7 Easy Link-Building Hacks for SaaS (With Real-World Examples)

Link-building for your SaaS can feel like one of those impossible tasks, right? Especially if you’re a smaller company with plenty of tasks but limited resources.

Worry not! In this post, you'll find seven easy link-building tips that you can apply right away - based on our own and a few SEO pros' experience.

1. Tap Into Existing Relationships

Networking must be the most powerful link-building strategy for SaaS.

Your established, well-known competitors get more backlinks and mentions every day.

But don’t panic!

Even if you’re a small SaaS company, you certainly already have a goldmine of backlink opportunities in your existing relationships. Think customers, business mentors, and partners. They know you already, so why not leverage that to kick off your link-building efforts.

The SEO experts that we talked to agree with that.

“You need and can start small and grow from the existing network. Submit your website to relevant directories, open every relevant social media account (and be active there!), and join communities. You've got to start talking about your product first so others can join you. If you grow a small network in your industry, those will be your first backlinks no matter the traffic and DR. Key point: develop relationships and be committed.”

Aleksa Radovic, CEO at SEO RAD

“When building links, what I love most is tapping into existing relationships. Why? Because it allows me to act faster. When people know me, I can negotiate things that wouldn't be possible with a stranger. Say, if you build links to a new SaaS site, editors may hesitate to link to you, because your metrics look "insufficient" to them. But in an established partnership, you can highlight your website's other strengths and explain why it adds value - and the editor can make an exception.”

Oleksandra Shubovych, Link-Building Expert at GrowthMate

So, to get your first backlinks as a SaaS business, here’s what you can do:

• Ask for testimonials. Offer to write a short review for a partner’s website or product — and ask if you can get a backlink in return. Win-win!
• Create a partner directory. This is most common for B2B SaaS companies that have a number of technology, distribution, and implementation partners. If you have lasting business partnerships but don't give them a shoutout yet, create an “Our Partners” section on your website or blog, and encourage your partners to do the same for you.

Directus, a headless CMS, lists their agency partners in a directory - and yes, links to all of them.

• Collaborate on case studies. Another popular practice among B2B SaaS companies. Showcase how your product, strengthened by a partner’s capabilities, helped your mutual customer succeed. Your partners will be happy to repurpose the case study for their own blog - with a backlink to you.
• Contribute a quote to other’s blog posts. Why write an entire guest post if you can land a backlink with much less effort? Find a content piece that you can make more valuable with an expert contribution, and ask the editor if they can add your quote with a backlink. That’s the easiest way to get a valuable link.

This approach is all about starting where you already have trust.

2. Join a community of trustworthy SEOs

Want to find new exciting collaborations and build some nice backlinks at the same time?

Then Ranking Raccoon is the place to be. It’s a spam-free link-building networking platform where trusted SEOs build links from vetted sites via direct messages - without the exhausting cold emailing and shady offers.

All you need to do is submit your site URL - and after a quick approval, our AI recommends you the best matches. You can find site pages based on your keywords and send a message directly to the site admin.

Best thing: all Ranking Raccoon users are here to build backlinks, so you'll get a far higher response rate than with cold emails. (Namely, 71% of link requests get a reply within 7 days).

No more guesswork, no tedious prospecting and spammy emails. It really is that simple!

3. Make Your Content Irresistible

Great content is like honey for backlinks. When you create something truly valuable, people want to link to it.

The trick? Make sure it’s designed to attract links. Here’s how:

1. Infographics. Got a complicated topic? Simplify it with a visually stunning infographic. These are highly shareable and linkable.

2. Add some videos. Some users prefer video content to text - especially when it comes to explainer guides and tutorials. Similarly to infographics, videos are very shareable. Plus, they improve user engagement on the page, which sends positive signals to search engines.

3. Comprehensive guides. Write the ultimate resource on a topic your audience cares about. Aim to create the go-to piece that everyone references, like "The Beginner’s Guide to Chatbots" by ChatBot.

This comprehensive guide by Chatbot has earned nearly 80 backlinks

4. Data-driven insights. Conduct a survey or study related to your industry and publish the findings. SaaS marketers and bloggers love linking to fresh data.

Here are some outstanding tools to carry out surveys:

• SurveyMonkey
• SurveySparrow
• Jotform
• Wufoo
• Or simple Google Forms (but you’ll need to recruit respondents yourself)

Read more: 5 SaaS Sites That Got Link-Building Right

4. Use PR to Your Advantage

PR is not just a powerful link-building method. It's also a way to tell potential customers that you exist and strengthen your brand presence - and that's what ultimately matters for SaaS companies.

