don’t always have time to read multiple paragraphs of text. A few bullet points can go a long way when it comes to earning the best digital PR links. 

While it’s impossible to fully customize every pitch you send, if you really want to earn coverage for your digital PR campaign in top-tier publications, going the extra mile can really help your pitch stand out in a crowded inbox.

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