If you want to grow your SaaS business online, you need a strong link building strategy that works in your favor—not against you.
The issue? Not every link helps. Good backlinks that fit your content can boost your search rankings, get you seen more, and make you look trustworthy. But bad links can do just the opposite. Links that are spammy, unrelated, or meant to trick search engines can harm your SEO, hurt how people see you, and even lead to Google punishments that make your rankings drop.
So how do you make sure your work to build links helps your SaaS website instead of putting it in danger? You need to spot possible risks, stay away from common mistakes, and zero in on link building strategies that are both ethical and work well.
What is SaaS Link Building?
If you run a Software as a Service (SaaS) business, you already know that visibility is everything. But how do you stand out in a sea of competitors? One of the most powerful ways is through link building.
SaaS link building is the process of acquiring backlinks from other websites to your own SaaS site.
SaaS link building isn’t the same as traditional link building. Unlike e-commerce or local businesses, SaaS companies operate entirely online, with long sales cycles and highly competitive niches. This means that high-quality backlinks aren’t just helpful; they’re essential for survival.
You’re not just trying to rank for any keyword, you’re competing for industry-specific terms that potential customers search when looking for solutions.
When top-notch websites link to your SaaS site, search engines view this as a stamp of approval. This gives your Google rankings a boost and helps potential customers find you more. Putting higher-quality links leads to better rankings, increased organic traffic, and in the long run more sales.
Why is Link Building Important for SaaS sites?
Link building is a game-changer for SaaS companies. If you’re in the SaaS space, your entire business runs online. You don’t have a physical store where customers can walk in and explore your product.
Instead, your website is your storefront, your sales team, and your brand ambassador—all rolled into one. So, how do you get more eyes on your site and establish credibility in a highly competitive digital world? Backlinks.
More Visibility
Andrey Lipattsev from Google confirmed that links are among the most influential ranking factors. Websites with strong, high-quality backlinks tend to outrank those without them. Why? Because search engines see backlinks as a sign that your content is trustworthy and relevant. Backlinko found that the top #1 ranking result has, on average, 3.8 times more backlinks than those in positions #2 to #10.
In the SaaS world, where competition is fierce, being on the first page of Google can be the difference between thriving and barely surviving.
More Potential Customers
When someone clicks a link from a trusted industry site and lands on your page, they’re already interested in what you offer. These are warm leads who could turn into paying customers. A single backlink from a well-placed source can drive consistent, high-quality traffic to your site for months or even years.
Stronger Brand Trust
Customers want to invest in a platform that’s reliable and established. When industry-leading websites, SaaS review platforms, or respected tech blogs link to you, it boosts your reputation. This credibility is priceless, especially in a space where decision-making cycles are long and buyers are cautious.
Why SaaS Link Building is Unique
Unlike traditional businesses that rely on local SEO or general backlinks, SaaS companies compete in global markets with complex buyer journeys. Your potential customers are tech-savvy, they do deep research, and they don’t make impulsive decisions. This means that random backlinks won’t cut it—you need authoritative, relevant, and strategic links from industry leaders, SaaS directories, and business publications.
7 Common Mistakes in SaaS Link Building
SaaS link building can skyrocket your search rankings, boost credibility, and drive high-quality traffic, but only if you do it right. Many SaaS companies make critical mistakes that not only waste time and effort but can also hurt their SEO in the long run.
1. Prioritizing Quantity Over Quality
Many SaaS businesses assume that the more backlinks they get, the better. So, they grab links from low-quality directories, spammy blogs, or irrelevant sites—thinking this will boost rankings.
One strong link from a well-respected site is worth more than 100 spammy links.
Google doesn’t just count backlinks; it evaluates their quality. A few backlinks from high-authority, industry-relevant sites carry far more weight than hundreds from low-quality sources.
2. Ignoring Relevance
Getting backlinks from websites that have nothing to do with SaaS, software, or tech-related topics. Some businesses take a “just get links anywhere” approach, reaching out to random sites instead of focusing on relevant industries.
- Relevance matters a lot in link building. Google evaluates the context of backlinks, so a SaaS platform getting links from a gardening blog or a fitness website won’t carry much weight.
- Worse, irrelevant links can look unnatural and even raise red flags in Google’s algorithm.
3. Using Black Hat SEO Tactics
Some SaaS companies, desperate for quick results, fall for these shortcuts.
Google’s Penguin algorithm specifically targets and penalizes manipulative link building tactics. If you’re caught using black hat SEO, your rankings can tank overnight—sometimes permanently. Plus, these tactics don’t provide sustainable growth. Even if they work temporarily, they often collapse when Google updates its algorithm.
