Getting High-Authority Backlinks for SaaS: The Guide (+Secret Hack to Do It Easier)
Natalia Toth
SaaS is a tough game, especially if you’re a small SaaS company. You’re competing against a bunch of established big players, and Google’s algorithm isn’t really favoring new, lesser-known sites. But one thing can move the needle faster — high-authority backlinks.
Imagine a top industry publication linking to your site. Or a well-known SaaS founder quoting your blog in their newsletter. Authority backlinks boost your credibility, drive engaged traffic, and help you stand out in search results — even in AI Overviews or chatbot responses.
However, not all backlinks are created equal. You need the right backlinks from the right sources.
Let's see how you can score these links that fuel your search visibility!
What are High-Authority Backlinks?
High-authority backlinks are links from sites that search engines already trust—think of them as VIP recommendations for your site. These sites usually have a strong Domain Authority (DA) or Domain Rating (DR), often above 70.
There’s a caveat though: DA/DR is not everything. We’ll speak about the seven signs of a real high-authority site later in this post.
Why High-Authority Backlinks Matter: 2 Key Benefits for Your Site (and Business)
1. Brand Awareness on Autopilot
Brand awareness is what we, SaaS companies, should most heavily invest in this year. And backlinks help us achieve that.
A mention and a link from a trusted, relevant site puts your SaaS in front of the right audience of potential users. As Google’s documentation puts it,
“Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote by page A for page B. Votes cast by pages that are themselves “important” weigh more heavily and help to make other pages “important.”
Websites that regularly land good backlinks enjoy +27% more brand searches, meaning more people are actively looking for them online.
2. More Engaged Traffic and More Conversions
What can be better than becoming a famous brand? Becoming a brand that people actually trust and use.
The people who come to your site via referral links aren’t just any visitors. They’re people genuinely interested in your solution, leading to better conversion rates.
According to Stellar SEO, content that gets link from respected sites is seen as 54% more trustworthy. Other reports suggest that users who came via referral links are 47% more likely to convert (sign up or subscribe to your product) than people who came from other channels such as paid ads.
So, backlinks help you get traffic and users right now - and also spring to customers’ memory when they’re ready to buy in the future.
DR/DA is not Everything
The bad news: not all links are high-authority links. Not all sites are worth getting a link from. Some high-DA sites can actually be spammy and harm your SEO if they link to you.
Also, "high authority" isn’t one-size-fits-all. In competitive niches like tech or finance, a DA of 70+ is the gold standard. But in smaller industries — think handmade crafts or regional tourism — a DA of 40 or 50 might be outstanding. It’s all about context!
The good news: there are a few clear signs of a site that will provide a truly high-authority backlink.
How to Identify (Truly) High-Authority Sites: 7 Factors to Look At Beyond DA/DR
Here are some tips on separating the gems from the junk (based on how we do that on Ranking Raccoon):
1. Legit, Trustworthy Organization
The site should belong to a real organization with real employees (even if it’s just one person).
Watch out for these red flags:
- There’s no contact information (address, phone number)
- You can’t find the company on LinkedIn, Facebook, or any other social media
- There are no employee profiles or they look suspicious
Look at this site for example. In their 'Contact us' section they admit that they 'do not have a research team, nor do we have resources generally, nor in fact the knowledge you may be seeking'. It's a huge red sign, even if the nominal site metrics are good.
A backlink from a fake website can do more harm than good, so it’s better to skip the opportunity.
2. Niche Relevance
If you’re a SaaS company, getting a backlink from a gardening blog, even the best one in the country, probably won’t be much of a help.
Even if that link improves your DR a bit, it can’t attract many clicks because the users came for gardening advice, not a software solution. And as Google’s Leaked docs confirmed, the links that generate actual user clicks are way more valuable.
In short: the best approach is to stick to your industry.
3. Topical Authority
The site should focus on 1-2 related topics that align with your business and have content depth in your niche.
We’ve seen many ‘authoritative’ news sites with outstanding DR and traffic figures that cover news about politics, the economy, lifestyle, healthcare, pets, celebrities, and other unrelated topics. If they register for Ranking Raccoon, we reject them in a heartbeat.
Don’t fall for the DR and traffic allure, as these metrics can be inflated. As you scroll through a site’s content, ask yourself: would I come here for useful information? If the answer is no, it’s better to look for more suitable backlink partners.
4. Healthy Backlink Profile
Ideally, your new backlink partner will have a mix of do-follow and nofollow links and a natural balance between incoming and outgoing links.
If the site gives out several times as many links as it attracts, it might be selling links.
Also, spend a minute checking where their incoming links come from. How authoritative are the sites that link to your potential backlink partner? In what context do they refer to the site in question? What is the anchor text?
We all get some unrequested links from shady directories. But if 90% of all backlinks come from strange sites like ‘xploredomains’, it’s safer not to get into this spider’s net.
5. Human-Written, Regularly Updated Content
What’s the catch with AI content? Everyone wants to write with AI, but nobody wants to read texts written by AI.
