A decade ago, all website managers had to do to appear first on search results pages was to saturate their sections with as many backlinks as possible. Nowadays, search engines (principally Google) adapt their algorithms constantly so only the most valuable content can rank in the highest positions.
According to a Backlinko report, the first result on Google has an average of 3.8 times as many backlinks as the rest of the websites on the first page. That said, 41% of search engine optimization (SEO) experts consider backlinking as a challenging tactic, to say the least.
Link building has become a key brand-awareness factor for all B2C and B2B companies, and SaaS providers are no exception. Let’s take a closer look at backlinks and how SaaS companies can leverage them to generate more leads.
Source: CIENCE
What Is Link Building?
The definition of link-building covers all actions applied to generate backlinks that take users from one website to another. When users click on an active backlink, they are automatically redirected to different landing pages inside or outside the currently displayed website.
A backlink serves different purposes: It can work as a referral from another source, provide a broader explanation of a specific keyword, give an example of a concept, or lead to a social media platform to explain the subject through a different channel.
That said, backlinks are also important indicators for the crawlers that search engines use to determine what a website is about, the quality of its content, and how high it should rank compared to other websites that share similar information.
This makes link-building one of the most relevant practices to boost SEO results for all digital brands that aim to lure prospects into their sales pipelines. Without an effective link-building strategy, the chances that a possible buyer lands on your website are close to zero.
Source: CIENCE
How SaaS Companies Benefit from Backlinks
Software as a Service (SaaS) can be defined as a cloud service that provides software applications. SaaS companies offer various products, including marketing automation, CRM platforms, SEO tools, and many more.
The global SaaS market size was valued at USD 165.9 billion in 2021 and is anticipated to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 11% from 2022 to 2028. With the growth of SaaS, there has also been a major outbreak of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, which help businesses manage their operations more efficiently.
The best ERP software in 2022 has proven that the SaaS market will keep growing indefinitely. For this reason, SaaS companies need to establish themselves as top-tier providers to stand out from the competition. That’s where link-building strategies come in handy.
Crafting relevant, informative, and accurate pieces of content that may interest a niche of readers or prospects is a great way for SaaS websites to be noticed. The most-reviewed news platforms and technology blogs constantly search for content to be linked as a reliable source of information.
Successful SaaS brands have learned how to drive inbound traffic to their website through link-building agreements with content publishers related to their target audience. This way, they can access readers who have already shown a certain amount of interest in the products or services they offer.
Source: CIENCE
How to Create a SaaS Backlink Strategy
Link building for SaaS companies comes with its unique challenges. Thankfully, adopting backlink strategies can build solid bridges with the most optimal web pages in your target niche.
These are the most important actions to build a strategy that generates high-quality SaaS backlinks:
1. Know your audience.
Creating buyer personas and ideal customer profiles (ICPs) is a great way to define who your target audience is. These data profiles can give you insight into what type of content your target audience craves, how often they consume it, and through what channels.
Another recommendation is to look into your competitors’ SEO actions to find out what websites are being mentioned or linked inside their blogs. This will eventually lead you to the websites that rank the highest inside your niche.
2. Find your prospects.
When it comes to link-building, prospecting means identifying which are the most popular websites for your audience. You can create a list of all the web pages worth considering and use a free SEO plugin to certify that their monthly visits meet your expectations.
Once you have gathered a fair amount of solid options, it’s time to jump into LinkedIn, Facebook groups, and all the social media available to come up with the contacts of the decision-makers who could approve your request.
3. Make connections.
Link-building for SaaS is all about convincing the other party that your content would be valuable for their readers. This step involves direct messaging through social media, cold calling, and email marketing efforts.
Source: CIENCE
Common Mistakes in SaaS Link Building
No lead generation strategy is flawless. As with most inbound marketing efforts, link-building requires time for search engine crawlers to confirm their authoritativeness and even more time for prospects to click the links inside each article.
For this reason, it is advisable to avoid the following SaaS link-building errors at all costs:
Keyword stuffing
Inexperienced marketers believe that SEO means having as many keywords as an article can hold. They even sacrifice clarity and readability while repeating the same keyword in every paragraph, a practice that search engine crawlers know how to identify and even penalize.
Overused keywords
Some SaaS niches depend on a handful of keywords, meaning they will be too competitive, and ranking for them might not be worth pursuing. An SEO expert should be able to pin out which keywords are most valued for your audience and match them with the most profitable options.
Inhouse link building
Backlinking is a full-time job, and some companies don’t have the internal infrastructure to perform such a duty. Many SaaS brands have found that outsourcing link building is cheaper and more efficient than hiring and training an internal team.
Poor quality content
This is perhaps the most critical mistake on this list. Successful SaaS link-building efforts heavily rely on the quality of content, as the owners or managers of the desired websites won’t allow their reputation to be harmed by a backlink exchange. The better structured and displayed your content is, the more likely it will be shared by others.
Source: CIENCE
10 SaaS Link Building Strategies
While effective link building may vary depending on your audience’s liking, the number of web pages available, and the ranking for the selected keywords, these link-building strategies have proven to be an excellent aid for SaaS companies:
1. Guest posting
As one of the most popular SaaS link-building strategies, this effort requires brands to create relationships with high-authority websites and provide them with high-quality content for free. This offers brands a great opportunity to be in control of their own mentions and SaaS backlinks while being posted on relevant websites.
2. Podcasting
Podcasts are a great way to create awareness for SaaS brands. As most podcasts have a website, most of them will give backlinks to your company in the sections that summarize the topics that were discussed.
3. Roundups
Many SaaS businesses use a roundup link-building tactic, which involves getting your link inside a resource page with a list of top providers of a specific product or service. Readers tend to use such lists or rankings to compare products or find free trials, meaning that they are closer to making a purchase decision.
4. Broken link-building
This tactic involves finding broken links on websites, contacting the site owners, and convincing them to link to your web page instead. However, this practice is known to be time-consuming, and you will need to have related content in advance, but if done properly, it is a great way to get your links displayed in important forums.
5. Infographic creation
There is a lot of content out there that could benefit from an infographic. Another strategy is to offer another website a visual asset in exchange for quality backlinks, as your brand will be credited (with a link) as the creator of this design.
6. Product reviews
This is another classic link-building tactic. It’s possible to reach out to bloggers or influencers related to your niche and provide them with a limited free trial of your product. In return, you can ask for a review and a backlink on their site, knowing that your audience will be interested in what they have to say about your products or services.
7. Testimonials
Similar to guest posting, you can reach out to other complementary SaaS providers and offer to give them a testimonial of their product in exchange for a link back to your website.
8. Widget link-building
Product-embed links are created when other companies integrate some of your components into their own tools. The “Powered By” text will usually be there to claim the source of the technology, and a backlink can be attached to buttons or other calls to action.
9. Unlinked brand mentions
There may already be mentions of your brand on various websites and blogs without you even knowing it. You can set up a Google News alert to find content related to your company so you can provide the owner or manager with a suitable link.
10. Linked brand mentions
This strategy involves contacting web pages with links to your home page and asking them to connect those mentions to a more relevant page on your website. This way, you can take advantage of higher-quality referral traffic.
Use SaaS Link Building to Access More Leads
Link-building is the backbone of inbound marketing campaigns. Engaging websites and insightful content are crucial for explaining to prospects how a particular product could solve their needs, especially in the early stages of their buyer’s journey.
Backlink strategies aim to create long-lasting connections. The better established your SaaS brand is, the easier it will be to share your content on the most influential websites of your niche and reach the audience whose needs match your solution perfectly.
Why is FinancesOnline free?
Leave a comment!