Niche Edits vs Guest Post: Which is Best for Link-Building?

Knowing when to use niche edits vs guest post strategies gives you a competitive edge in SEO.

Ever read through an article on a highly-trusted site and thought, “My website could’ve been a perfect reference source for this”?

It still could be.

Acquiring backlinks doesn’t necessarily require you to create fresh content for someone else’s website. Content isn’t static. Many websites update their blogs periodically for SEO and relevance.

This installment in our Digital Marketing Guides series explores the key differences between guest posts vs niche edits

I’ll explain where each fits into your SEO strategy, optimal use cases, pros & cons, and how to pitch website owners for guest posts and niche edit opportunities.

What is Guest Posting?

A guest post is a piece of content created to be published on a third-party website in exchange for a link back to a specified web page.

The main goal of guest posting is to acquire a backlink from a high-authority website. This is achieved by attaching a link to one of your web pages to anchor text within the content.

To get guest posts published, you must:

Identify host websites that accept guest posts within your niche
Pitch the website owners with a relevant blog idea
Agree on a fee (or other exchange that creates value for the other party)
Write the content
Insert your anchor text & link naturally in the content

This can be a time-consuming process, but it’s proven over time to be one of the best strategies to climb the search engine rankings and build domain authority.

Backlinks confer authority by showing search engines that your site is considered a trustworthy reference source. The more authoritative and relevant the linking website is, the more “link juice” is passed on in this way.

Is guest posting still worth it?

Absolutely. Guest blogging remains one of the most popular link-building strategies, although as guest post outreach and production can be very resource-intensive, most site owners use third-party guest posting services for link-building.

I’ve talked about the benefits of guest posting as an SEO strategy elsewhere.

Today, I’m focusing exclusively on the subject of guest posts vs niche edits. So let’s consider the advantages of the humble GP.

Main Benefits of Guest Posting

Guest posting has the major advantage of flexibility. Here’s why that’s so useful for link builders.

1. High level of control over content quality

If you’re using a manual guest post strategy, you have complete control over the quality, subject, and tone of the guest blog. You’re the one writing it!

Even if you’re using a third-party guest blogging service, you still have a high level of control as long as you’re working with a trusted partner.

You don’t necessarily have that guarantee of quality with link insertion in existing content. Host websites may be attractive because they see lots of traffic, but that doesn’t mean their editorial standards are super-stringent.

2. Straightforward pitch

Pitching a guest post is typically more straightforward than pitching niche edits to website owners, especially if you’re handling outreach yourself.

This is partly because guest posting is much more seen as a white-hat SEO technique than niche edits, which have traditionally been a popular strategy among grey and black-hat link builders.

This doesn’t mean niche edits are inherently black hat. Useful, high-quality links inserted in relevant content are white-hat regardless of when they’re inserted.

3. Wide choice of host domains

It’s much easier to find websites that accept guest posts than websites offering niche edit links. This means that you have a wider choice of hosts for your link-building campaign.

This is why guest posts tend to be seen as a fundamental link-building strategy, while niche edit backlinks are viewed as more opportunistic.

A professional link-builder will typically recommend a combination of both – the important thing is to stick to the most appropriate use cases for guest posts and niche edits.

When to Use Guest Posting

Guest posts are extremely versatile because of the control you have over their content.

Below you’ll find the best ways to use guest posts in your SEO campaigns.

1. Developing link-building strategies

Guest posts are typically one of the first link-building strategies used to grow a new website, or to kickstart an SEO campaign. They’re easy to create, they’re widely accepted, and numerous services offer high-quality, affordable guest post services.

They remain useful as part of a consistent link-building strategy – there’s never a time you’re “past” the need for guest posts.

2. Manual outreach

If you’re seeking to build relationships with other websites with a manual outreach strategy, guest posts are a great way to show you have something to bring to the table.

Unsurprisingly, people love it when you create relevant, niche-specific content that resonates with their target audience and offer to publish it on their website. It’s a great way to obtain valuable backlinks.

3. Blog ideas that don't fit your keyword hubs

As a website owner, you need to retain close control over what gets published on your site, especially in the early days.

Google rewards high-quality content built around keyword hubs over sprawling, rambling blogs that cover a bit of everything.

If you have a great idea for a blog post but aren’t sure if it quite fits your brand, I guarantee there will be relevant websites happy to publish it. It’s a natural guest post opportunity and means you get to write the blog anyway!

4. When you have a reliable guest posting partner

Guest posts may be an established SEO strategy, but not all guest posting services are created equal.

A low-quality provider will serve you with spammy backlinks that do more harm than good.

However, guest post packages from a reputable link-building service can save you a huge amount of time and hassle.

For one thing, you’ll have access to a network of relevant sites without having to write a guest post pitch for each one.

