All About Editorial Links
Gone are the days when link building could be compared to that of a ‘stroll-in-the-park’ task. Search engines are getting smarter with time and as a result, the list of “Things to Ponder While Building (earning) a Link” is ever-evolving. However, if you browse the web with the intention of building a link (link earning) you can still stumble upon several link building strategies that are considered passé. So, apart from the Google and other search engines tightening its grip on website backlink profiles, you still have ‘n’ number of options to build links. So the task of earning links can be a tad overwhelming, especially when you don’t want any precarious links.
Among the different types of link building opportunities and links, Editorial Links has been considered as a game changer. Editorial links seems to be the dream of any experienced link builder out there. So let’s dig deep into the details of an Editorial Link.
What are Editorial links?
Editorial link is a link that any site earns with respect to quality content and ideal marketing etiquette. The definition clearly states how it stands out from other link forms like two-way links or paid links. One of the advantages of having awesome content on your site is that, you don’t have to fret a lot about promoting it. You can use a single channel to get this piece of content out there and it can flourish with time or in an instant.
Editorial links are literally pointers that informs any search engine that respective piece of content is so useful and hence being used as a referral or source.
Means to earn Editorial links:
If you already have awesome content, half your job is done, however, it doesn’t give you the right to sit back and relax, waiting for other people to link to it. Of course, you have the right to sit back and relax, but if you do, you might have to face reality. And that is, web is a giant directory of articles/blogs that cater information about anything and everything. You can choose what seems to be a brilliant topic to, but, be aware that people have already chosen or about to choose the same topic to write on. Nothing stays unique especially when you plan to publish it on web, people might even craft better copies with your plot as the base. You don’t want to take any chances, do you? So just make sure that you get out there and do everything from your part to fuel the piece of content.
Stalk your competitors: Well, don’t scratch your head around the word “Stalking”, it has nothing to do with violating any laws, at least you won’t get penalized for it even though your competitors might frown upon it. The basic idea here is to sort out the peace of content that is already on the web, similar to the one you are planning to craft.
- For instance, if you wish to write about conversion optimization, Google the keyword and list out the number of blogs that are listed by Google.
- The next step would be to identify the sites that link to each piece of content. You could use tools like Open Site Explorer or ahrefs to achieve this.
- Now, you have a list of resources that can be approached for a link and with a lesser chance to get rebuffed.
- The next crucial step is to craft a piece of content that caters more information when compared to most of your competitor blog post. Ensure that you add additional information in anyways possible. For instance, you can add an infographic, video, interviews etc.
- The final step is to reach out to each of the sources in the list.
Pin & get pinned: In today’s world, nothing comes for free, or you can put it this way, expect something good from others only if you do something good for them, believe me, this is applicable 9 out of 10 times. This is just what you have to keep in mind when it comes to earning editorial link backs to your website.
Ideal strategy to start with would be to follow the right people in your niche. If you are into content marketing, it would be a great idea to follow the content marketing strategies who blog on a regular basis. Chime in with their strategies and leave valuable comments or suggestions, make them aware that you are a genuine follower of their work. Link back to their work and eventually are bound to get back the favour. You can even consider interviewing any one of them and post the interview on your website.
Be Useful: One of the oldest but mostly avoided tricks in the book is to be useful with your content. Yes, you might have the passion and understanding to come up with a useful piece of content and you have the option to hire a writer to get it done. You can transfer the money to his/her account but can you really transfer the passion and awareness that you have? Well this can turn out to be the fine line that distinguishes the usefulness of the pertinent piece of content. Think 360 when it comes to offering a something back to the community. Put in some additional effort to make your blog post outstanding.
A piece of content that seems and looks useful to the core has higher chances of earning editorial links naturally. For instance, when working with online testing or analytics tools, you can have a written or video tutorial on the same. If the tool comes with lots of functionalities and you would like to enlighten the user about a single but complex functionality, a video tutorial might hold the edge when compared to documentation for the same.
Go Outbound: This is where it gets trickier, outbound marketing via email outreach, advertisements etc. can turn out to be productive only if you have something valuable to cater. Again it is not necessary that you find success with the initial roll of email campaign, the success rate might seem diminishing, but the trick is to keep going. Identify the publications and writers whom you think belongs to your niche and would also be interested in what you have to offer. Glean details about these resources like full name, contact number, email address (both personal and work can come in handy). Tools like Vibe and Sidekick can be real godsend when it comes to digging out the personal email IDs of the contacts on your list. Additionally, you can find 3 strategic means to find email address from this great blog post on HubSpot.
Can Editorial Links be nofollow?
This can be a million dollar question. Yes editorial links can be no follow. However, before lamenting just because an editorial link that you earned is a no follow one, consider the following factors.
· Is the link that you have earned is from a website that shares similar niche that of yours?
· Is the link, from a reputed site which gets tons of visits per day?
If the editorial link that you have earned is a no follow link but it still satisfies the above two conditions, you can definitely go with it.
What to look for when building links?:
It boils down to this, building link is never an easy task, put in a conglomerate of e creativity and effort to earn quality editorial links that can help you move up the SERPs ladder with ease. When it comes to earning backlinks to your website, you might want to refer to this awesome link building checklist from Moz prior to making a pertinent decision.
- Share this
