Last updated · reviewed by the Essentras editorial team
Agent recipe
“Find US outlets under $400 that give dofollow links, then price the best 3.”
The agent finds 233 US listings under $400 that publish a dofollow link, picks the best 3 by a rule it states, and quotes them at $468 after the 10% volume discount. Google’s policy on paid links comes with the answer.
Responses captured 19 Oct 2026. Prices change, so the agent must re-quote before it shows a total.
search_outletsquote_placementsConnect the MCP server or REST API first: no account, no key. Rules: agent briefing.
The steps
Search best first
The buyer’s 3 conditions become filters: country US, dofollow true and max_price 400, plus indexed true, so only placements confirmed indexed by Google come back. Sorted by authority, 233 listings match; the agent reads the top 10.
MCP tool call: search_outlets{ "country": "US", "dofollow": true, "indexed": true, "max_price": 400, "sort": "authority_desc", "limit": 10 }Same call over RESTcurl "https://essentras.com/api/agent/v1/outlets?\ country=US&dofollow=true&indexed=true&max_price=400&sort=authority_desc&limit=10"Real response, trimmed. Captured 19 Oct 2026{ "total": 233, "has_more": true, "results": [ { "id": "kiwibox-com", "outlet": {"domain_authority": 84, "domain_rating": 49, "monthly_traffic": 9985}, "price": {"amount": 260} }, { "id": "ipsnews-net", "outlet": {"domain_authority": 82, "domain_rating": 78, "monthly_traffic": 61257}, "price": {"amount": 140} }, { "id": "sports-tmcnet-com", "outlet": {"domain_authority": 80, "domain_rating": 80, "monthly_traffic": null}, "price": {"amount": 217} }, { "id": "urdesignmag-com", "outlet": {"domain_authority": 78, "domain_rating": 63, "monthly_traffic": 57116}, "price": {"amount": 251} }, { "id": "metapress", "outlet": {"domain_authority": 77, "domain_rating": 81, "monthly_traffic": null}, "price": {"amount": 333} }, { "id": "futuristic-architecture", "outlet": {"domain_authority": 77, "domain_rating": 62, "monthly_traffic": null}, "price": {"amount": 333} }, { "id": "sought-bcz-com", "outlet": {"domain_authority": 76, "domain_rating": 71, "monthly_traffic": null}, "price": {"amount": 379} }, { "id": "plattevalley-newschannelnebraska-com", "outlet": {"domain_authority": 75, "domain_rating": 76, "monthly_traffic": 27230}, "price": {"amount": 260} }, { "id": "central-newschannelnebraska-com", "outlet": {"domain_authority": 75, "domain_rating": 76, "monthly_traffic": 23645}, "price": {"amount": 260} }, { "id": "panhandle-newschannelnebraska-com", "outlet": {"domain_authority": 75, "domain_rating": 76, "monthly_traffic": 93162}, "price": {"amount": 260} } ] }What to read: Domain Authority and Domain Rating are 2 third-party scores. The top listing has a Domain Authority of 84 and a Domain Rating of 49, and 4 of the 10 report no monthly_traffic, so 1 score is not enough.
Search cheapest first, with a 2nd score
The same filters with min_dr 50, sorted by price, show the cheapest listings that keep a Domain Rating of 50 or more: 62 match.
MCP tool call: search_outlets{ "country": "US", "dofollow": true, "indexed": true, "max_price": 400, "min_dr": 50, "sort": "price_asc", "limit": 10 }Same call over RESTcurl "https://essentras.com/api/agent/v1/outlets?\ country=US&dofollow=true&indexed=true&max_price=400&min_dr=50&sort=price_asc&limit=10"Real response, trimmed. Captured 19 Oct 2026{ "total": 62, "has_more": true, "results": [ { "id": "vents-magazine", "outlet": {"domain_authority": 64, "domain_rating": 78, "monthly_traffic": 9186}, "price": {"amount": 70} }, { "id": "geek-insider", "outlet": {"domain_authority": 47, "domain_rating": 53, "monthly_traffic": 12690}, "price": {"amount": 110} }, { "id": "activerain-com", "outlet": {"domain_authority": 74, "domain_rating": 75, "monthly_traffic": 122555}, "price": {"amount": 120} }, { "id": "multiplayerpiano-com", "outlet": {"domain_authority": 42, "domain_rating": 52, "monthly_traffic": 52082}, "price": {"amount": 128} }, { "id": "cooking-instilettos", "outlet": {"domain_authority": 67, "domain_rating": 55, "monthly_traffic": null}, "price": {"amount": 130} }, { "id": "ipsnews-net", "outlet": {"domain_authority": 82, "domain_rating": 78, "monthly_traffic": 61257}, "price": {"amount": 140} }, { "id": "law-newsday-staff", "outlet": {"domain_authority": 34, "domain_rating": 56, "monthly_traffic": 1518}, "price": {"amount": 173} }, { "id": "lookwhatmomfound-com", "outlet": {"domain_authority": 66, "domain_rating": 69, "monthly_traffic": 2552}, "price": {"amount": 173} }, { "id": "ipwithease-com", "outlet": {"domain_authority": 65, "domain_rating": 50, "monthly_traffic": 77270}, "price": {"amount": 200} }, { "id": "sports-tmcnet-com", "outlet": {"domain_authority": 80, "domain_rating": 80, "monthly_traffic": null}, "price": {"amount": 217} } ] }What to read: The cheapest is Vents Magazine at $70, with 9,186 monthly visits.
