You need consistent search traffic to generate cheap SaaS leads.
But you can’t get consistent search traffic without high-authority backlinks.
And you can’t get high-authority backlinks without link-worthy content.
This is what this article is about.
By the end of it, you’ll know exactly how to create content that gets backlinks from the highest-authority sites in your niche so that you can consistently generate SaaS leads from search engine traffic.
Sounds interesting?
Keep reading.
Why SaaS Websites Struggle At Link Building?
I’ve been a SaaS content marketing consultant for 8 years now and one of the biggest mistakes I see when it comes to link building is the lack of understanding of what drives backlinks.
SaaS business owners usually struggle to get editorial backlinks to their sites.
Why?
Because they want backlinks to their homepage and features pages all the time.
Why should a website like Forbes, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, or any other authority site link to your homepage?
There has to be a reason for them to do it, right?
You can’t pay them to do it and they’re not interested in promotional articles that frame your brand as the next big thing.
The only way to get links is by creating link-worthy content on your site. You can then promote that content through outreach and guest blogging to get backlinks from your target sites.
That’s how successful SaaS companies like HubSpot, Buffer, Groove, and so many others have managed to attract thousands of backlinks to their sites.
They get the majority of their backlinks to their blog content, not the homepage or features pages.
But what exactly is link-worthy content and how do you create it?
Let me explain.
What Is Link-Worthy Content?
Link-worthy SaaS content is content that’s so good, useful, and authentic that other sites link to it to make their content look more credible.
It’s not vague, thin, or opinion-based content.
Instead, it’s based on solid arguments backed by undeniable data evidence and live case studies that anyone can see.
To fully understand how to create link-worthy content, you first need to find out why websites link to each other.
According to a study by Dejan Marketing, here are the top reasons sites link to outside sources.
If you want to build backlinks to your SaaS website, you need to create content that can ride on at least one of those reasons.
Naturally, you can’t do it with your homepage and features pages only.
This is why you should look to create long-form informational blog content as well.
That’s the place to publish link-worthy content that other sites would happily link to.
Based on the results of the study I’ve just shared, here’s how you can create link-worthy SaaS content for your blog.
1) Cover Your Topic In Detail
You’re the expert on your topic and you should sound like one.
How do experts share advice?
They cover their topic in detail, answer all your questions, and share an actionable way forward.
That’s what your content has to do as well.
There’s no point in publishing 500-750 word articles that barely scratch the surface of your topic.
Amateurs do that.
Not experts.
Your content should be so comprehensive and detailed that the reader should never need to see another resource to get answers.
It’s not only good for your brand image but also directly benefits your site’s
Firstly, research shows that the average content length of the pages ranking on Google’s first page is around 2000 words.
You have a much better chance of ranking higher in search results with longer content becuase it helps you rank for multiple long-tail keywords.
Another research shows that longer content also gets more backlinks.
Hubspot, a SaaS content marketing success story themselves, analyzed all of their blog content and found that content that’s longer than 2500 words got the highest number of backlinks.
Hubspot isn’t the only SaaS company that has found success with its approach.
Bidsketch, an online invoicing tool, has built a thriving business by consistently publishing high-quality and in-depth blog content in the range of 2000 words/post.
Like this post.
You can apply this approach to your feature pages as well.
For example, Zendesk, one of the leading helpdesk and customer service tools in the world, turned their help desk features page into a 3000-word resource about how users should evaluate customer service software.
It not only strengthens their on-page
It’s understandable why other sites link to such comprehensive content.
Not everyone has the resources or expertise to write such content.
So when they run out of arguments, they link to content that’s more comprehensive.
Make sure that the content is yours.
2) Publish Original Research Studies
Marketers and online publishers love data and numbers.
This is why original studies, survey results, and data-heavy posts get so many backlinks.
According to research, 70% of marketers consider data as the most effective content form for link-building.
This is where you have a huge advantage over other sites.
You’re already running a SaaS with active customers and users.
You have lots of data that you can organize and turn into different linkable assets such as infographics, eBooks, and blog posts.
Plus, you can always run surveys on your audience, ask them one or two popular questions that everyone in your target niche wants to know about, and then compile the results in a meaty blog post.
It’ll get tons of backlinks.
Shopify does this all the time.
For example, they publish annual eCommerce trend reports and recently published one on the impact of COVID-19 on eCommerce businesses.
After publishing such comprehensive studies, Shopify then publishes a series of blog posts that use and highlight the findings of their research.
Like this article based on the research above.
Another content format that gets a ton of backlinks is the data compilation post. Simply find the best statistics about your industry or a topic that your target audience is passionate about and compile them in a single blog post.
You’ll be surprised by how many backlinks it can get.
Case studies and success stories are among the most effective content types for SaaS businesses.
Your prospects love reading them because they offer a backstage view of your business. They’re great for your brand image becuase they show the world that you can deliver solid results.
Plus, they’re great for link building because other sites interested in the topic mention them as examples.
According to the 2021 content marketing benchmarks report by the Content Marketing Institute, case studies are the third most popular content type among B2B marketers.
This is why popular SaaS companies like ConvertKit regularly publish blog articles featuring their most successful creators and course sellers. For example in this recent article, they listed 5 different creators that launched successful courses despite having very small email lists.
What’s the secret to creating a good case study?
Think of it from your customer’s perspective and try to keep your brand in the background all the time.
Highlight the problem they came to you with, how things were before their problem was solved, and what they were willing to do to get it solved, etc.
Then show the after part and highlight the steps you followed to solve their problem and give the readers a sense of how your customers felt after the problem was solved.
Include lots of stats, screenshots and, if possible, customer videos, to make your case studies really powerful and link-worthy.
Once you have a bunch of case studies for your brand, mention them in your log content and link to them in your guest posts for other sites.
4) Quote Experts And Influencers
An expert’s view is worth just as much as a research study or data evidence.
People follow the experts in their industries and take their opinions seriously.
This is why adding one or two expert quotes to every article you publish on your site can instantly make it more link-worthy.
Thankfully, getting expert quotes is a lot easier these days.
Forget the old email outreach approach.
Instead find your target experts on the social networks where they’re most active, reach out to them with a question, and let them know you’ll add their answer to an article on your site with a backlink to their site.
Fair deal, right?
You can even think about putting a whole article together based on the responses of 10, 15, or as many influencers as you can engage with.
Are You Ready To Create Link-Worthy SaaS Content?
Getting editorial backlinks to your SaaS content is hard with so much competition.
But if you include the link-worthy components in your content that I’ve discussed in this post, your chances of attracting backlinks can drastically improve.
Plus, it also gives you a great opportunity to build backlinks by referencing the data or case studies in your guest posts on other high authority sites.
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