Backlinks are one of the clearest external signals of authority in search.
Every high-quality link from a relevant site validates your credibility to Google and opens a pipeline for referral traffic. For B2B software companies, the stakes are particularly high because enterprise buyers judge you on perceived authority and credibility before they ever book a demo.
The challenge is that authority erodes faster than it builds. Without regular audits, toxic links accumulate, competitor mentions overtake yours, and you won’t catch the damage until rankings tank and pipeline dries up.
How to Audit Your SaaS Backlink Profile Effectively
Most SaaS backlink profiles are a mixed bag: a handful of credible mentions buried among dozens of low-quality directory links and scraper sites.
The key to improving link quality starts with knowing what you have. Here’s how to get a clear, data-driven view of your current profile:
Step 1: Pull Data from Multiple Sources
Don’t rely on one tool. Each platform scans the web differently, so you’ll miss critical links using just one.
- Ahrefs: Most accurate “Referring Domain” (RD) count and best for Link Intersect analysis.
- SEMrush: Best for identifying toxic backlinks and spam patterns that could trigger penalties.
- Google Search Console: The only data source that tells you what Google knows about your links.
Step 2: Sort Links into Three Buckets
Use the table below to score your current profile.
If more than 30% of your links fall into the “Toxic” category, your rankings are likely suppressed by a quality ceiling.
| Backlink Attribute | High-Value Links (Build Authority) | Standard Links (Maintain Baseline) | Toxic Links (Create Risk) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domain Type | Tier 1 industry publications (e.g., Gartner, TechCrunch), respected niche peers, and authoritative media outlets in your space. | General business blogs, medium-sized directories, and credible but lower-reach publications. | Link farms, gambling/poker sites, private blog networks (PBNs), or domains with spammy footprints. |
| Topical Relevance | 100% overlap with your product category, industry vertical, or ideal customer profile, content speaks directly to your audience. | Broad “Business” or “Tech” overlap, tangentially relevant but not hyper-focused on your niche. | Zero topical overlap (e.g., a “Yoga” blog linking to a CRM tool), context makes no sense to readers or search engines. |
| Domain Traffic | >10k monthly organic visits from real human readers, signals genuine audience engagement and content quality. | >500 monthly organic visits, modest but legitimate readership that indicates a functional site. | Zero traffic or “bot-only” traffic patterns, suggests the site exists solely for manipulation. |
| Link Placement | Contextual, mid-paragraph placement in high-value editorial content, feels natural to the reader’s journey. | “Resource” pages, author bios, or curated lists, legitimate but less integrated into core content. | Footers, sidebars, comment sections, or hidden text, placements that scream “paid link” or spam. |
| Anchor Text | Branded or descriptive long-tail phrases that read naturally (e.g., “According to HubSpot’s latest research...”). | Generic phrases like “click here,” “website,” or “learn more”, safe but uninspiring from an SEO perspective. | Over-optimised, commercial keywords stuffed unnaturally (e.g., “best CRM software buy now”), red flag for manipulation. |
Step 3: Disavowing the Toxic Links
Once you’ve identified the toxic links, use Google’s disavow tool to exclude them from your ranking calculations.
Yes, Google filters most spam automatically, but heavy spam accumulation still creates problems that require manual cleanup.
To Disavow or Not to Disavow?
| Scenario | Recommended Action | Rationale & Context |
|---|---|---|
| Manual Action Alert in Google Search Console | Immediate Disavow | You’re already penalised, this is non-negotiable. Submit a disavow file immediately, clean up what you can manually, and file a reconsideration request. |
| Negative SEO Attack (Sudden Spam Spike) | Monitor, Then Disavow if Needed | If you see a sudden influx of hundreds or thousands of spammy backlinks (often from foreign domains, adult sites, or comment spam), monitor for 30 days first. Google’s algorithms are increasingly good at filtering out obvious attacks automatically. If rankings drop or the links persist without being filtered, submit a targeted disavow file focusing on the attack domains. |
| Legacy Low-Quality Links (Old PBNs or Paid Links) | Targeted Disavow | If you inherited a link profile from past aggressive SEO tactics (private blog networks, purchased links, article directories from 2012), don’t panic and disavow everything. Identify the most egregious “link farm” clusters, sites with zero traffic, thin content, or networks of interconnected spam domains. Disavow these selectively while keeping legitimate editorial links intact, even if they’re old or lower-authority. |
| Low-DR, No-Traffic “Boring” Links (Small Blogs, Niche Forums) | Do Nothing | Not every backlink needs to be from a domain authority 70+ site. The web is full of small, legitimate sites: hobby blogs, local business directories, community forums that naturally link to helpful resources. Googles algorithm is sophisticated enough to ignore or devalue low-quality links without penalising you. |
Building High-Authority Backlinks for SaaS Products Step-by-Step
Each tactic below includes specific conversion benchmarks, resource requirements, and practical execution steps.