Pick the best 3 by a stated rule, then quote
The buyer said “best” without a topic, so the agent states its rule: Domain Authority and Domain Rating both 60 or more and 10,000 or more monthly visits, then the 3 with the most traffic. 6 listings pass across both searches.
MCP tool call: quote_placements{ "items": [ {"id": "activerain-com"}, {"id": "panhandle-newschannelnebraska-com"}, {"id": "ipsnews-net"} ] }Same call over RESTcurl -X POST https://essentras.com/api/agent/v1/quote \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -d '{"items":[{"id":"activerain-com"},{"id":"panhandle-newschannelnebraska-com"},{"id":"ipsnews-net"}]}'Real response, trimmed. Captured 19 Oct 2026{ "line_items": [ { "id": "activerain-com", "name": "Active Rain", "unit_price": 120, "turnaround": "240 hours" }, { "id": "panhandle-newschannelnebraska-com", "name": "Panhandle Newschannel Nebraska", "unit_price": 260, "turnaround": "240 hours" }, { "id": "ipsnews-net", "name": "IPS news.net", "unit_price": 140, "turnaround": "120 hours" } ], "unavailable": [], "subtotal": 520, "discount": { "amount": 52, "percent": 10, "next_tier": "Add 2 more placement(s) for 15% off the whole basket." }, "total": 468, "billing_trigger": "on_order", "checkout_url": "https://essentras.com/cart?add=activerain-com%2Cpanhandle-newschannelnebraska-com%2Cipsnews-net&utm_source=ai_agent&utm_medium=agent_api", "expires_in_seconds": 86400 }What to read: total is $468 after 10% off. discount.next_tier offers 15% off the whole basket with 2 more placements: an option, never added unasked.
The 6 listings that pass the rule
| Listing | Domain Authority / Rating | Monthly visits | Price | Quoted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active Rain | 74 / 75 | 122,555 | $120 | Yes |
| Panhandle Newschannel Nebraska | 75 / 76 | 93,162 | $260 | Yes |
| IPS news.net | 82 / 78 | 61,257 | $140 | Yes |
| Urdesignmag.com | 78 / 63 | 57,116 | $251 | No |
| Plattevalley News Channel Nebraska | 75 / 76 | 27,230 | $260 | No |
| Central News Channel Nebraska | 75 / 76 | 23,645 | $260 | No |
What the agent tells the buyer
I found 233 US listings under $400 that publish with a dofollow link and are confirmed indexed. With no topic given, I picked by a stated rule: both authority scores 60 or more and at least 10,000 monthly visits, then the most traffic.
The best 3 are Active Rain, Panhandle Newschannel Nebraska, IPS news.net: $520 together, $468 after the 10% volume discount for 3 placements. 2 more would make it 15% off the whole basket; that is your call. If price matters more, Vents Magazine costs $70, below my traffic floor.
These are paid placements, not coverage a journalist chose to write; all 3 listings state no sponsored label, which does not make them unpaid.
link.dofollow says how the outlet publishes the link today. Google’s spam policies list buying or selling links for ranking purposes as link spam, and accept paid links marked rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow" (page last updated 28 Aug 2026, read 19 Oct 2026). So I make no promise about rankings: buy them for the readers.
The card is charged at checkout and refunded if a placement is not published or its turnaround is missed. Shall I send the link?
The human step
The buyer opens checkout_url, sees the same 3 outlets and the discounted total, and pays on essentras.com. The quote is valid for 24 hours; the agent re-quotes after a few minutes.
https://essentras.com/cart?add=activerain-com%2Cpanhandle-newschannelnebraska-com%2Cipsnews-net&utm_source=ai_agent&utm_medium=agent_apiAlso useful
Rules the agent follows
- Never pays and never collects card data. The job ends at checkout_url.
- States its pick rule before it quotes, and shows every listing that passed.
- Reads 2 authority scores and traffic, never 1 number alone.
- Shows link fields as the API lists them and never sells dofollow as a ranking shortcut.
- Says paid placements are paid, using link.disclosure, with or without a sponsored label.
- Never suggests placements as a route to Wikipedia notability or a Meta verified badge.
FAQ
Questions about this recipe
What does “best” mean in this recipe?▾
The buyer gave no topic, so the agent used a rule it states: Domain Authority and Domain Rating both 60 or more and 10,000 or more monthly visits, then the most traffic. With a topic, it adds topic to the search.
Do dofollow links from paid placements help rankings?▾
The agent promises nothing. Google’s spam policies list buying or selling links for ranking purposes as link spam, and accept paid links marked rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow" (page last updated 28 Aug 2026, read 19 Oct 2026). link.dofollow describes how the outlet publishes the link, not what Google does with it.
Why is the total $468 and not $520?▾
3 placements take 10% off the whole basket ($52), and 5 or more take 15%. The agent quotes the basket and never adds up list prices itself.
Is a placement without a sponsored label editorial coverage?▾
No. It is a paid placement the outlet publishes without a label. The agent says it is paid either way.