Even the best content writers get AI assistance. Yet, purely AI-generated content with unnatural language is a red flag.
The best sites publish high-quality, expert-driven articles that showcase their deep personal expertise in the domain. Ideally, you will also see the author’s name and short bio.
Content freshness also plays a role. According to Google’s leaked ranking docs, a link from a newer article also has more value than from an old one. So in the perfect scenario, your backlink partner has some fresh, up-to-date content that you can source a link from.
6. Strong Referring Domains-to-Traffic Ratio
A site with thousands of backlinks but scarce organic traffic? Suspicious. Traffic goes from 800 to 100000 and plunges back to 800 within days? Highly suspicious.
Use Ahrefs to check this correlation before asking for a link.
7. User-Friendly Design and Structure
A good user experience is worth more than any DR and traffic numbers from Semrush or Moz.
Why? Because you want to get a link from a website that users actually like and engage with. If they instantly bounce off a site because of the poor design, they’ll never see that blog post that gave you a backlink.
Watch out for these red flags of a website:
- The site is loading very slowly (40% of mobile site visitors leave a page that takes more than 3 seconds to load, according to Shopify)
- Excessive ads and popups (they distract and irritate users and cause them to leave)
- Unreadable text (inadequate font size, low color contrast, too cluttered, no visual hierarchy)
- Illogical site architecture, poor navigation (will it be easy for users to discover your backlink?)
The Secret to Landing High-Authority Backlinks Faster
So, as you’re trying to land high-authority backlinks, there are lots of factors to consider. It’s tedious and time-consuming.
And that’s just the research part! After that, you still need to find people’s email addresses, craft your pitches, and send cold emails (only to hear nothing back in most cases).
Ranking Raccoon does the heavy lifting for you. You can save hours and build impactful links in a safe environment - without any cold emails at all!
Here’s what expects you on Ranking Raccoon:
- Vetted sites only – Every site in the platform is manually reviewed to ensure quality. We filter out any shady PBNs, spammy directories, or sites with low content quality.
- Authoritative sites - Partner up with truly high-authority websites. On Ranking Raccoon, you’ll find sites of software market leaders and emerging tools alike: email marketing platforms, employee management platforms, video creation and graphic design tools, payment plugins, chatbot widgets, and much more. Around 40% of SaaS sites on Ranking Raccoon are in the DR range of 70-85, with another 40% in the DR range of 50-70.
- Finding ideal backlink placements in seconds - Our AI recommends the top matches for your site. Plus, you can search for any site’s pages by your target keywords and find perfect pages for your link in seconds.
- Direct messaging instead of cold outreach – Ditch the tedious prospecting and endless email threads. There’s no guesswork on Ranking Raccoon - you see right away who manages a site and can request a link in one click. Everybody on Ranking Raccoon is here to build links and grow rankings sustainably.
4 Link-Building Tactics to Secure High-Authority Backlinks
Want to land backlinks that actually move the needle? Try these proven link-building tactics for SaaS:
1. Leverage Your Existing Partnerships
The business relationships that you already have are a goldmine for backlinks—don’t let them go to waste!
Get listed in your partners’ directories, co-author case studies featuring mutual customers, or collaborate on industry reports. Hosting a joint webinar or fireside chat not only builds credibility but also earns links from your partner’s website and promotions.
And what about speaking at their events? That’s another backlink from the event page and media coverage!
Read more: 7 Easy Link-Building Hacks for SaaS (With Real-World Examples)
2. Share your Story on Podcasts
Podcasts are an underrated backlink opportunity!
Many industry podcasts are eager for fresh expert insights, and being a guest can build your brand while scoring valuable links.
Start by researching podcasts your target audience listens to, then pitch an engaging topic that aligns with their interests.
Once featured, you’ll likely get a backlink from the show notes, plus added visibility for your brand and yourself through the podcast’s social media and email promotions.
Here are some podcasts that love to talk to SaaS founders:
- Better Done Than Perfect by Userlist
- 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
3. Submit Expert Quotes to the Media
By responding to media queries with insightful, data-backed commentary, you can earn mentions (and backlinks) from high-authority news sites.
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.
Platforms like Featured, SourceBottle, Qwoted, or responsesource connect you with publications that seek subject matter experts.
4. Create a Free Tool for Your Niche
A free online tool is one of the best ways to attract backlinks naturally. Think of something useful for your industry—like a sales commission calculator, an SEO audit tool, or a benchmarking quiz. If it’s valuable and easy to use, bloggers and industry websites will link to it as a helpful resource.
Plus, tools tend to attract recurring backlinks over time, making them a gift that keeps on giving.
Read more: 5 SaaS Sites That Got Link-Building Right
Final Thoughts
High-authority backlinks aren’t just about SEO—they build trust, increase visibility, and drive meaningful traffic. But getting them doesn’t have to be a full-time job.
With Ranking Raccoon, you can skip the tedious outreach and connect with quality sites instantly. Ready to take your SaaS’s backlink strategy to the next level? Join the Ranking Raccoon community for free today!
Natalia Toth
Head of Marketing