Tactic 1: Data-Driven Original Research
Original research delivers the highest ROI for B2B SaaS link building. When you publish unique data, other sites cite you naturally because you control the primary source.
Execution Framework:
| Phase | Action Steps | Time Investment | Resources Needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Topic Selection | Identify data gap in your industry that: (a) your platform uniquely measures, (b) addresses buyer pain point, and (c) journalists need statistics for | 4-6 hours | Product analytics access, market research |
| Data Collection | Survey existing customers OR analyse platform usage patterns OR partner with research firm | 2-4 weeks | Survey tool (Typeform, Qualtrics), min. 300 responses for credibility |
| Analysis | Segment by company size, industry, role; identify statistically significant trends | 1-2 weeks | Data analyst or proficient marketer |
| Report Creation | Write up findings with charts, methodology, key stats highlighted; create 1-page summary for journalists | 1-2 weeks | Designer for charts/visuals, writer |
| Distribution | Publish on your site, create embeddable charts, pitch to 50-100 industry publications | Ongoing | Outreach tool, media database |
Tactic 2: Strategic Guest Posting
Guest posting still works, but only if you’re thoughtful about it. Mass pitching every DR 40+ site won’t get you anywhere.
Instead, focus on fewer, more relevant targets:
| Step | Action | Conversion Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Identify 10-15 Publications Your ICP Actually Reads | Not “high DR sites,” publications your buyers read during research | Focuses effort on placements that drive actual traffic + trust |
| Study What They Publish | Read 10-20 recent articles. Identify content gaps, topics they cover repeatedly, editorial angle/voice | Increases pitch acceptance by 3-4x |
| Pitch Specific Angles | Not “I can write about X,” pitch 2-3 specific titles that extend their existing coverage or fill obvious gaps | Editors say yes to specificity |
| Deliver Exceptional Drafts | 1,500-2,500 words, original data/examples, matches their voice, includes sources they can verify | Increases follow-up invitations |
Tactic 3: Digital PR with Newsworthy Hooks
Digital PR is one of the most scalable ways to build authority because you’re creating stories journalists actually want to cover.
Campaign Types & Execution:
| Campaign Type | Description | Effort Level | Link Potential | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data-Led Story | Original research pitched to journalists as the basis for news article | High | 20-50 links per study | “73% of enterprise SaaS buyers now require SOC 2 compliance before first demo” |
| Expert Commentary | Position executives as sources for trending topics | Medium | 5-15 links per quarter | CEO quoted in tech publications about AI regulation |
| Newsjacking | React to breaking industry news with your unique data/perspective | Low-Medium | 3-8 links per incident | When competitor gets acquired, share data on M&A trends |
| Visual PR | Interactive tools, calculators, infographics that journalists embed | High | 15-40 links per asset | ROI calculator, industry benchmark tool |
Distribution Checklist:
- Publish full report on your site (canonical URL for attribution)
- Create 1-page press summary with key stats
- Design embeddable charts/infographics (with auto-attribution)
- Build media list: 50-100 journalists covering your category
- Personalise each pitch (reference recent articles they wrote)
- Follow up once after 3-4 days
- Share placements on social, tag journalists
Conversion Benchmark: For every data study pitched to 75-100 journalists, expect 12-20 to cover it, which should generate at least 15-30 backlinks.
