Respond to journalist queries automatically. Earn backlinks from high-authority publications.

Authority Builder is part of the PR Intelligence suite, which includes six additional link-building modules: Link Reclamation, Brand Mentions, Media Intelligence, Newsjacking Radar, Media Contacts, and Outreach Generation.

What Is Authority Builder?

Authority Builder helps you earn backlinks from high-authority publications through two channels:

Journalist Query Response - Respond to journalist requests from platforms like Source of Sources, HARO, Qwoted, and Terkel
Pillar Content Creation - Identify and create comprehensive content designed to earn backlinks

The dashboard tracks queries, pitches, placements, and link opportunities in one place.

Dashboard Overview

URL: /pr/authority/

Key Metrics

Metric	What It Shows
New Queries	Unreviewed journalist requests (relevance score ≥30%)
Urgent	Queries with deadlines within 24 hours
Pitched	Responses you've sent to journalists
Won	Placements secured (accepted pitches)

Dashboard Actions

Button	Purpose
Sources	Manage automated query sources
Re-score	Re-run AI relevance scoring on recent queries
Paste Query Email	Manually import journalist queries

Journalist Query Response

How Queries Are Imported

Automated (Broadcast Sources):

Source of Sources
HARO
Help a B2B Writer
SourceBottle

These sources are ingested automatically via email forwarding. ILLIXIS parses the email, distributes queries to all tenants, and scores relevance using AI.

Manual (Private Sources):

Qwoted
Terkel
Featured
Manual entry

Click Paste Query Email to manually import queries from private sources.

AI Relevance Scoring

Every query is scored 0-100 based on:

Brand keyword alignment
Industry relevance
Topic match to your content
Journalist authority

Only queries scoring ≥30% appear in your dashboard. Lower-scoring queries are filtered out automatically.

Query Detail Page

Click any query to view:

Query Information:

Publication name
Journalist name and email
Full query text
Requirements (word count, credentials, deadline)
Relevance score with reasoning

Actions:

Button	What It Does
Generate Pitch	AI creates a 150-250 word response using your brand voice
Update Status	Mark as Pitched/Won/Lost/Skipped

AI Pitch Generation

When you click Generate Pitch, ILLIXIS:

Analyzes the query - Extracts key requirements
Finds relevant content - Searches your published articles for backlink opportunities
Applies brand voice - Uses your tone, expertise, and positioning
Generates pitch - Creates a personalized 150-250 word response

The pitch includes:

Direct answer to the journalist's question
Reference to relevant published content (for backlink)
Your credentials and expertise
Call to action (contact info)

Edit the pitch before sending to the journalist via email. Copy the pitch text and email it directly to the journalist.

Marking Pitches as Sent

After emailing your pitch:

Click Mark as Sent on the pitch
Status updates to "Pitched"
Query moves out of "New" queue

Tracking Results

When a journalist accepts your pitch:

Update status to Won
Add the Result URL (article where you're quoted/linked)
Track placement in "Won" metrics

Pillar Content Recommendations

URL: /pr/authority/pillar-content/

What Are Pillar Content Recommendations?

AI-generated suggestions for comprehensive content designed to earn backlinks. Based on:

Competitor backlink analysis
Content gap identification
Topic authority opportunities

6 Content Types Recommended

Type	Description	Examples
Interactive Tool	Calculators, quizzes, assessments	ROI Calculator, Quiz
Original Research	Surveys, studies, data analysis	Industry Report, Study
Comprehensive Guide	Ultimate guides, reference materials	Complete Guide, Handbook
Template/Resource	Downloadable assets, checklists	Template Pack, Toolkit
Infographic	Visual data presentations	Statistics Visual, Timeline
Comparison/Listicle	Product/service comparisons	Top 10, Comparison Chart

Recommendation Details

Each recommendation includes:

Assessment:

Link Potential (0-100%) - Estimated backlink earning ability
Difficulty (Easy/Medium/Hard) - Effort required
Content Type - See table above

Evidence:

Rationale - Why this would earn links
Suggested Outline - 5-7 main sections
Competitor Examples - Content earning links in your niche

Actions

Button	Purpose
Accept	Mark as accepted (add to roadmap)
Accept + Create Brief	Create a content brief immediately
Reject	Dismiss recommendation

Creating Briefs from Recommendations

When you click Accept + Create Brief:

Option 1: With Deep Research (Recommended)

Triggers deep research to gather intelligence
Gathers statistics, quotes, studies, trends
Generates validated citations
Creates data visualizations
Takes ~5-7 minutes
Results in research-backed brief

Option 2: Quick Mode

Skips deep research
Uses standard brief creation
Takes ~2 minutes
Best for topics you already know well

The brief appears in /briefs/ with type Pillar Content.

Generating New Recommendations

Click Generate Ideas to create 5 new pillar content recommendations. The AI analyzes:

Your existing content gaps
Competitor backlink profiles
Industry trends
Search demand

Query Sources Management

URL: /pr/authority/query-sources/

Platform Sources (Automated)

These broadcast sources are ingested automatically:

Platform	Status	Last Received	Total Queries
Source of Sources	Active/Inactive	Date	Count
HARO	Active/Inactive	Date	Count
Help a B2B Writer	Active/Inactive	Date	Count
SourceBottle	Active/Inactive	Date	Count

Email Forwarding Setup:

ILLIXIS receives and parses queries automatically
Distributed to all accounts with relevance scoring
No configuration needed on your end

Re-scoring Queries

Click Re-score to re-run AI relevance scoring on recent queries.

Why re-score?

