Getting editorial backlinks is nothing short of hitting a jackpot. These are the links that can take your SEO efforts to the next level. That’s why it’s one of many advanced rules of link building.
And if you don’t know what editorial links are, you are missing out big time.
But fret not, we are here to help you fully grasp the concept of editorial backlinks. We have written a detailed guide on how to get editorial links from high authority sites.
But first, talk about the benefits of editorial links and what the term actually means.
What Are Editorial Links?
Editorial links are the type of backlinks that you get from high-authority media websites. These are the links you get for producing quality content containing valuable information. Editorial links are hard to get and they are often not for sale.
Simply put, editorial links are the backlinks that you get from top news sites. These are given by editors to websites whose content they found interesting and useful for their audience.
You can contact editors to pitch your content but cannot buy or trade backlinks. Some popular editorial websites with high authority are:
- Forbes (how to get a backlink from Forbes)
- Business Insider
- New York Times
- Wall Street Journal
- Reuters
- Huffington Post
Examples of Editorial Links
As mentioned, editorial links are naturally given by media sites to other websites. Editorial links are provided by:
- Mentioning website name
- Referring to brand or business name
- Citing the website as a source
- Featuring your business in an expert roundup
- Publishing the interview with a link to your website
What Is Editorial Link In SEO?
When it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), editorial links are the most prestigious backlinks. That’s because most media sites have high authority and backlinks from such websites transfer link juice.
Source: kaiserthesage.com
In simple words, websites with editorial links can achieve higher rankings. You can rank against highly competitive keywords against your competition on SERPs.
Is Gaining Editorial Links Easy?
No, editorial links are not easy to get as you cannot buy them. These are the links that you have to earn by offering value and producing quality content. Unless you are an expert in your niche or industry, it’s hard to gain an editorial link.
Types of Editorial In-Content Links
We mentioned earlier that editorial links are either provided to websites with valuable information. This means there are two ways to gain editorial backlinks.
- Attraction (Get a voluntary link if your content is worthy)
- Proposition (Acquire link after requesting editors via email)
The only difference between both types of editorial links is the approach. But you’ll need quality content and an effective SEO strategy to acquire these links.
Benefits of Editorial Links
Before we start discussing the strategy and tips to get top editorial backlinks, let’s talk about the advantages.
Source: alphainvestors.com
Below are the benefits of editorial links that your website will get after having editorial backlinks.
Builds Brand Awareness
One of the biggest benefits of editorial links is brand awareness. When you get premium backlinks from authoritative sites, this shows people that you are an authority in your field. An editorial backlink helps you promote your expertise and strengthens your company.
Establishes Your Authority
Once your business website gets mentioned on media sites, you can proclaim your authority. This tells the audience that top brands (media sites) are endorsing your services.
You get to mention this fact on your website and social media pages. Doing so will further establish the authority of your services within your industry.
Generates Referral Traffic
Premium editorial link building can help you grab referral traffic. People trust authoritative sites and when your brand gets mentioned, they’ll like to know about you. This increases the traffic and may also help you grab quality leads.
If your services are mentioned, the audience will be eager to know more about you. This will help you secure a new audience that your brand was missing all along.
Boosts Your SEO
One of the main benefits of editorial links is the SEO value. Editorial links help you achieve higher rankings in search engines because they are coming from authoritative sites. This not only helps you build a strong backlink profile but also provides link diversity.
Source: multiversemediagroup.com
Increases Organic Traffic
Improvement in SEO means you get to enjoy higher positions on SERPs. When your website appears on top, you’ll have a higher chance of getting organic traffic.
This organic increase in traffic will help you engage the relevant audience. If it’s editorial that they find first, they’ll be more eager to visit your website.
Provides Social Media Strength
Editorial links work as social proofs for your brand and services. There are many ways for you to use these editorial links on social media platforms. The best part is that you’ll be praised by friends, business partners, and customers who love your products. This will further provide visibility to your brand and business.
Constructs Industry Connections
In addition to gaining visibility, editorial links help you build relationships with businesses in your industry. Not only will this help you gain partners that you can build links with, but this will help you generate leads.
Furthermore, this will provide you with data that will surely boost your sales in the long run. You’ll be able to foster long-term relationships that could be beneficial to both businesses.
Earns You Consumer Trust
An editorial backlink works as a stamp of approval. Editorial backlinks will lead potential customers to valuable information that’s related to the services and/or products your business provides. Since consumers have read a positive review, they will love your website and your product too.
This means they’ll be ready to put trust in your services/products. This way you can easily outperform your local competitors and top brands.
Improves Sales
Editorial backlinks will drive people to your website which means your sales will improve drastically. You will find your business making more sales and customer deals than it has in years. All you need to do is to ensure that your landing pages are relevant to the type of consumer your editorial link is targeting.
Defines Your Credibility
Your increased visibility allows you to ensure your credibility as a business. Making yourself more credible than your competition is key to cornering your local market. Thankfully, all of these other steps will help you define your company as a credible, trustworthy operation.
How to Get Editorial Links – Step-by-Step
The only thing that separates editorial links from guest posts is that they are natural. So, to acquire editorial backlinks, you have to put up an effort. You must provide valuable content and prove that the material you are offering to an editor or journalist is useful.
Below are the steps that we have found to be successful in attaining editorial links.
Research Your Desired Authorities
The first step to getting editorial links is researching authoritative sites. You should make a list of high-authority media sites in your niche or industry. It may take time and some leg work to find such websites.
When you are doing this, try to get information about the authors and editors. Enlist the type of content they like to read and share. Furthermore, collect their contact info including their full name, email addresses, and social handles.
Follow Trends
Once you have done research on the media sites, it’s time to choose the topic. For this, we recommend you follow the latest news and trends. That’s because major editorial sites have already covered everything under the Sun.
