If you are trying to figure out what an editorial backlink is, the short answer is this: it is a link that sits inside a real written article, in a sentence that explains why the link is there, on a page search engines are allowed to index, with whatever rel value the publisher actually put on it. If any of those four parts is missing, you are looking at something else, such as a profile, a listing, a comment or a footer credit, no matter what the invoice called it.
Last checked: Nov 9, 2026
This guide is about recognising one, not getting one. It breaks a real editorial link into its parts, shows how to check each part with a browser and view-source, and points to two live pages you can test yourself. By the end you should be able to open any link you have been sold and decide in about two minutes whether it is editorial.
What is an editorial backlink?
"Editorial" describes how the link got onto the page. Someone wrote an article, and the link is part of what that article says. A link that exists because a form has a "Website" field, or because a directory row needs somewhere to click, is still an <a href> pointing at your domain, but it does not read like coverage.
A real editorial link has four parts, and you can check each one yourself.
1. A written article
The page is an article a person can read from top to bottom: a headline, an opening that says what it is about, paragraphs, and usually subheadings. A quick test: would the page still make sense if your link were removed? A real article would. A listing row would not, because it only exists to hold the link.
2. Context around the link
The link sits inside a sentence, and the sentences around it explain what the linked thing is and why a reader might open it. "Contract Aura drafts NDAs and HR forms" is context. A bare logo, a "Visit website" button, or a link dropped into a sentence about something unrelated is not.
3. A page that can be indexed
An article that tells search engines not to index it, through a noindex robots meta tag or header, can still be read by people, but it will not show up in search on its own. "Published" pages sometimes sit behind a login, on a staging subdomain, or under a sitewide noindex nobody noticed.
4. The rel the publisher actually used
The rel attribute on the anchor tag is how the publisher qualifies the link. Google's documentation on qualifying outbound links with rel values describes the main ones: no rel value is needed for a regular link, sponsored marks advertisements or paid placements, ugc marks user-generated links such as comments and forum posts, and nofollow is for cases where the publisher would rather not be associated with the linked page. A link can be editorial and still carry nofollow. What matters is knowing which one you got, not what the sales page promised.
How to check any link in two minutes
Suppose someone emails you a URL and says, "Your editorial backlink is live." Here is the order to check it in, using only a desktop browser.
Step 1: Open the URL and decide what kind of page it is
Is there a headline about a topic, with paragraphs under it? Or is it a profile with an avatar, a grid of logos, or a thread of replies? Scroll to where your link appears. If it is in the article body, keep going. If it is in a sidebar, footer, author box, "Website" field or comment, it is not an editorial link, whatever else it may be worth.
Step 2: Read the sentence before and after the link
Read the sentence that contains your link, then the one before it and the one after it. Do they say what your product is, who it is for, or why it is relevant to the article? If the link is wedged into a sentence about something else, or the anchor is a keyword that does not match the sentence around it, the context part is missing.
Step 3: Check that the page can be indexed
Open view-source (Ctrl+U on Windows and Linux, Cmd+Option+U on a Mac) and search with Ctrl+F for robots. You want to see either no robots meta tag at all, or one that says index. If you find noindex, the page is asking not to be indexed, and a nofollow there applies to every link on the page. Then search for canonical and check it points to the page you are on, not the homepage.
Step 4: Find your anchor and read its rel
Still in view-source, search for your domain. You will often find it more than once, so pick the match that sits inside the article text you read in Step 2. Does the <a> tag have a rel containing nofollow, sponsored or ugc? (noopener and noreferrer are browser security and referrer values, not search hints.) Write down exactly what you see. For the full walkthrough of rel values and common misreads, see our guide on how to check if a backlink is dofollow.
One caution: view-source shows the HTML the server sent. If your link is visible on the page but missing from the source, it was added by JavaScript, so right-click it and use Inspect instead.
Editorial backlink examples you can open yourself
Here are two live pages you can check with the steps above. Both are on Lede Press, a small press site run by the same team as Aura++, so treat them as worked examples, not independent endorsements. Both show something that confuses people the first time they read source code.
Example 1: Contract Aura on Lede Press
Open this Lede Press article on whether AI-generated paperwork from Contract Aura is reliable. When we checked on Nov 9, 2026, this is what we saw:
Written article: a headline, an opening paragraph, then subheadings such as "What Makes AI-Generated Documents from Contract Aura Reliable?"
Context: the product link is in the first sentence of the body: "AI-generated paperwork from Contract Aura is reliable for many standard legal and business document needs, provided users understand its intended use and limitations." The next sentence says the platform drafts "contracts, NDAs, HR forms, and more". A reader knows what the link is before they click it.
