Mastering Editorial Links: A Comprehensive Guide to High-Quality Backlinks

Editorial links are the gold standard of white label backlinks—the ones that Google loves and the ones your competitors wish they had. Why? Because these links are earned, not bought. 

But here’s the catch: there’s no clear-cut strategy to get them, and those who know how to do it aren’t eager to share their secrets.

This isn’t just about SEO; it’s about becoming the go-to source, building unshakable credibility, and creating a snowball effect of trust and authority. 

If you want to dominate your niche, editorial links are the secret weapon that will get you there. Let’s take a look at how to add them to your arsenal. 

What Are Editorial Links and Why Do They Matter?

Editorial links are hyperlinks that are included within content organically, without any form of direct request or payment. They arise from another website considering your content to be valuable enough to link to. 

Furthermore, these links are immensely important because they signal to search engines that your content is authoritative and worth referencing by other authority sites. In turn, this counters any backlink spam and results in a bump in SERP rankings. 

They play a major role in organic SEO growth, helping build site authority, and enhancing credibility. Unlike low-value backlinks, they carry much more weight and often impact link quality metrics significantly more. 

Moreover, editorial links contribute to building a solid brand reputation. When a reputable site links to your content, it acts as a form of endorsement, signaling that your information is trustworthy and valuable. 

This not only improves your site’s visibility on search engines but also enhances your brand’s perception among users.

The value of an editorial link extends beyond SEO metrics—it can lead to increased referral traffic, better user engagement, and greater industry recognition

Characteristics of a Strong Editorial Link

Now that we’ve determined why editorial backlinks are important, it’s time to dive into what makes any individual editorial link so impact. Most link building experts agree it’s mostly down to these three aspects: 

Relevance

Editorial links work best when they are relevant, but what does relevance exactly mean? The best way to understand it is to separate the concept into three levels: 

Generally, an ideal link building campaign targeting editorial links should feature a mix of all three levels of relevancy.

Sometimes, a site linking to you will be an industry leader. Other times, it will be a high-authority blog only mentioning your subject matter in a single article or paragraph. 

In addition, having a mixed set of placements like this will make your backlink profiles more natural and reduce the risk of Google penalties.

No one has links ONLY from super-relevant DR 90+ sites, and insisting on building only the highest-authority links will eventually catch the eye of the algorithm. 

Authority

The authority of the site providing the link plays a huge role. Links from trusted, high-domain authority websites provide significantly more SEO value than those from smaller, less authoritative ones. 

On a surface level, this can be measured through DA&DR metrics, the site’s spam score and various other metrics.

Somewhat paradoxically, there’s also the reputational aspect of authority. Forget about search engines, if your site is linked to by the likes of AT&T, Fortune or Washington Post, potential leads will be more likely to remember you.

Unfortunately, this part is mostly intangible and hard to gauge. 

Natural Placement

Natural placement of editorial links within the content is simultaneously the most important measure of quality and the hardest thing to get right. 

It’s been proven that links embedded naturally within a relevant sentence or paragraph provide significantly more value than those awkwardly placed or tucked into footers and sidebars.

Besides, sticking links into footers or author bios reeks of mid-2000s SEO spam—it’s a one way ticket to spooking your leads. 

When a link is seamlessly integrated into a well-crafted sentence, it feels organic and relevant to both the reader and search engines.

This natural flow enhances the user experience, making readers more likely to click through and engage with the linked content. 

Additionally, strategically placing links within the body of content, particularly in sections that provide key insights or data, can maximize their impact.

Likewise, it’s important to surround the link with relevant authority sources, also known as ‘masking,’ to send further positive signals to Google. 

Simply put, the more contextually relevant the backlink is, the more authoritative and useful it appears to both readers and search engines.

Editorial Links vs. Paid Links: What’s the Difference? 

If you’re still unsure about the potential of editorial links on your site’s authority and SERP rankings, let’s pit them directly against paid links in a head-to-head comparison. 

Aspect	Editorial Links	Paid Links
Credibility	Earned through high-quality content, signaling trust and authority to search engines.	Often viewed with suspicion by search engines; may not signal genuine authority.
SEO value	Provides significant SEO value due to being organic and natural.	SEO value is often limited due to being a purchased asset and potentially manipulative.
User trust	Enhances user trust as they are placed by trusted third-party sites.	May reduce trust if users realize the link is paid or promotional in nature.
Cost	No direct cost but requires investment in quality content creation.	Direct monetary cost for placement, often on a per-link basis.
Risk of penalty	Low risk if earned naturally and follows guidelines.	High risk if flagged as manipulative or if it violates Google’s link scheme policies.
Long-term benefits	Offers long-term authority and steady referral traffic due to genuine placements.	Often temporary and may lose value once the paid term ends or if the link is removed.
Audience targeting	Targets an audience already interested in related content, leading to higher engagement.	May not always reach the intended audience effectively, as placements are not always contextually relevant.

The Impact of Relationships on Building Editorial Links

Building editorial links is not just about having great content; it’s about people. 

That’s why maintaining relationships with editors, journalists, bloggers, and industry influencers can significantly boost your chances of earning high-quality editorial links.

The stronger your relationships, the more likely these individuals will see you as a credible, go-to source for valuable information, increasing the chances they will link to your content.

Otherwise, you’ll end up as “that person” who spams asking for backlinks, and no one wants that. Instead, you should rely on:

Offering Unique Value to Journalists and Editors

Journalists and editors are bombarded with pitches every day, so offering unique value is critical. Position yourself as a valuable resource by providing exclusive data, expert opinions, or unique research findings. 

When you consistently offer high-value information that helps them create better stories, they’ll be more inclined to link to your content.