You updated your brand profile
You added new content (more backlink opportunities)
Previous scoring missed relevant matches

Process:

Select time period (1-30 days)
ILLIXIS deletes existing assignments for that period
Re-runs AI scoring on all queries
New assignments created with updated scores

Note: This may change which queries appear in your list. Queries previously hidden may surface if relevance improved.

Workflows

Workflow 1: Respond to Journalist Query

Check Authority Builder Dashboard
Review New Queries (sorted by relevance + deadline)
Click query to view details
Click Generate Pitch
Wait 15-30 seconds for AI pitch generation
Edit pitch as needed
Copy pitch and email to journalist
Click Mark as Sent
When journalist publishes article, update status to Won and add result URL

Time: 5 minutes per pitch

Workflow 2: Create Pillar Content

Navigate to Pillar Content (/authority/pillar-content/)
Review Suggestions (sorted by link potential)
Click recommendation to view details
Read rationale, outline, competitor examples
Click Accept + Create Brief
Choose With Deep Research (recommended for authority content)
Wait 5-7 minutes for brief creation
Navigate to Briefs to view generated brief
Generate article from brief
Publish article
Track backlinks earned over time

Time: 5-7 minutes (research), 15-20 minutes (writing)

Workflow 3: Generate New Pillar Ideas

Navigate to Pillar Content
Click Generate Ideas
Review 5 new AI recommendations
Accept or reject each recommendation
Accepted recommendations appear in Accepted status
Create briefs when ready to write

Time: 2 minutes for generation, 5 minutes to review

Filters and Search

Query List Filters

Status:

All Statuses
New (unreviewed)
Reviewing (opened but not pitched)
Pitched (response sent)
Won (placement secured)
Lost (no response from journalist)
Expired (deadline passed)
Skipped (intentionally skipped)

Source:

All Sources
Source of Sources
HARO
Help a B2B Writer
SourceBottle
Manual Entry

Pillar Content Filters

Status:

All Statuses
Suggested (new recommendations)
Accepted (added to roadmap)
In Progress (brief created)
Published (content live)
Rejected (dismissed)

Content Type:

All Types
Interactive Tool
Original Research
Comprehensive Guide
Template/Resource
Infographic
Comparison/Listicle

Difficulty:

All Difficulties
Easy
Medium
Hard

Understanding Metrics

New Queries Count

What it measures: Unreviewed journalist requests with relevance score ≥30%

How to reduce:

Review queries and update status
Click Mark all read in notification bell
Re-score to filter out newly irrelevant queries

Urgent Count

What it measures: Queries with deadlines within 24 hours

Action required: Review urgent queries first. Journalists on tight deadlines appreciate fast responses.

Pitched Count

What it measures: Total pitches sent (status = "Pitched")

Use case: Track your outreach volume. More pitches = more placement opportunities.

Won Count

What it measures: Placements secured (status = "Won")

Use case: Track backlinks earned. This is your success metric.

Success rate formula: Won / Pitched = Win rate %

Integration with Other Features

Briefs Integration

Pillar content recommendations can create Pillar Content briefs:

Deep research option gathers citations and statistics
Citations auto-validated
Charts auto-generated
Brief appears in /briefs/ with special pillar content icon

Content Hub Integration

When generating pitches, ILLIXIS searches your published content:

Finds relevant articles to reference
Suggests backlink opportunities
Links journalist pitch to existing content

Notification Integration

New journalist queries trigger notifications:

Notification bell shows count
Mark all read bulk action
Urgent queries highlighted

Best Practices

Journalist Queries

Do:

Respond within 24 hours (journalists on tight deadlines)
Reference specific published content for backlinks
Include credentials and expertise in pitch
Personalize AI pitch before sending
Follow up if no response after 1 week

Don't:

Send generic pitches (journalists ignore these)
Miss deadlines (journalists won't come back)
Reference content that's not published yet
Over-pitch (quality > quantity)

Pillar Content

Do:

Choose "With Deep Research" for authority topics
Review competitor examples before writing
Focus on high link potential (≥70%) first
Create comprehensive, reference-worthy content
Promote pillar content after publishing

Don't:

Skip the research phase (citations matter)
Rush through outlines (structure is key)
Choose "Hard" difficulty if resources are limited
Create pillar content without promotion plan

Relevance Scoring

Do:

Keep your brand profile updated (Settings → Brand Voice)
Publish regularly (more content = more backlink opportunities)
Re-score after major content additions
Review reasoning for low-scoring queries (calibrate scoring)

Don't:

Pitch queries scoring <30% (waste of time)
Ignore relevance reasoning (it's teaching you)
Re-score too frequently (7-14 day intervals)

Troubleshooting

No Queries Appearing

Check:

Are sources active? (Query Sources page)
Is relevance threshold too high? (Only ≥30% shown)
Recent queries? (Check "Last Received" dates)

Solution:

Wait 24-48 hours for first queries
Re-score if brand profile recently updated
Check email forwarding setup (platform admin)

AI Pitch Generation Fails

Possible causes:

No published content to reference
Brand voice not configured
Query text too vague

Solution:

Publish 2-3 articles first
Complete brand voice setup (Settings)
Edit query text for clarity

Pillar Content Recommendations Seem Off

Check:

Are your brand keywords current? (Settings → SEO)
Have you published recently? (Content Hub)
Are competitor examples in your niche?

Solution:

Update brand keywords
Re-generate recommendations
Reject off-topic recommendations (trains AI)

Re-scoring Takes Too Long

Expected time: 30-60 seconds per 10 queries

If longer:

Reduce time period (try 7 days instead of 30)
Contact support if the process hangs for more than 10 minutes

Quick Reference