Tactic 4: Product Integration Partnerships
If you’re B2B SaaS, you likely integrate with other platforms: Slack, HubSpot, Salesforce, etc. These partnerships are natural opportunities for mutual linking through co-created content, case studies, and integration pages.
Partnership Link Building Framework:
| Partnership Type | Link Opportunities | Execution | Time to First Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Integration Directory Listings | Both companies list each other in integration marketplaces | Submit to partner’s directory, request reciprocal listing | 2-4 weeks |
| Co-Authored Content | Joint webinar, co-written guide, case study featuring integration | Propose collaboration, divide writing, cross-promote | 6-8 weeks |
| Integration Announcement | Press release, blog posts on both sides announcing partnership | Coordinate with partner’s marketing team | 2-3 weeks |
| Use Case Documentation | How-to guides showing integration workflow | Create content, request link from partner’s docs | 4-6 weeks |
Tactic 5: HARO & Expert Source Platforms
Help A Reporter Out (HARO) and similar platforms connect journalists with expert sources. Low time investment, moderate link potential.
How It Works:
- Sign up for HARO (free tier sufficient to start)
- Receive 3x daily emails with journalist queries
- Respond to queries matching your expertise within 2-3 hours
- If selected, journalist quotes you and links to your site
→ HARO Response template included in toolkit
Keys to Success:
- Respond within 2 hours of query posting (journalists work fast)
- Provide substantive answers (100-200 words minimum)
- Include specific data, examples, or frameworks
- Don’t pitch your product, give genuine expertise
- Quality over quantity (respond to 5-10 highly relevant queries per month)
Conversion Benchmark: Response-to-placement rate: 10-20%. For every 10 responses, expect 1-2 placements with backlinks.
Tactic 6: Broken Link Building
Find broken links on resource pages in your category, recreate the missing content (better version), pitch as replacement.
Process:
- Identify resource pages in your niche (search: “[your category] resources,” “best [category] tools”)
- Use tools like Ahrefs or Check My Links (Chrome extension) to find broken links on those pages
- Create content that matches or improves upon the broken resource
- Pitch webmaster as helpful replacement
→ Broken Link Outreach template included in toolkit
Conversion Benchmark: 5-10% acceptance rate. High effort relative to return, but links from resource pages tend to be extremely stable (multi-year lifespan).
Anchor Text Strategy & Distribution Management
Every link you build has an anchor text attached. Unmanaged patterns undermine authority, relevance, and long-term ranking stability.
Anchor Text Planning for New Link Campaigns
Before each outreach campaign, create an anchor text matrix.
| Target Page | Primary Keyword Target | Anchor Text Variations to Rotate | Current Anchor Distribution | Action Needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product page | “project management software” | Branded (50%): “ScaleFlow,” “ScaleFlow platform” Partial match (25%): “project management platform,” "PM tool for teams” Generic (15%): “this solution,” “the platform,” “learn more” Naked URL (10%): scaleflow.com/product |
Branded: 45% Exact match: 8% Partial: 20% Generic: 22% Naked URL: 5% |
Add more naked URLs and partial match anchors |
| Integration guide | “Slack integration for project management” | Branded (60%): “Slack integration,” “ScaleFlow’s Slack connector” Partial (25%): “Slack integration guide,” “how they integrate with Slack” Generic (15%): “integration guide,” “see how it works” |
Branded: 60% Partial: 25% Generic: 15% |
Healthy distribution, maintain current approach |
| Pricing page | “project management software pricing” | Branded (70%): “ScaleFlow pricing,” “ScaleFlow plans" Generic (20%): “pricing details,” “see plans,” “their pricing” Naked URL (10%): scaleflow.com/pricing |
Branded: 70% Generic: 20% Naked URL: 10% |
Healthy distribution, maintain current approach |
Quarterly Anchor Distribution Audit
Audit Checklist:
- Export all anchor text from Ahrefs
- Categorise into: Branded, Naked URL, Partial Match, Exact Match, Generic
- Calculate percentages
- Compare to healthy ranges (see Audit section)
- If exact-match >15% or any category wildly out of range, adjust next campaign
Corrective Action:
| Problem Detected | Severity | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Exact-match too high (>15%) | Critical if >25% Moderate if 15-25% |
>25%: Pause commercial anchor building for 60-90 days; acquire only branded + naked URL anchors 15-25%: Shift 80% of new anchors to branded/generic; no new exact-match for 90 days |
| Branded too low (<30%) | Moderate | Prioritize branded anchors in all new outreach; include brand name in suggested anchor text for partners |
| Lack of diversity (80%+ one type) | Low-Moderate | Audit outreach templates; create 5-7 anchor variations per campaign; rotate systematically |
| Sudden spike in one anchor type | High if exact/partial Low if branded |
Identify the source; if from your own campaigns, pause and diversify immediately; if external, monitor for 30 days before disavowing |
Measuring Link Performance Against Revenue Goals
One of the biggest blind spots in SaaS link building is attribution. Most teams can tell you how many links they built. Far fewer can tell you which ones actually influenced pipeline or revenue.
