“10 backlinks from real news sites, not PBNs, for $2,500. How do I check the sites are real?”

The steps

1. 1

   Search the way the buyer asked

   Dofollow, indexed, a Domain Authority of 50 or more and $250 a link, the buyer’s $2,500 divided by 10. 235 listings match. Sorted by authority, the top 30 show why 1 score is not a check.

   MCP tool call: search_outlets

   Copy

   {
     "dofollow": true,
     "indexed": true,
     "min_da": 50,
     "max_price": 250,
     "sort": "authority_desc",
     "limit": 30
   }

   Same call over REST

   Copy

   curl "https://essentras.com/api/agent/v1/outlets?\
   dofollow=true&indexed=true&min_da=50&max_price=250&sort=authority_desc&limit=30"

   Real response, trimmed. Captured 19 Oct 2026

   Copy

   {
     "total": 235,
     "has_more": true,
     "results": [
       {
         "id": "digest-epizy-com",
         "outlet": {
           "website": "digest.epizy.com",
           "domain_authority": 84,
           "domain_rating": 77,
           "monthly_traffic": 329
         },
         "price": {"amount": 130}
       },
       {
         "id": "ipsnews-net",
         "outlet": {
           "website": "www.ipsnews.net",
           "domain_authority": 82,
           "domain_rating": 78,
           "monthly_traffic": 61257
         },
         "price": {"amount": 140}
       },
       {
         "id": "blog-libero-it",
         "outlet": {
           "website": "blog.libero.it",
           "domain_authority": 81,
           "domain_rating": 82,
           "monthly_traffic": 89953
         },
         "price": {"amount": 243}
       },
       {
         "id": "sports-tmcnet-com",
         "outlet": {
           "website": "sports.tmcnet.com",
           "domain_authority": 80,
           "domain_rating": 80,
           "monthly_traffic": null
         },
         "price": {"amount": 217}
       },
       {
         "id": "the-pool-com",
         "outlet": {
           "website": "www.the-pool.com",
           "domain_authority": 79,
           "domain_rating": 58,
           "monthly_traffic": null
         },
         "price": {"amount": 130}
       }
     ]
   }

   What to read: 20 of the 30 report no monthly_traffic and 9 have a Domain Rating under 20. A high Domain Authority next to a low Domain Rating and no traffic is a reason to look closer, not proof either way. 5 of 30 results shown.

2. 2

   Add a 2nd score, the language and a traffic floor

   The agent adds min_dr 50 and language English, and treats $2,500 as a basket total: 10 placements take 15% off, so listings a little above $250 still fit. max_price becomes 300, and the total is checked at the end. 41 listings match.

   MCP tool call: search_outlets

   Copy

   {
     "dofollow": true,
     "indexed": true,
     "min_da": 50,
     "min_dr": 50,
     "max_price": 300,
     "language": "English",
     "sort": "authority_desc",
     "limit": 100
   }

   Same call over REST

   Copy

   curl "https://essentras.com/api/agent/v1/outlets?\
   dofollow=true&indexed=true&min_da=50&min_dr=50&max_price=300&language=English&sort=authority_desc&limit=100"

   Real response, trimmed. Captured 19 Oct 2026

   Copy

   {
     "total": 41,
     "has_more": false,
     "results": [
       {
         "id": "digest-epizy-com",
         "outlet": {
           "website": "digest.epizy.com",
           "domain_authority": 84,
           "domain_rating": 77,
           "monthly_traffic": 329
         },
         "price": {"amount": 130}
       },
       {
         "id": "ipsnews-net",
         "outlet": {
           "website": "www.ipsnews.net",
           "domain_authority": 82,
           "domain_rating": 78,
           "monthly_traffic": 61257
         },
         "price": {"amount": 140}
       },
       {
         "id": "sports-tmcnet-com",
         "outlet": {
           "website": "sports.tmcnet.com",
           "domain_authority": 80,
           "domain_rating": 80,
           "monthly_traffic": null
         },
         "price": {"amount": 217}
       },
       {
         "id": "the-pool-com",
         "outlet": {
           "website": "www.the-pool.com",
           "domain_authority": 79,
           "domain_rating": 58,
           "monthly_traffic": null
         },
         "price": {"amount": 130}
       },
       {
         "id": "blogs-orgfree-com",
         "outlet": {
           "website": "blogs.orgfree.com",
           "domain_authority": 78,
           "domain_rating": 71,
           "monthly_traffic": null
         },
         "price": {"amount": 217}
       }
     ]
   }

   What to read: The agent keeps the listings that report 10,000 or more monthly visits: 14 of 41. 9 report no figure at all. 5 of 41 results shown.

