How to Get a Backlink from NBC News

Securing a link from NBC News is a high-value SEO objective that combines editorial visibility with domain authority. We outline the standard paths to that link and then present a cost-efficient alternative using expired domains and 301 redirects. We keep the analysis practical, metric-focused, and actionable.

Standard Paths and Approximate Cost

There are three realistic, publisher-friendly ways organizations obtain links on NBC News:

• Earned editorial coverage. Pitching reporters, offering a newsworthy story, or contributing an expert comment can produce an editorial link. This route requires strong news hooks and outreach; costs are mostly time and any agency support you hire.
• Sponsored/native content. Major publishers provide branded-content solutions and custom packages. Branded-content campaigns with premium publishers commonly range widely; market guides list branded content pricing from $1,000 to $50,000 depending on scale, placement, and amplification. NBCUniversal marketplace.
• Agency-driven PR outreach. Hiring a PR firm to secure coverage is common. Industry data show PR retainers and packages typically fall between $2,000 and $20,000+ per month, with enterprise or specialized campaigns costing more.

For planning: a single guaranteed sponsored placement on a top-tier national property or an integrated branded-content campaign will often cost several thousand dollars at minimum; sustained PR to build relationships and placements runs into multiple thousands per month. NBCUniversal’s advertising and partnership pages provide contact points for briefings and program inquiries. NBCUniversal marketplace.

Why Those Costs Exist

Editors and audience inventory represent scarce attention. Publishers package homepage exposure, newsletter mentions, and native production support; these are billable items. Branded content and national publisher distribution require project management, legal/FTC disclosures, and creative production—each step increases cost. The business case for the publisher is straightforward: guaranteed advertiser dollars replace uncertain editorial monetization.

Expired Domains + 301 Redirects: The Alternative

A lower-cost route is to acquire an expired domain that already has inbound links — ideally including a historical link from NBC News or similar outlets — then implement a 301 redirect to your target page so some referral signals flow to your property. The procedure we use:

1. Identify domains with authoritative inbound links and acceptable metrics (Ahrefs Domain Rating and similar). Ahrefs defines Domain Rating as: “Domain Rating (DR) shows the strength of a website’s backlink profile compared to the others in our database on a 100-point scale.” Ahrefs: What is Domain Rating (DR).
2. Vet history and risk. Inspect Wayback Machine snapshots, check for spammy anchors, and search for manual actions. Wayback Machine.
3. Acquire and implement server-level 301s. Redirect the domain or specific pages to the destination URL and monitor Search Console and analytics. Google’s documentation on permanent server-side redirects clarifies recommended practices: Google Search Central: 301 Redirects.

Effectiveness and Limits

When it works: If the expired domain’s backlink profile included legitimate editorial links — ideally including the target publisher — a redirect can route referral traffic and some link authority to the destination. The stronger and more topical the referring links, the higher the chance of measurable benefit. Tools like Ahrefs or Majestic let you confirm referring domains and anchor context before purchase. Ahrefs, Majestic, Moz.

When it fails or is risky: Redirecting many unrelated domains, or redirecting pages that are not close topical matches, can be treated as soft-404s or ignored for ranking signals. Search documentation and industry tests note that relevance and 1:1 replacement matter for SEO value; redirects to irrelevant pages risk little to no ranking benefit.

Policy and editorial risk: Relying solely on domain buys to “manufacture” links can attract manual review if patterns look manipulative. Conservative use, rigorous vetting, and targeted one-to-one redirects reduce risk. For guidance on moving content and redirects, see Google’s site-move documentation: Google Search Central: Site moves. For context on redirect credit and commentary from search analysts, see reporting that cites John Mueller’s remarks: “I wouldn’t see it as ‘full credit or not’, but rather – as mentioned in our docs – it’s a good practice for any move to update the important old links to point at the right new pages.” SERoundTable citing John Mueller.

Practical, Actionable Workflow

• Query expired-domain marketplaces and backlink indexes for domains with the specific referring domain.
• Export referring-domain lists, evaluate Domain Rating/Trust Flow, and inspect Wayback snapshots for relevance.
• Run spam-anchor and manual-action checks; reject domains with heavy paid-link patterns.
• Buy the domain, implement server-level 301s (not meta-refresh), and monitor traffic and indexing. Follow Google’s site-move and redirect guidance to minimize errors. Google Search Central: Site moves.

Final Considerations

Traditional methods to secure a backlink from NBC News are reliable and frequently costly: sponsored/native campaigns can run into the thousands, and PR retainers commonly run several thousand per month. The expired-domain + 301 approach is not a guaranteed substitute for editorial coverage, but it is an efficient, testable tactic to capture referral equity when an expired domain carries the specific link you want.

This is where we come in: we research, vet, acquire, and implement the 301 for $150 per domain (our fee covers research, vetting, acquisition coordination, and 301 setup; domain registration/purchase price is separate). We use Ahrefs/Majestic checks, Wayback inspection, anchor-profile screening, and server-level redirect configuration to reduce risk and maximize the chance that a legacy editorial link contributes to your target URL. For organizations comparing a multi-thousand-dollar sponsored placement to a targeted expired-domain test, our service offers a measurable, lower-cost experiment to assess link-equity transfer before committing larger budgets.