Journalists and bloggers are always on the lookout for new insights, innovative products, and fresh ideas. Here’s how to get their attention:

• Launch announcements. Every new product feature, funding round, or company milestone is a chance to generate buzz — and backlinks.
• Expert commentary. Position yourself as a thought leader by contributing quotes to SaaS-related articles.

The news of Storyblok securing $80M in funding was featured in Tech.eu (with a backlink)

Tools like Featured, SourceBottle, Qwoted, or responsesource connect you with journalists seeking sources.

When you’re consistent with PR, you'll see more backlinks, more brand awareness, higher traffic volumes, and eventually more sales.

5. Launch on Product Directories and Review Sites

Sometimes, the easiest backlinks are the ones staring you in the face. SaaS directories and review platforms like G2, Capterra, and Product Hunt are not only great for visibility — they also pack an SEO punch.

• Encourage customer reviews. Ask happy users to leave reviews. Most directories allow you to link back to your site in your profile or even within customer testimonials.

Yes, links from some big review sites like G2 are no-follow ones. But they can still drive traffic to your page and contribute to a healthy backlink profile.

• Claim your profile. Make sure your SaaS is listed on all relevant directories. Include a strong description and a link to your website.

Speaking from our own experience, a launch on Product Hunt also catapults the branded searches for your product. It is indeed the boost to brand awareness that can set you apart in 2025.

A launch on Product Hunt is free and can seriously up your brand awareness

NB: on some directories, you have to wait a few weeks before your product gets published - or speed up the process with a small fee. When your launch day comes, you might need a few upvotes to ensure that your listing stays on the directory and you get a dofollow backlink.

Here are some platforms where you can launch your SaaS product for free:

• AppSumo
• AlternativeTo
• AppRater
• Betalist
• CrowdReviews
• CrozDesk
• F6S
• Launched!
• LaunchingNext
• SaaSHub
• StartupBase
• Uneed

6. Create a Free Online Tool

If you have the dev resources, building a unique, practical tool tailored to your niche can be an effective strategy for earning organic backlinks.

For instance, PrimePay launched a Bonus Tax Calculator, which helps users determine the withholding amounts on bonuses and other special wage payouts.

Another great example is the Commission Rate Calculator by Compass, which helps you calculate commission amounts for different scenarios.

This Commission Rate Calculator by Compass can attract many backlinks in the industry

7. Appear as a Guest on Podcasts

Being featured on podcasts is a fantastic way to boost both your brand and personal profile. It helps establish trust, foster a personal connection with your audience, and earn you a few high-quality backlinks with relatively little effort.

Yet, appearing on podcasts demands some prep in advance. Before committing to podcast appearances:

1. Find out if your target audience listens to podcasts and which ones they prefer.
2. Develop a compelling story or angle tailored to the audience of a specific podcast.
3. Pitch yourself to relevant podcasts with a topic that aligns with your expertise and marketing goals.
4. Have patience - sometimes, it takes a few weeks or even months for the host to publish your episode.

For example, the Better Done Than Perfect podcast by Userlist often invites SaaS marketers and salespeople to share their experiences on growing SaaS businesses.

Podcasts are great for building both backlinks and your personal brand

A few other podcasts that love to talk to SaaS founders:

• How I Built This Podcast with Guy Raz
• Founder Chats by baremetrics
• SaaSclub.io Podcast
• SaaS Marketing Superstars with Aaron Zakowski
• Product Stories Podcast by trustshoring

Common traps to avoid

What are some common link-building mistakes that SaaS companies do?

We asked the SaaS link-building pros about their experience.

“From what I see, it's a lack of focus and strategy - (Big part of why I created the backlink audit called the Truth). That comes from mindset of neglecting backlinks and going for the cheapest solution. Other common mistakes are anchor text abuse, no link diversity and not aligning content strategy with link building strategy.”

Aleksa Radovic, CEO at SEO RAD

“The most typical mistakes SaaS businesses make are focusing on the quantity of the links rather than the quality, completely ignoring content relevance, and not being consistent with their link-building efforts.

Plus, though it might sound surprising, I’d also include neglecting on-page and technical SEO. Without optimizing these two aspects, your link-building efforts might not pay off as you want them to.”

Toma Danielyan, SEO Content Writer at SayNine

The Bottom Line

Link-building for SaaS doesn’t have to be complicated. By tapping into your relationships, joining a community of trusted SEOs like Ranking Raccoon, creating link-worthy content, and spreading the word about your product on podcasts and directories, you can build a strong backlink profile with ease.

Start with one or two of these hacks, and you’ll be on your way to better SEO rankings and organic growth. We're rooting for you!