If you want a practical way to connect authority building to outcomes, start here:
Baseline Attribution Setup:
- Tag all link-building target pages with UTMs when you build links to them
- In GA4, create custom segment: “Users who visited [link-building page] before converting”
- Track conversion rate for that segment vs. overall organic
- Measure time to conversion for link-influenced users
What you’ll typically find: Referral traffic from high-authority publications converts 2-3x higher than cold organic traffic, because the publication provided social proof before the click happened.
Key Metrics to Track
| Metric | What It Measures | How to Track | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domain Rating / Domain Authority Trajectory | Overall authority trend | Monthly export from Ahrefs/Moz; track QoQ growth | +2-5 points per quarter (mature sites); +5-10 (newer sites) |
| Referring Domain Growth (Quality-Adjusted) | High-authority link acquisition | Filter for DR 50+; track quarterly net new | +15-30 DR 50+ domains per quarter |
| Keyword Ranking Improvements (Top 20) | Whether links improve visibility for target keywords | Rank tracking tool; measure pre/post link acquisition | 30-50% of target keywords improve position within 90 days |
| Organic Traffic to Linked Pages | Whether content you're building links to drives sessions | GA4 filtered by page; compare QoQ | +20-40% traffic to linked pages |
| Trial Sign-ups from Organic (Link-Influenced) | Pipeline impact | GA4 conversion paths; attribute trials to pages with new links | Link-influenced trials up 15-30% QoQ |
| MRR from Link-Influenced Trials | Revenue attribution | CRM integration; track closed revenue from organic trials | Measure contribution to overall MRR |
→ Track everything in the “Link Impact Dashboard” with automatic month-over-month change calculations.
Recommended Reading: How to Measure ROI from SEO
Operationalising Your Backink Audit Cycle
Backlink authority isn’t built in isolated campaigns; it’s maintained through consistent monitoring and disciplined quarterly cycles.
Backlink authority isn’t built in campaigns.
It’s maintained through consistent monitoring, competitor tracking, and disciplined quarterly cleanup and acquisition cycles.
| Phase | Tasks | Total Time |
|---|---|---|
| Month 1: Audit & Clean |
- Export fresh backlink data from multiple sources - Compare against previous quarter baseline - Identify new toxic links and flag high-risk domains - Manual review top 25 new referring domains - Document removal/disavow decisions - Execute outreach for link removals |
9 hours |
| Month 2: Opportunity & Outreach |
- Run Link Intersect analysis against top competitors - Score gap opportunities by relevance, authority, and feasibility - Build personalised outreach campaigns for top 20 targets - Send first wave of outreach |
8 hours |
| Month 3: Follow-up & Report |
- Follow-up on Month 2 outreach campaigns - Update Link Impact Dashboard with new metrics - Quarterly reporting to leadership - Plan next quarter campaigns and set targets |
7 hours |
For those looking to scale this across their entire marketing department, we’ve centralised these processes in our comprehensive SaaS SEO audit hub.
It gives you the full picture of where your SEO stands: backlinks, technical health, and content, so you can prioritise what actually moves the needle on pipeline instead of just guessing.