You can only get published on major news websites by covering something new. You can follow the news or use Google Trends tools to spot hot topics.
Create Compelling Content
Once you have enough topics, your next step should be to write compelling content. Start by narrowing down your options and shortlist your best choices. Then plan out your content strategy to cover the topic comprehensively.
An ideal way to do so is to note down the headlines. This will also help you understand where you’ll need relevant images or infographics to support your arguments.
Source: coschedule.com
Once you are done writing, review it or hand over the article to your own editor for a review. Don’t hesitate to mention other brands or to link other useful articles. However, we recommend you to not talk about your competitors while writing an article for editorial link building.
Outreach Editors
The next step after crafting your article is outreaching the editor. This is where your research on authoritative editorial websites will come in handy. If you already have content that is going viral and grabbing attention, you can sell it to editors as well.
To outreach editors, you should:
- Craft a tailored email
- Try building relationships by mentioning their own work
- Engage the editor or journalist ahead of time
Don’t Push It
You should never assume that your content proposition is going to be received with open arms. Unless you are already a big name in your industry, your chances will be slim. Even if you have established your authority in the market, you’re going to miss the mark every once in a while.
The best way to get editorial links is to listen to the feedback and adjust accordingly. A light request for feedback in your outreach can oftentimes lead to helpful insights. This will help you build a relationship with the editor.
Also, if you receive some obvious signals of disinterest, don’t spend another minute on outreach efforts.
Do a Follow Up
In case your article is accepted by the editor for publication, don’t forget to do a follow-up. A proper follow-up will ensure that you get link placement. Moreover, this will allow you to build upon the relationships you’ve established with the editor.
Tips on How to Get Editorial Links
Now that you are aware of the process, let’s talk about the tips on how to get editorial links. We have mentioned a few tricks that you’ll surely love.
Help a Reporter Out (HARO)
In case you don’t know about HARO, it’s like Tinder for journalists. This is where authors, editors, and journalists connect with people to get an idea of the topic. In return, you can get editorial links by helping a reporter out.
Source: harohelpers.com
All you need to do is:
- Create an account
- Choose a plan
- Keep an eye out for requests
The moment you see a request relevant to your subject or industry, provide valuable information. We recommend you offer valuable information without complicating things for the journalists.
Publish “Skyscraper” Content
This goes without saying because you cannot expect to get natural editorial links without publishing valuable content. Media websites normally link back to content which is:
- Helpful
- Timely
- Unique
That’s exactly how you should craft your content if you want to get editorial backlinks.
A good strategy is to create Skyscraper content by providing all the valuable information in one article. Add data charts, infographics, and illustrations to make it more interesting for the readers.
Publish Case Studies
Media websites love to include valuable data and case studies to strengthen their argument. You can get editorial backlinks by including studies in your website’s content. In fact, almost every other editorial content includes data and links to the study’s source.
That’s why you should conduct your own studies to publish on your website. Webmasters may bypass your website and link directly to the study’s source if you publish an existing study.
Source: bohatala.com
However, you should keep in mind that conducting case studies is time-consuming. We recommend you write a case study after conducting a basic poll on your website.
Publish Infographics
The next best thing to a case study is an infographic. Editors and webmasters love to include images that can help them prove their point. That’s why publishers of authority websites often link to infographics. The reason is simple: people love to view images rather than read long articles.
Therefore, you should focus on creating Infographics that are colorful, fun, and filled with useful information. Try to include a large image with multiple facts, figures, and statistics.
Create Evergreen Content
This is the type of content that never gets outdated. People are always searching for such type of content and editors love to publish such material. To provide their visitors with a positive experience, they usually only link to websites with accurate and relevant content.
You can acquire editorial backlinks by covering such topics in detail. However, you should keep reviewing and updating your content guides. If your content lacks current stats, editors may think twice before linking to it.
Evergreen content typically attracts more editorial backlinks than time-sensitive content. The reason behind it is its ability to stay relevant for many months if not years.
Share Interviews
Many webmasters don’t know this but you can share interviews to get editorial backlinks.
If the interview involves an expert or notable person, editors may copy a quote from it. They may use an excerpt from the interview when you publish it on your website. They’ll link back to your website to give credit and acknowledge your effort.
The best part is that conducting interviews is easier than ever, thanks to email.
You can interview people and publish them on your websites without even meeting them in person. All you need to do is email a list of questions to the interviewee. You can edit or publish the interview as it is on your site.
Pitch Expert Roundup Creators
This is another way to acquire editorial backlinks for free. It’s easy to find roundup opportunities and the process only takes a few hours. You can search for opportunities on Google using:
[your niche] + “expert roundup”
[your keyword] + “expert roundup”
You will see plenty of options on the search page. All you have to do is reach out and ask the site owners if you can contribute as well. Many webmasters will be happy to add additional experts to their roundup posts.
Hire Online PR Services
In case you are new to editorial link building, we recommend you utilize PR services. You can ask your in-house team and can also hire online PR services for this purpose.
Source: krishaweb.com
The PR department can do outreach to the editors and ask what kind of content they’re currently looking to publish. This way you can acquire top editorial links without putting much effort.
Should You Buy Editorial Links?
In case you are thinking of buying editorial links, know that it’s not that easy. To buy premium editorial links, you will have to give your best. This is a tedious and time-taking process that requires extensive resources. This is the reason why most businesses prefer to hire an editorial link building service.
Takeaway Words
We hope you are now aware of what editorial backlinks are and how they can benefit your SEO. You can quickly rank higher and establish authority if you know how to get editorial links.
However, you need to follow an effective editorial link building strategy to achieve good results. In case you don’t have the expertise, you can contact Globex Outreach. We can help you acquire editorial guest post links from high-authority sites.