4. Over-Optimizing Anchor Text
Google’s algorithm is designed to detect manipulation. When Google sees the same exact anchor text used across dozens of backlinks, it flags the pattern as unnatural.
Using the same keyword-rich anchor text repeatedly, like always linking to your site with “best project management software.” It may seem smart to force keyword relevance into every backlink, but it can actually hurt your rankings.
5. Neglecting Internal Links
Many SaaS companies underestimate how powerful internal links are.
- Internal links help distribute authority across your site. Without them, even your best pages might struggle to rank.
- Also, poor internal linking leads to bad user experience, making it harder for visitors to navigate your content. While 36% of SEO specialists prefer four to five internal links in a blog post, the majority—51%—opt for just two to three, according to SEO.AI.
6. Not Personalizing Outreach Emails
Sending generic, mass outreach emails to request backlinks or guest post opportunities. Something like: “Hi, I love your content. Can I contribute a guest post?”
Website owners and editors receive tons of link requests daily. No one loves generic, robotic outreach emails. Mention the recipient’s specific content, highlight why your link adds value, and keep your email concise but engaging. Personalize your outreach.
7. Forgetting to Update Old Content
Leaving outdated blog posts and reports untouched for years. Old content loses relevance and ranking potential, reducing linkability. Sites are more likely to link to fresh, up-to-date content.
5+ Risks of Link Building to SaaS Sites
Link building is like a double-edged sword—it can be a powerful driver of organic growth, but one wrong move can slash your rankings, waste your budget, or even land your SaaS site in Google’s penalty box.
1. Google Penalties
It’s a nightmare. If your site is caught engaging in manipulative link building tactics, you could face a manual penalty or an algorithmic penalty.
Your rankings tank. Your organic traffic vanishes. In the worst cases, Google might even deindex your site—wiping it off their search results. If this happens to you, getting back on track is a long tough journey.
HubSpot Case Study – Why Google penalized Hubspot’s blog?
HubSpot’s organic traffic saw a major decline in 2024. It started the year with around 10 million monthly visits, dropped to 7.5 million by September, and fell even further after Google’s December Core and Spam updates. Now, it’s down to about 5.2 million.
Szymon Słowik, SEO Consultant & Founder of Takaoto, analyzed this case study, raising questions about whether HubSpot’s link building strategy is relevant to the decline.
HubSpot has over 28,000 linked domains, with a high ratio of outgoing links to pages. While this isn’t necessarily against Google’s guidelines, unnatural link patterns can trigger spam filters. Many of these links come from exchanges or middlemen, which could be seen as paid links.
2. Low-Quality Backlinks
Not all backlinks are created equal. Links from spammy, irrelevant, or low-authority sites can weaken your SEO instead of strengthening it. If your backlinks come from questionable sites, Google might treat your site as guilty by association.
3. Wasting Time and Money on Ineffective Link Building
Some link building strategies just waste your time. When you put a lot of money into tactics that don’t make much difference, you might as well throw cash out the window.
4. Negative SEO
Believe it or not, competitors can sabotage your SEO by sending spammy backlinks to your site. This is called negative SEO, and while Google is pretty good at ignoring bad links, a massive influx of toxic links can still hurt you.
→ Monitor your backlink profile regularly with Google Search Console, Ahrefs, or SEMrush. If you notice a surge in toxic backlinks, act fast—disavow them before they do any damage.
Expert opinion
You’ve got in touch with the site owners and said, “Please don’t link to me. I don’t want to have anything to do with your site.” If those folks aren’t receptive, then just go ahead and disavow those links. As long as you’ve taken those steps, you should be in good shape.
Co-Founder at Neil Patel Digital
5. Overdoing Guest Posting
Guest posting can be an effective strategy to build links when done. However, overdoing it on subpar websites might lead Google to view your efforts as a link scheme. This could result in Google devaluing your links or, in severe instances, flagging your site for excessive guest posting.
6. Losing Backlinks
A website might update or remove your link, or a page could be deleted altogether. Losing backlinks is inevitable, but if you don’t track them, you could lose a significant chunk of your SEO value without even realizing it.
→ Use backlink monitoring tools like Ahrefs or Moz to track lost links. If a link disappears, reach out to the site owner and ask if they can reinstate it—or offer an updated resource they can link to instead.
Conclusion
Link building has a big impact on SaaS SEO. Getting good backlinks from trusted related websites can improve your search rankings, build up your brand’s authority, and bring in promising leads. But if you go about it the wrong way, you might face penalties, waste your resources, and even hurt your website’s reputation in the long run.
Think smart. Try to earn links from respected sources, keep your anchor text natural, and avoid sketchy link schemes. A link-building strategy done right will help your SaaS site rank better. It will set you up to grow over time.
Frequently Asked Questions
