Mention in VERY Large News Outlet, will it hurt me?

[Timetraveler]

A writer for a very large world news outlet has asked for me to do a few word interview on an upcoming news piece about my industry.

I've never been mentioned in anything close to this magnitude. My site is about 5 years old, a few of which it was penalized for link building (nothing major). All links were removed, I added double the content while it was penalized and redid the entire site. The penalty was removed and it has been 6mo. It now ranks page 2 for very competitive keyword and we continue to work on it.

I'm very worried that such a large link will hurt me because I have basically no incoming links atm, even though they reached out to me and approved the citation of my site at the end of the quote in association with my real name.

It's completely natural but I don't know what google will think having no links then suddenly getting such a huge mention.

Do you think I should tell them not to hyperlink it? Because the link is coming from such a powerful source I feel ok, but not sure if anyone has had past experiences they can share?

[goodroi]

A single link is not large. It can be powerful but not large. A repetitive link drop on every single page of a 1,000 page website can be large and that can make many webmasters uncomfortable (which is why ROS links are not favored as much anymore). A single like given in an editorial reviewed manner is good from an SEO perspective.

Some people may become nervous because it can lead to more competition as a result of this exposure and a temporary increase of your bounce rate as curiosity seekers may visit.

Being mentioned in a large news outlet will likely help you increase your EAT score.

[Planet13]

Do you think I should tell them not to hyperlink it? Because the link is coming from such a powerful source I feel ok, but not sure if anyone has had past experiences they can share?

I would say that you are worrying too much. I would have them link to your site (encouraging them to use the official domain name).

[Robert Charlton]

(encouraging them to use the official domain name).

Yes, by all means let them link to your site. I would not make any suggestions at all with regard to how they should link to you. I wouldn't suggest anchor text, target page, or canonicalization.

Let them do whatever they'd normally do, and Google is more likely to see that as natural than if they did something else trying to accommodate your request.

PS: Congratulations on the interview.

[dcheney]

I have had something similar happen to one of my sites and never had any negative impact.

I just had unusually heavy traffic for about 10 days (in my case, it was in a weekly publication).

[piatkow]

I had a mention and accompanying link, totally unsolicited, on a national newspaper's website. The article generated a steady stream of visitors following the link, only tailing off after a year. It certainly didn't hurt my rankings.

[netmeg]

Take the link as is and congratulations.

[Sand]

Do not worry about this.

Getting *real* press through PR and other means (like yours) is, in my experience, the absolute best way to get out of their animal filters.

Not that one link will do much on its own, but getting a lot of legitimate 'earned' links from legitimate organizations can go a long way in my experience.

[EditorialGuy]

Not that one link will do much on its own, but getting a lot of legitimate 'earned' links from legitimate organizations can go a long way in my experience.

In my experience, even a few good links from major news organizations, academic libraries, and other trusted sources can be quite helpful.

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth!

[Sand]

In my experience, even a few good links from major news organizations, academic libraries, and other trusted sources can be quite helpful.

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth!

Definitely!

I meant more in terms of getting out of a Panda filter -- it takes more to have an impact than if your site was filter-free, in my experience. Regardless, any good link is something to be happy about.

[Timetraveler]

Thanks guys I will let you know things turn out.

[GreenDog18]

Well played Google..... Well played.

[incrediBILL]

I would be more concerned about your server melting under the sudden flood of traffic and not being able to respond.

If you're using a shared server, you might want to give your ISP a heads up and maybe move your site to a server that has the resources to handle the load before it hits the fan.

One of my blog posts hit the front page of Digg when it was still a viable force on the web and I was getting about 20K visitors an hour for half a day.

It was tense.

[EditorialGuy]

I would be more concerned about your server melting under the sudden flood of traffic and not being able to respond.

I've had links from any number of major news sites (NY Times, Washington Post, Die Zeit, Forbes, etc.), and in most cases, the links have resulted in only a trickle of traffic on any given day.

Of course, if your topic is extremely timely and of mass-market interest ("Obama leaves Michelle for Kim Kardashian"), your mileage may vary.

[wheel]

Don't worry about the link, but make sure you get it. I get these links a 8-10 times a year and there's no harm. They're probably the single best ranking signal/link there is these days. It'll help you, not hurt you.

(I just got off the phone being interviewed by a national newspaper. I made sure the last point was 'I'm getting a link, right?')

As others have noted, national news agencies are not Digg. Expect no noticeable increase in traffic or business.

FWIW, there's two reasons I got that last call. First, I wrote a contrarian article that the reporter read, and wanted a dissenting viewpoint for their article. Second, I have a 'media' page where I link to every mention I have in national publications. Not everyone wants to talk to reporters or is comfortable doing so. My media page shows prospective reporters that not only am I willing to talk to reporters, I know how to - and they call because it fixes their problem of finding a source for info.