What USA Today accepts and the editorial constraint
USA Today accepts finished opinion and column submissions but keeps strict editorial controls. Many guidance pages note that “We only accept pieces that are submitted exclusively to USA TODAY. We do not accept material that has been published on blogs, social media or anywhere else.” Library of Illinois – USA Today guidance
Practical effect: direct editorial placement requires an exclusive, newsworthy contribution or accepted opinion piece. Columns typically run ~550–750 words and should be sent directly to the forum inbox with URLs to back up factual claims; paid placement through the newsroom is not an open product. Pitch & Publish – How to get published in USA Today
Traditional routes and approximate costs
Typical routes to an authoritative mention include original reporting, exclusive data or opinion pieces placed via accepted contributor channels, or PR-driven coverage that editors deem newsworthy. Market research provides a price benchmark for premium backlinks: “$508.95 is the average price SEOs consider acceptable for acquiring one high-quality backlink.” Editorial.Link — Link Building Pricing
- PR or agency outreach campaigns that aim for top-tier publisher mentions commonly cost from several hundred to multiple thousands of US dollars per campaign.
- Time investment is nontrivial: relationships, reporting, and editorial cycles usually span weeks to months.
What a USA Today backlink delivers
A mention on USA Today can yield targeted referral traffic, brand credibility for stakeholders, and an indexing/discovery signal. Google changed link handling in 2019: “For crawling and indexing purposes, nofollow will become a hint as of March 1, 2020.” That update means publisher link attributes can act as signals for crawling and indexing even when rel attributes are present. Google Search Central — Evolving “nofollow”
Expect reputational value and discovery benefits even when direct PageRank transfer is limited by rel attributes or site practices.
Expired domains plus 301 redirects: the alternative
An alternative tactic is to acquire an expired domain that already carries an authoritative citation (for example, a USA Today reference), then implement a 301 redirect to your target site. The basic workflow:
- Confirm the USA Today reference still points to the expired domain (live check + Wayback Machine snapshots).
- Audit the domain’s backlink profile for spam, penalties, and topical fit.
- Acquire the domain and implement a clean 301 redirect with correct canonical headers.
- Monitor indexation, referral traffic, and ranking signals for 8–12 weeks.
Industry coverage of this tactic is cautious. Search Engine Journal summarized the practice: “Redirecting expired domains was a tried-and-true tactic in the old days SEO. But here’s why you shouldn’t count on it as an SEO tactic nowadays.” That assessment reflects current uncertainty and variability in outcomes. Search Engine Journal — Should You Buy & Redirect Expired Domains?
Search advocate guidance and realistic expectations
Search advocates have warned that expired-domain redirects do not automatically transfer value. As quoted in industry reporting, John Mueller observed: “No. We don’t use DA, and redirecting expired domains hasn’t made sense for a long time now.” That statement signals that redirects are not a guaranteed shortcut and that Google evaluates signals conservatively. Search Engine Journal — Expired Domains and Google
Cost comparison and risk profile
- Traditional editorial route: budget several hundred to several thousand USD per campaign; use the $508.95 per-link benchmark as a market reference. Editorial.Link
- Expired-domain route: cost = domain acquisition price + vetting + technical setup. Many useful expired domains trade for modest sums; premium auctions demand much more.
Tradeoffs: editorial placement provides clear legitimacy but higher cash and time costs. Redirects can be faster and often cheaper, but benefits are uncertain, and legacy penalties or topical mismatch can negate gains.
Actionable checklist
- Verify the USA Today citation and archive evidence (Wayback/live).
- Perform a complete backlink audit for the candidate domain (referring domains, anchor diversity, spam signals).
- Confirm topical alignment between the expired domain’s historical content and your target site.
- Acquire the domain and implement a single-step 301 redirect; avoid chains and incorrect canonical headers.
- Monitor traffic, index status, and keyword movements for at least 8 weeks before judging ROI.
Final Considerations
This is where we come in. We offer a focused expired-domain acquisition package that includes domain research, vetting, acquisition and 301 setup for $150 per domain. Our deliverable is a vetted shortlist with metrics and a completed permanent redirect to your chosen target. We do not provide content creation, editorial outreach to USA Today, or guarantees of ranking changes; outcomes depend on historical link quality and search-engine assessment.
If you want a comparative evaluation, we will scan for expired domains retaining USA Today references, present acquisition estimates and metrics, and show how those alternatives stack up against typical outreach budgets such as the $508.95 per-link benchmark. Editorial.Link, Google Search Central, Search Engine Journal.
