How to Get a Backlink from CNN

Why a CNN backlink matters and what it typically costs

A link from CNN (cnn.com) is a high-authority backlink: it combines editorial validation, audience scale and referral traffic that can materially increase visibility for timely and newsworthy content. SimilarWeb places cnn.com among the largest global news properties, reporting monthly traffic at the scale of hundreds of millions of visits, which explains why a CNN citation is treated as premium inventory. See SimilarWeb for site metrics: SimilarWeb — cnn.com.

CNN offers branded-content and commercial solutions through its commercial/brand studio channels. These programs bundle creative production, editorial coordination and distribution; public reporting and industry coverage show that such branded campaigns are production-heavy and commonly have minimums in the tens of thousands of dollars. See CNN advertising and branded-content information: CNN Advertising.

Editorial links versus paid placements: policy and realism

Search engines distinguish paid and editorial links. Google has been explicit: “Buying or selling links that pass PageRank violates our webmaster guidelines.” That phrase explains why publishers disclose commercial arrangements and frequently mark paid outbound links with rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow". See Google’s guidance: Google — Link Schemes.

From an SEO perspective, paid placements are primarily media buys (audience and brand exposure). Earned editorial links—unpaid citations earned by newsworthiness or research—carry the clearest editorial validation and the highest chance of downstream organic amplification.

Expired domains + 301 redirect: what we do and why it can work

We operate a low-cost, technical alternative built around expired domains and clean server-side 301 redirects. The approach leverages how search engines handle redirects: “Redirects: A strong signal that the target of the redirect should become canonical,” per Google’s indexing guidance. When an expired domain historically received valuable editorial links (and those links were dofollow), a single, well-implemented 301 can reassign indexing signals to your target URL. See Google’s redirect documentation: Google — Redirects.

Practical workflow (what we execute):

• Identify expired domains that previously attracted links from high-authority sites (candidate CNN-linked assets).
• Vet the domain for backlink quality, topical fit, archive history and spam/penalty signals.
• Acquire the domain and implement a server-side 301 redirect (no client-side JS redirects, avoid chains).
• Monitor crawl behavior, referral traffic and search metrics over 90–180 days.

This is a technical, measurable tactic: it does not create new editorial citations on cnn.com, but it can consolidate residual link equity and referral paths when historical conditions are favorable.

What to expect and measurable limits

Real outcomes depend on concrete, verifiable factors:

• Link attribute: If the original CNN link was rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored", it likely did not pass PageRank, and a redirect will not retroactively create PageRank-bearing equity.
• Domain history: Clean backlink profile, no manual actions, and topical continuity matter.
• Redirect hygiene: Single server-side 301s, short chains, and 1:1 mapping preserve signals and reduce risk.
• Topical match: Redirect targets should reflect the original content’s intent to avoid soft-404 treatment.

We treat this tactic as experimental and data-driven: we measure referral traffic, index status, and organic movement, and we iterate based on measurable signals.

Risk controls and audit checklist (actionable)

Before any acquisition we run a strict checklist:

• Capture the CNN referring URL and archive or cached HTML to verify the link attribute.
• Run a multi-tool backlink audit (Ahrefs / Moz / Majestic) to inspect root domains and anchor-text distribution. Ahrefs, Moz, Majestic.
• Inspect Internet Archive snapshots for prior content and ownership continuity: Internet Archive.
• Check for manual-action history or bad-neighborhood links.
• Implement server-side 301s with immediate HTTP-status validation and monitoring via server logs and Google Search Console.
• Track referral traffic and organic metrics for a 90–180 day test window.

These steps reduce downside and produce auditable evidence for each candidate domain.

Cost comparison and recommended use cases

• Official branded/native programs (CNN’s studio/commercial solutions): production-heavy campaigns commonly start in the tens of thousands of dollars and scale with creative and distribution scope. Use these when you need guaranteed audience access and bespoke creative. CNN Advertising.
• Agency/PR-driven editorial outreach: variable; often thousands to tens of thousands depending on relationships and the story’s newsworthiness.
• Expired-domain acquisition + 301 setup (our service): $150 per domain for domain research, vetting, acquisition and server-side 301 setup. The fee covers only the technical acquisition and redirect; it excludes content creation, PR outreach, or guarantees about editorial behavior on third-party sites.

For teams that want repeatable tests with predictable unit economics, the $150 model enables scalable experiments across multiple candidate assets while preserving a rigorous vetting process.

Final Considerations

A cnn.com citation is a selective, high-value editorial signal that commonly requires either editorial merit or substantial paid media spend. When historical evidence shows dofollow citations to an expired domain and the domain passes strict vetting, a properly implemented server-side 301 can consolidate measurable residual signals to your target pages. Respect Google’s guidance on paid links, keep redirects technical and transparent, and evaluate outcomes quantitatively. See Google’s guidance on link schemes and redirects: Google — Link Schemes, Google — Redirects.

This is where we come in: we provide disciplined expired-domain research, backlink vetting, acquisition and server-side 301 setup for $150 per domain. Our deliverable is an auditable acquisition and technical redirect implementation—no editorial promises, no content production—so you can test redirected link signals at scale with predictable cost and clear metrics. If you want a sample vetting report or our standard checklist, we will share the exact data we use to make acquisition decisions.