What Are Niche Edits And Do They Still Work In 2025?
Looking for an easier way to build links?
Niche edits (also known as link inserts) are one of the most overlooked ways to build links.
According to our own research, only 2.2% of all content online gets more than one unique backlink making effective niche edit strategies more valuable than ever for both SEO and AI search visibility.
In fact, with AI platforms now processing search queries, building contextual links through brand led niche edits has become extremely valuable for both traditional SEO and generative engine optimization (GEO).
Why?
Niche edit backlinks are considered:
…than getting backlinks from well-known link building strategies like guest posting.
The truth is niche edits are a completely safe way to build powerful links from reputable quality websites.
These contextual links excel at passing authority to AI search engines, which prioritise content with strong editorial backing and natural link patterns.
You just need to know how to build them correctly.
They even offer benefits that other types of backlinks can’t give you!
Below, I’ve shared everything you need to know about niche edits as well as my top strategies for building them yourself and often, for free!
What Are Niche Edits?
Niche edits are a link building strategy that is used to add contextual links to existing content rather than newly published content.
This is usually done by adding additional content along with your link placement.
The main value that niche edits offer is that you build a backlink from an existing page that already has established authority and history with Google.
That page authority will pass onto your website, improving your website’s search engine rankings.
Niche edits are sometimes called link inserts or link insertions.
Recent data from SEO Sandwich shows that 75% of digital agencies have launched generative engine optimization (GEO) services in 2025, recognising that contextual link placement is crucial for AI search visibility across platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity.
How Do Niche Edits Work?
The key to quality niche edits is having the right strategy in place.
Here’s what I mean:
Most links are built through guest posts. The value proposition here is obvious – you write great content for the website owner and get a link in return.
But with niche edits, you aren’t providing any new fresh content.
So how do you create value for the prospect?
- By helping them in some other way
- By building a relationship with them
Do this well and niche edits can become an effective link building strategy.
According to HubSpot’s 2025 analysis, about 63% of marketers are now prioritizing generative search optimization in their content strategies, making contextual link building through niche edits increasingly strategic for AI-driven search results.
Guest Posts VS Niche Edits
Niche edits are the lazy person’s guest post.
What does that mean?
Guest Post
… is a harder process that requires you to pitch a guest post to a site owner and then write a fresh, unique and relevant content piece to place your link in.
Niche Edits
…is an easier process that requires you to ask site owners to add your link inside existing pieces of content. With this method, you may only need to write 2/3 sentences.
In other words:
Rather than pitching a guest post and then writing a new piece of fresh high quality content with your link in it, you simply ask website owners to edit your link to an piece of content.
This becomes even more important when optimizing for generative search, which prioritizes well-established and freshly updated pages with proven authority signals.
That can be done by offering to update their existing content or adding a couple of sentences which in turn triggers Googles freshness algorithm so it’s win win.
But there are also some drawbacks to niche edits you need to understand.
GROWTH ALERT: Sign up for my FREE link building training and learn how to build links that move the needle.
3x Things You Need To Know About Niche Edits
Niche edits come with some risks.
If you plan to use niche edits as a core link building strategy, you need to be careful. Here are some things to be aware of.
1. All Link Building Is Against Search Engine Guidelines
I’ll be honest with you:
All link building is against Google’s search engine guidelines. That includes niche edits.
Google only wants you to earn links naturally because they view links as “endorsements“. This means that they are on the hunt for people who build dodgy, spammy, low quality links to manipulate their algorithm.
Make no mistake: Google link penalties do happen.
And Google penalty recovery is hard work. Google has a dedicated webspam team that hands out manual penalties to websites that build dodgy links.
If you think you have been hit with a Google penalty, I recommend getting experts to take care of it for you.
Search Logistics are specialists in Google penalty recovery and have an excellent track record in helping clients recover from them.
You can also follow my Google penalty checker guide, showing you exactly how to identify a Google penalty.
Remember:
Be wise with your niche edit link building and only build high quality links from TRUSTED quality websites. This should keep you out of hot water with Google.
2. Link Building Always Come With Some Risks
If link building is against Google’s guidelines then it comes with some risks.
But that doesn’t mean link building is dead.
You just need to:
- Use safe white hat niche edit strategies.
- Only build high quality links.
Do this and you will minimise any risk of penalties from search engines like Google & Bing.
I have built thousands of links for myself and for clients and we have never had any serious trouble with Google link penalties.
Why?
Because we focus on quality control.
We only build links that seem natural from high-quality authoritative websites.
3. There Are Safe And Unsafe Ways To Get Niche Edits
Are niche edits an effective and safe way to build links?
Short answer: It depends.
Like all link building tactics, there are both safe white hat niche edits and unsafe black hat niche edits for you to consider.
While it is tempting to use “black hat seo practices” to acquire niche edits, it will only hurt you in the long run.
You will often see an initial short-term gain in search rankings and organic traffic, but you are putting your site at risk in the long term.
It just isn’t worth it.
PRO TIP: Before starting any link building campaign, it’s best to determine how many backlinks you need to rank.
4x (Safe) Ways To Get Niche Edit Links
Ready to get some quality niche edits (or link inserts) in the safest way you can?
