An editorial link is a link placed by the people who control a page, on their own judgment, because it helps their readers. Nobody paid for it, swapped for it or required it. Google's spam policies contrast link schemes with this kind of link, and editorial links are the type most link building advice is ultimately trying to earn.
What makes a link editorial
The test is the decision, not the outcome. If the author could have left the link out and chose to include it because it helped the piece, the link is editorial. Outreach can still lead to editorial links: telling a journalist about your research is fine, as long as the decision to cite it stays with them and nothing of value is exchanged for the link.
- A journalist citing your survey data in an article
- A blogger linking to your free tool in a tutorial
- A university course page listing your documentation as reading
- A review site linking to your pricing page while comparing options
Why search engines care about the distinction
Links work as a signal because people link to things they find useful. Paid, traded or automated links break that relationship, which is why Google targets them and why its systems try to discount them. Editorial links are the kind of link the signal was designed around.
Editorial links also tend to sit in relevant context, on pages real readers visit, which is where referral traffic and brand visibility come from.
How SaaS companies tend to earn them
The common thread is having something worth citing. Original data, clear documentation, useful free tools, distinctive opinions from people with real experience, and good answers to journalists' questions all give writers a reason to link without being asked twice.
Example
A benchmark report gets cited
An illustrative email deliverability platform, Postharrow, publishes an annual report built from anonymized, aggregated sending data. A trade publication covers one finding and links to the full report as its source. Postharrow sent a short note to the reporter, but the reporter chose what to cover and whether to link, so the result is an editorial link.
Common mistakes
Calling bought placements editorial
A link in a paid post on a news site is not editorial because it sits on a news site. The payment decides it.
Expecting editorial links without a reason to link
Outreach for a page with nothing distinctive on it rarely works. The asset has to come first.
Questions
Not by itself. Telling people about something useful is fine. It stops being editorial when you pay, trade or impose conditions in exchange for the link.
No. Some publishers apply nofollow to all outbound links by policy. The link is still editorial, it just carries the publisher's chosen attribute.