3. 3

   Read a finalist in full, then open the site

   get_outlet returns everything the API knows about 1 listing. The rest of the check is by hand: open outlet.website and look for dated news, bylines and an about page. The API has no newsroom flag and no live examples yet.

   MCP tool call: get_outlet

   Copy

   {
     "id": "ipsnews-net"
   }

   Same call over REST

   Copy

   curl https://essentras.com/api/agent/v1/outlets/ipsnews-net

   Real response, trimmed. Captured 19 Oct 2026

   Copy

   {
     "id": "ipsnews-net",
     "outlet": {
       "name": "IPS news.net",
       "website": "www.ipsnews.net",
       "country": "US",
       "languages": ["English"],
       "topics": ["Business & Economy"],
       "domain_authority": 82,
       "domain_rating": 78,
       "monthly_traffic": 61257
     },
     "price": {"amount": 140},
     "link": {
       "dofollow": true,
       "indexed": "YES",
       "sponsored_tag": "NO",
       "disclosure": "Published as a standard editorial article, with no sponsored label."
     }
   }

   What to read: The highest-authority finalist: Domain Authority 82, Domain Rating 78, 61,257 monthly visits. link.disclosure: “Published as a standard editorial article, with no sponsored label.”

4. 4

   Quote the 10 with the most traffic

   The agent quotes the shortlist in traffic order and checks the total against the budget. The buyer drops any site that fails the check by hand, and the agent quotes again.

   MCP tool call: quote_placements

   Copy

   {
     "items": [
       {"id": "storeboard-com"}, {"id": "tech-bullion"}, {"id": "activerain-com"},
       {"id": "panhandle-newschannelnebraska-com"}, {"id": "filmdaily-co"},
       {"id": "ipwithease-com"}, {"id": "european-business-review"}, {"id": "ipsnews-net"},
       {"id": "urdesignmag-com"}, {"id": "gisuser"}
     ]
   }

   Same call over REST

   Copy

   curl -X POST https://essentras.com/api/agent/v1/quote \
     -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
     -d '{"items":[{"id":"storeboard-com"},{"id":"tech-bullion"},{"id":"activerain-com"},{"id":"panhandle-newschannelnebraska-com"},{"id":"filmdaily-co"},{"id":"ipwithease-com"},{"id":"european-business-review"},{"id":"ipsnews-net"},{"id":"urdesignmag-com"},{"id":"gisuser"}]}'

   Real response, trimmed. Captured 19 Oct 2026

   Copy

   {
     "line_items": [
       {"id": "storeboard-com", "unit_price": 257},
       {"id": "tech-bullion", "unit_price": 250},
       {"id": "activerain-com", "unit_price": 120},
       {"id": "panhandle-newschannelnebraska-com", "unit_price": 260},
       {"id": "filmdaily-co", "unit_price": 240},
       {"id": "ipwithease-com", "unit_price": 200},
       {"id": "european-business-review", "unit_price": 248},
       {"id": "ipsnews-net", "unit_price": 140},
       {"id": "urdesignmag-com", "unit_price": 251},
       {"id": "gisuser", "unit_price": 217}
     ],
     "subtotal": 2183,
     "discount": {"amount": 327.45, "percent": 15},
     "total": 1855.55,
     "checkout_url": "https://essentras.com/cart?add=storeboard-com%2Ctech-bullion%2Cactiverain-com%2Cpanhandle-newschannelnebraska-com%2Cfilmdaily-co%2Cipwithease-com%2Ceuropean-business-review%2Cipsnews-net%2Curdesignmag-com%2Cgisuser&utm_source=ai_agent&utm_medium=agent_api",
     "expires_in_seconds": 86400
   }

   What to read: total is $1,855.55, under $2,500, with 15% off for 10 placements. 3 of the 10 cost more than $250 and the basket still fits.