Pay attention to this next section to learn my top 3 strategies for acquiring powerful and sometimes, free backlinks through niche edits.
1. Use A Reputable Niche Edit Service
The easiest way to build niche edit links is by using a reputable niche edit services like LinksThatRank.
They will take care of everything for you including making sure contextual links are placed on existing articles that are at least 1 year old, plus a bunch of other quality control checks.
If you are short on time and just want to build the best high quality niche edits with the least amount of effort, LinksThatRank is the best niche edit service to do that for you.
2. Broken Link Niche Edits
Broken link building is one of the best known and most used niche edit strategies.
And the best part?
With a solid process and the right tools, it’s completely scalable for finding broken links and free niche edit opportunities.
Here’s how it works:
Broken link building is when you find broken links on other websites and offer a link to your website as a replacement.
It works really well because you help website owners identify broken links that could affect their own SEO performance and then you provide the solution with your own link.
They fix a problem on their existing page and you get a (usually free) niche edit link.
That’s a win-win, right?
You can find broken links effectively with the broken link building process here. It’s really simple to do!
3. Press Mention Niche Edits
Press mention niche edits are the easiest way to acquire niche edits.
But so many people don’t do it. Regardless of:
- What business you run
- How big you are
…you should have a press mention link building strategy in place. Website owners who don’t do this are missing out on those juicy low hanging backlinks.
Here’s how it works:
When people mention you online, they often forget to link to you. But they mentioned you in their content so it should be an easy fix. You just need to contact them!
Setup Automated Alerts
How will you know when people mention you?
You need to set up an alert tool that tells you whenever your brand name is mentioned online. For this, you should use Google alerts.
It’s completely free and will automatically email you with alerts.
To set up a Google alert, Login to Google Alerts and create an alert.
You need to create an alert for your:
Fill in all the details and finalise each alert by clicking Create Alert.
Every time you are mentioned online, Google emails you the website that mentioned you for link opportunities.
We also use Ahrefs Alerts:
To make sure we find absolutely everything that is relevant to us for link placement on relevant websites.
Contact Each Website Owner
Next, all you have to do is reach out to the site owners who mentioned you.
You want to find their email address. To do so, you can:
- Check their website
- Use Hunter.io
- Use their contact form (if you can’t find the email address)
Use this template below to reach out to a website that mentions you:
Hey [NAME],
I’ve seen you mentioned us on [PAGE].
Thanks a lot!
By the way, I’ve seen you haven’t linked to our site. It’d be of great use for your readers if you added a link, so they can learn more about us.
Here’s the link you can use: [URL].
Thanks a lot,
[YOUR NAME]
Don’t forget to customise the template and add your own charm.
Personalising each email will increase your response rate for acquiring quality links.
Press mention niche edits are one of the most passive link-building strategies available.
So go set up the alerts now!
4. Resource Page Niche Edits
Resource pages can win you some excellent niche edit type links on influential websites.
This means you get the powerful link and often some high-quality traffic as well.
What are resource page niche edits?
Tons of site owners have resource pages dedicated to listing helpful resources for their users.
Resource page niche edits are when you get yourself featured on a blogger or influencer’s “resource” pages.
This is how you do it.
Create A List Of Prospects
To get featured, you first need to find some perspective resource pages on relevant websites.
Go to Google and search:
- [Your niche] + “resources”
- Inurl:[your niche] + resources
Google will return a bunch of websites that are in your niche and have resource pages. Take each website and add it to a Google sheet.
Now you need to filter to results so you only have prospects that are:
- Relevant websites
- High-authority websites
- Valuable (you only want dofollow)
This ensures that you only get featured on quality websites where the links will provide value to you.
Pitch Each Website Owner
Now you need to pitch each site owner.
Think of something of value they could add to their list. This could be a:
- Free trial
- Discount
- Exclusive access
- Guest post on your site
Whatever you think will be valuable to your prospect (or their audience) will help you get the link placement.
Finally, you need to get their email address and use this template for the pitch:
Hey [First Name],
I’ve been researching [topic] for a while now and I felt pretty stuck until I found your resource page. Learning about [topic] from the link on there really helped me do [desired outcome].
Since you helped me so much I’d love to offer something in return. I’ve [created/written] a [product/article] about [topic] and I think it would be a great help to your audience and a good addition to your resource pages!
[Your link]
Keep up the great work, and I really look forward to reading more of your stuff.
Have a great day,
[Your name]”
Make sure that you customise the template so it sounds more like you.
Now you just need to rinse and repeat for every prospect you have to build links.
Wrapping It Up
Niche edits are a great way to build powerful backlinks.
You just need to do it safely or use a trusted niche edit service like LinksThatRank.
SEOs who get good at acquiring niche edit links have a unique skill that can be used to build links at scale whilst avoiding low quality links.
If you haven’t already, go and set up your Google alerts before doing anything else. This is the easiest way to get backlinks without using link building services and it works for other search engines too.
Once the alerts are in place, choose one of the other white hat link building strategies above and focus on acquiring quality niche edits.
I recommend getting really good at one of them before trying the next.
This keeps you focused and helps you get better results.
Good luck!
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