Your guest post links will also be secured to relevant, contextually relevant branded anchors or keyword-rich anchor text that supports your website’s SEO performance and helps you climb the search engine rankings.

Finally, a link-building specialist will likely offer both guest posting and niche edit services – let’s consider why that’s such an advantage for you.

What are Niche Edits?

Niche edits are contextual links placed in pre-existing content.

The goal is the same as with guest posts – to obtain a backlink from the target site. However, with a niche edit link, there’s no need to create a whole new blog post.

To obtain niche edit links, you need to give the website owner a reason to add your link to their page. Unlike guest posts, you’re not giving them free content. You can offer value by:

Offering yourself as an authoritative source to back up an unsupported claim in their content
Suggesting your site as a replacement for a defunct link in their content – this is called “broken link-building”
Paying for it! Sometimes it doesn’t need to be any more complex than that.

You may have to create some additional content to integrate your backlink naturally. This usually means a couple of paragraphs of valuable and informative content that contributes to the current content’s purpose and ensures your link doesn’t look unnatural to search engines.

Main Benefits of Niche Edits

The perfect niche edit is low effort and high reward. Here’s what makes this link-building technique so attractive.

1. More link juice passed on - and faster

Pages that live on established websites acquire their own backlinks over time. They benefit from these referrals just like any other – the more high-quality backlinks a page has, the greater its authority.

A portion of this accumulated authority can be “passed on” to other pages that are linked in the content. This is often described as “link juice”, which is kinda gross. “Link equity” is a slightly more respectable term for the same thing.

The point is – you can get a whole lot of secondary link juice from a well-placed niche edit link.

This makes niche edit backlinks extremely valuable.

2. More referral traffic

Existing content is likely to already rank better on SERPs than new pages, meaning it receives more organic traffic. Just like link juice, a portion of this may be passed onto through the link as referral traffic.

This is especially valuable if you’re building links for an e-commerce website. Every extra visitor is a potential lead.

3. Saves time & money compared to writing a blog post

Niche edits require much less time and effort than guest posts, even though the goal is the same. Obtaining a guest post link can require you to produce a full piece of content in the style of the target blog, plus outreach and potential content edits.

If you can give a website owner a good reason to publish your niche edit, it’s very quick and easy by comparison.

When to Use Niche Edits

The use cases of niche edit links are typically more opportunistic than guest posts. I’d highly recommend including niche edits in your link-building strategy – you just have to move fast when you see your moment.

Here’s where to use niche edits for maximum effect.

1. Opportunities where you can add value

If inserting your link will increase the value of the existing content, the publisher has more reason to include it. Show why your backlink contributes authority, support, and meaning to the content.

It may not get you the niche edit for free, but it’s very likely to bring down the price.

2. Brand mentions

If a post mentions your brand without linking to it, that’s free domain authority you’re missing out on. Reach out to the site owners and suggest that they add a link where your brand is mentioned.

3. Press mentions

You can acquire even more value if your brand is mentioned in a journalistic article. News sites often come with a ton of domain authority, and you want some of that.

Always be polite and accommodating with this type of outreach. Being pushy or making demands might lead to your brand’s name being removed from a page that gets a lot of views, link or no link.

The HARO (Help a Reporter Out) program connects authoritative sources with journalists – it’s well worth considering.

4. Expert roundups

You may be able to get your name and website included in an expert roundup article even after its initial publication. This is where several experts are consulted for their opinions on a common issue.

These niche edits are super-valuable – once you’ve been referenced in one expert roundup, you can use that leverage for every future niche edit or guest post opportunity.

Niche Edits vs Guest Post: Which is Better?

Let’s round up with a quick tl;dr comparison.

Guest post advantages

Greater control over content quality
Wider choice of host domains
Easier to guarantee relevant context for the link
Among the best traditional link-building methods for new websites

Guest post disadvantages

Time-consuming
New blogs may attract less traffic

Niche edit advantages

Quick and easy
More link equity passed on
Immediate potential for referral traffic
Little to no content production required

Niche edit disadvantages

Opportunities are scarce
Little control over content quality

The Verdict

Any link builder worth their salt will tell you that all link-building methods are contextual.

Niche edit use cases are substantially different from guest post use cases, and a competent SEO strategist will employ them in different situations.

Guest posts form part of almost all comprehensive SEO strategies. However, I can’t picture a link builder who wouldn’t jump at the chance to obtain a niche edit link from a relevant website.

Used properly, niche edits represent incredibly high-quality links.

Need Help with Your Link-Building Strategy? Get High-Quality Backlinks from SEOButler

Implementing a niche edit is much easier than writing a guest post. Both require a strategic understanding of SEO techniques and significant time invested in outreach.

SEOButler can help with both.

Find out what our niche edit and guest posting services can do for your brand.

Start your campaign with our link-building team today!

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