Consider creating a “media resource” page on your site with easily accessible statistics, quotes, and insights relevant to your industry. 

This page can become a go-to reference for journalists, increasing the likelihood of getting editorial backlinks.

As an added bonus, you can link to this section in emails, giving editors and journalists more freedom to choose what they want. The psychological impact is more positive that way. 

Engaging Through Content Collaboration

Is your content strategy getting stale and resulting in very few editorial links? In that case, content collaboration can be a highly effective way to build relationships and earn editorial links. 

Co-authoring articles, participating in interviews, or contributing to roundups are some of the most underrated backlink strategies. 

The main reason for this is that collaboration creates a mutually beneficial scenario where both parties gain exposure and authority.

Doing so will allow you not only create high-quality content but also increase your chances of getting linked by the collaborators themselves and others in their network.

Building Long-Term Relationships

Remember—the goal is not just to earn a single link but to build long-term relationships that result in consistent editorial coverage.

Why not invest the extra effort and have them accept product page links once you release a new update or feature? 

To maintain this chance, you should stay in touch with journalists and editors by sharing relevant updates, industry insights, or just a quick note to show appreciation for their work.

If you notice a site linking to you, send them a short thank you message to kick things off. 

The Power of Follow-Ups

A single outreach attempt rarely results in a successful link. Following up is crucial, but it needs to be done tactfully. If an editor or journalist hasn’t responded to your initial outreach, a polite follow-up can make a big difference. 

Reiterate the value you can offer and provide additional context or updates that may interest them. Sometimes, timing is everything—your follow-up might land just as they are preparing a piece where your content fits perfectly.

Effective follow-ups demonstrate your persistence without being pushy, keeping you in mind when linking opportunities arise.

Best Strategies to Earn Editorial Backlinks

Now, we arrive at by far the trickiest part of editorial links—you don’t get them, insert them, or book them.

The only way to do so is to create content that resonates with readers and competitors alike, something that can be a valuable resources.

It just so happens that certain types of content are more likely to attract editorial links. So, let’s cover some effective ways to help you create link-worthy content and earn those valuable editorial links.

Data Visualizations and Infographics

Visual content, such as data visualizations and infographics, is highly linkable because it provides complex information in an easily digestible format. 

Infographics, for example, can be used by other content creators to support their own articles, leading to natural editorial links.

And if your images are branded and can easily be visually associated with your brand as a whole, you can consider it as an additional, free brand mention. 

Creating visually appealing, well-researched infographics and embedding them in your content can attract substantial attention and link equity from other sites.

There will always be writers and editors who don’t want to spend hours in Photoshop or canva, and there’s your opportunity to strike. 

Not to mention, adding visuals will make your premium link building investment an wiser and more feasible nedeavor. 

Timely Content and Trend Analysis

Capitalizing on trending topics and timely content can also help earn editorial links. Content that provides timely insights or analysis of current events tends to get picked up by news sites, bloggers, and industry publications. 

Think of it as playing the numbers game. If there’s a big data breach, a lot of people will be researching it. That’s why you should start creating briefs and coming up with topic ideas as soon as the news drops. 

The sooner you strike and the better your content is, the higher the chance of other sites choosing your content to link to.

Comprehensive Guides and Tutorials

Unlike trending pieces and infographics, this type of content is relevant for a longer time. Let’s use an example, shall we?

Which one of these queries/topics will retain relevance longer?

1. Widespread outage due to Crowdstrike issues 
2. How to use Crowdstrike Falcon

The first one refers to a single incident from 2024 and, albeit impactful and memorable, won’t be talked about this much in 2027.

On the other hand, there’s a much higher chance that Crowdstrike will remain relevant in 2027, resulting in people looking up how to use the software. Hence, the second topic is significantly more evergreen. 

If you provide stellar content that answers frequently asked questions or solves common problems in your industry can attract a large number of editorial links.

The key is to make the content as thorough and detailed as possible, providing everything a reader might need to understand the topic. 

Hire BlueTree to Land the Most Elusive Editorial Links 

While all the strategies we discussed above are indispensable, they’re still not a guarantee that you’ll land that link. And this is without even mentioning the truly difficult and time-consuming parts, such as building relationships, conducting research and strategizing. 

Not to mention, building a dedicated link building and outreach team is time-consuming and very sensitive.

Avoid unnecessary difficulties, contact our sales team and find out how our clients save $2,000+ a month, all while getting those difficult editorial links everyone wants. 

Final Thoughts

Once you’ve developed an effective content strategy, editorial backlinks are the first think you need to tackle.

Of course, your backlink profile should be organic, first and foremost, but there’s no denying the power of a couple of standout links. 

If you’re ready to bring your backlink profile to the next level, contact our sales team to kickstart the journey and start having your brand mentioned in some of the best and most reputable industry publications. Your rise up the SERP rankings in just a couple of clicks away.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are editorial links?

Editorial links are naturally included hyperlinks within content, placed by other websites without any direct request or payment, often because they find your content valuable.

Why are editorial links important for SEO?

Editorial links signal to search engines that your content is authoritative and credible, which helps boost search rankings and build brand trust.

How can I earn editorial links for my content?

You can earn editorial links by creating high-quality, data-driven content, establishing thought leadership, and building strong relationships with journalists and influencers.

How do editorial links compare to paid links?

Editorial links are earned organically and provide long-term SEO value, while paid links can carry penalties and often don’t signal genuine authority to search engines.

What is the role of relationships in earning editorial links?

Building strong relationships with editors, journalists, and industry influencers increases the likelihood of them linking to your content, as they see you as a credible and trusted resource.