Indexable: the source has
<meta name="robots" content="index, follow"/>and a canonical tag pointing at the article's own URL.rel: the in-body anchor is
<a href="https://contractaura.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Contract Aura</a>. Nonofollow,sponsoredorugc.
Now the useful part. Search the same source for contractaura.com and you will find a second link: a small "Product site" button above the article, with rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow". Same page, same destination, two different rel values. That is why Step 4 says to pick the anchor inside the sentence you read in Step 2.
Example 2: Aura++ on Lede Press
A Lede Press article comparing Aura++ with Product Hunt is about our own product, so read it as a demonstration of structure, not a review. The body opens with "For founders and indie makers seeking more than a one-day spike, Aura++ provides daily launch opportunities", with the link on the word "Aura++", and continues under subheadings like "How Does Aura++ Work?". The in-body anchor has rel="noopener noreferrer", the "Product site" button above it adds nofollow, and the robots meta says index, follow. We are not quoting traffic or rating figures for either page; they would not tell you whether the link is editorial.
How an editorial link differs from profile, directory and comment links
Here is what each type tends to look like when you open it.
Link type | Is it a written article? | Context around the link | Who decided the link exists | rel you will often see |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Editorial article link | Yes, the page is an article | A sentence about the product, with sentences around it | The writer or editor | None, or whatever the publisher chose |
Profile or about link | No, it is a bio or account page | A "Website" field or one-line bio | You, by filling in a form | Often |
Directory listing | No, it is a row or card in a catalog | A name, logo and short tagline | The listing form, sometimes a reviewer | Varies by site and plan, so check it |
Comment or forum link | No, it is a reply in a thread | Whatever the commenter wrote | Any user with an account | Often |
Sites set their own rules, so check the actual anchor rather than trusting the last column. If you are weighing whether a directory listing or an editorial article is worth your time for a new site, EarlyHunt has a full breakdown of editorial vs directory backlinks for a new site. Guest posts and niche edits also live in articles; who wrote the words and how the link got there is covered in SideHunt's guest post vs editorial link vs niche edit.
The two-minute editorial link checklist
Run this on every new link, then again a month later.
Page type: the URL opens a readable article, not a profile, listing, tag page or thread.
Location: your link is in the article body, not the sidebar, footer, author box or comments.
Context: the sentence with the link, and the ones on either side, explain what you make or why it is relevant.
Anchor: the anchor text fits the sentence. Your product name or a plain description is normal. An exact-match keyword that reads oddly is a warning sign.
Indexable: no
noindexin the robots meta tag, and the canonical points to the article itself.rel: you wrote down the exact
relon the in-body anchor, not on a button elsewhere on the page.Record: you saved the URL, the date you checked, the anchor text and the rel, so you can tell later if anything changed.
If a link fails the first three checks, it is not editorial, whatever its rel says. If it passes those and fails the rest, it is an editorial mention with limits worth knowing.
What this check does not tell you
This check tells you what kind of link you have. It does not tell you what the link will do. A clean, indexable editorial link with no nofollow is not a promise of rankings, traffic, or mentions in AI answers. Search and answer engines decide those on their own. It also cannot tell you whether a page will stay up or whether anyone reads it. If a seller leads with a rating score and never shows you the page, the sentence or the anchor, you have nothing to verify.
Where a real editorial article comes from
An editorial article comes from someone choosing to write about you: a journalist, a newsletter, a blogger who uses your tool, or a small press site. The useful thing to ask for is a straight editorial article about your product, one that names it, says who it is for, and links it in a sentence a reader can follow. That is what Lede Press editorial publications are built around. Lede Press is run by the same team as Aura++. Its page says the product link sits in the article body, that the link is dofollow on the free reciprocal plan (which asks for a site credit back) and on the $29 package, and that a nofollow plan uses rel=nofollow. It also says plainly that a published story does not promise a ranking, a citation or traffic.
If you are still deciding where to look, we compared four small press sites in where to get editorial backlinks for a startup. Wherever it comes from, run the two-minute check on the live page before you count it.
FAQ
Is an editorial backlink always dofollow?
No. "Editorial" describes how the link got there; the rel value is a separate choice the publisher makes. Some editorial links carry nofollow, and some directory links carry none. Check the actual anchor.
What are some editorial backlink examples I can look at?
The two Lede Press articles above are public and quick to check. Any news story, newsletter issue or blog post that mentions a product inside a sentence, on a page without noindex, has the same structure.
Why does my link show up twice in the page source with different rel values?
Many sites have a template button such as "Visit site" or "Product site" as well as the link in the article. They are separate anchors with their own rel values, as both examples show. The editorial one is inside the body text.
How often should I re-check an editorial link?
Check it the day it goes live, then again about a month later, and any time a site redesigns. Pages get moved, set to noindex, or edited, and a dated note is how you notice.