Links to blog posts or long-form resources increase their search visibility and build awareness. They also help sites rank for bottom-of-funnel terms—a rising tide lifts all boats.

Some content marketers have it “easy,” working in highly visual industries (e.g. food, fashion) with wide appeal. That simplifies content creation and link building compared to, say, trying to promote niche B2B software.

This article reveals the strategies that led to successful link building for major SaaS companies.

If you’re creating content for your SaaS company, these are the themes and practical ideas to add to your content calendar.

5 ways that SaaS content earns links

1. Become a point of reference.

Eight of the articles (15%) in the list of the top-performing SaaS articles  are original research. There’s a mix of infographics and in-depth studies, all of which generate lots of inbound links.

  Research is the most efficient type of content for earning backlinks . 74% of marketers who conducted original research saw increased website traffic as a result.

Example

“What the Most Common Passwords of 2016 List Reveals [Research Study]” by Keeper

Word count	Backlinks	Referring domains	Date of publication
483	3,100	815 (39% of all RDs)	2017

This hybrid blog post and infographic presents the results of Keeper’s study that assessed the most common passwords in 2016. (They sourced their data from recent data breaches.) The post now accounts for 39% of all referring domains to pages other than the homepage.

Why did it succeed?

• Smartly sourced, hard-to-find data. Passwords, of course, are usually private. The study reveals rarely unearthed data that people are naturally curious about. Using data from a data breach as a source was also a clever way to conduct research quickly and cheaply.
• Ranked answers. Humans love rankings. A random list of “common passwords” wouldn’t have had the same impact as the rank-order version. Does it matter which is fourth versus sixth? Nope. But it’s a more engaging way to frame the content.

What could they have done better?

• The visual presentation isn’t impressive. The main report is a clickable link to a PDF, which doesn’t make much sense. For one, many links and visits may go to the PDF version (rather than the HTML version, which includes more company info, navigation, calls to action, etc.). Second, a PNG would’ve made the pseudo-infographic embeddable on other sites to help earn even more links and referral traffic.
• There’s no segmentation of data. In all likelihood, the data breach contained more than just passwords—it probably contained emails and, perhaps, addresses, too. Additional variables would enable additional reports (i.e. more pages to link to) or more targeted versions to increase the content’s appeal (e.g. “What are the most common passwords in Canada?”).

Takeaway: You don’t need an expansive study to generate links. Even small studies can build credibility for your company as an authoritative source on a topic.

The main drawback of research studies? They age. Over time, statistics become less relevant; the links you earn in 2019 could go to another, more recent study in 2020. If you invest in original research, consider a topic that:

• Has enduring interest;
• Is feasible to update annually.

2. Share others’ research.

An additional seven articles (13%) share other people’s research as infographics, statistical roundups, or text commentary.

You might assume that most people would link directly to the original research, but this shows that, for the purpose of earning links, aggregating research from multiple sources may be just as effective as doing your own.

Example

“22 Mind-Blowing Mobile Payment Statistics” by BlueSnap

Word count	Backlinks	Referring domains	Date of publication
904	52	35 (7% of all RDs)	2017

This article collates 22 statistics about mobile payments from 13 sources, covering security, users, market share, and global statistics.

Why did it succeed?

• Built credibility by referencing multiple studies. By bringing together relevant statistics from a number of sites, BlueSnap delivered a more credible resource—you don’t need to scour the web to find out if a single research study is corroborated (or debunked) by other studies.
• Took advantage of human laziness. If you’re writing about this topic, it’s much easier to link straight to this list three or four times than click through to each original source.

What could they have done better?

• Visual presentation is uninspiring. This article is all text. There are no visual elements to add interest. Illustrating statistics would make them more shareable and be an additional incentive to link to their article instead of the original sources.

Takeaway: No research? No problem.

If you don’t have the resources to conduct original research, aggregating a list of reputable industry statistics might be the next best thing. You can reap all the benefits of original research—without actually doing any.

Statistical roundups are valued resources that build credibility, sometimes at the expense of those who ran the original research studies.

3. Make the news—for better or worse.

PR-style content received twice as much organic traffic as blogs that focused on educational content. That statistic won’t hold true for mom-and-pop shops. But it does work for big companies whose fortunes qualify as newsworthy events.

Some events that earned links were intentional—acquisitions and funding announcements, for example. Others, like security incidents, were less desirable but nonetheless impactful.

Example

“Salesforce Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Datorama” by Datorama

Word count	Backlinks	Referring domains	Date of publication
272	89	51 (21% of all RDs)	2018

A couple of acquisitions showed up in this data set, attracting coverage in tech press and the wider business press. For example, this article is Datorama’s announcement of their acquisition by Salesforce, and it accounts for 21% of referring domains to their site.

Why did it succeed?

• Big name acquirer. With Salesforce as your acquirer, it automatically becomes big news in the world of sales and marketing, at least for a while. It helped that Salesforce linked to Datorama’s page in their article announcing the deal, bringing this piece to the attention of their wider audience.
• Direct message from the CEO. Make no mistake: This “article” is a press release. But it’s authored and signed by Ran Sarig, Datorama CEO and co-founder, which makes it more interesting and engaging than a dry, anonymous press release. It almost comes off as an “opinion” piece, embedding the CEO’s take on the acquisition within the page and, thus, turning it into a source for journalists reporting on the acquisition.

What could they have done better?

• Logos! This is another all-text article, with no featured image in the post or header. A visual that featured both the Datorama and Salesforce logos could have provided a visual way of communicating the acquisition—ideal for sharing on social media or earning image links.

Takeaway: Self-promotional content can work.

Not all links come from educational content. It’s okay to write about your company, and a self-promotional focus can bring in tons of links if your company qualifies as newsworthy—or is acquired or connected to someone who is.

4. Go bigger or better.

The skyscraper technique is a popular strategy for building links. You find popular content about an important (read: high-volume) subject and create a better version.

There are four key ways to improve upon existing content:

1. Length. If someone shares a list of 20 must-use tools, make a list of 25.
2. Newness. Has someone published a roundup of top tips for 2018? Update it for 2019.
3. Design. Is great information languishing on an ugly blog? Share the same information with stronger visuals or make the post easier to skim/navigate, especially on mobile.
4. Depth. Go into more detail than the original post—turn a brief paragraph into a full section, substantiate claims with expert opinions or stats, etc.

The examples below focus on two methods: length and depth.

Example

“100+ Best Software Testing Tools Reviewed (Research Done for You!)” by QA Symphony

Word count	Backlinks	Referring domains	Date of publication
14,295	570	80 (14% of all RDs)	2016

This article is a great example of how to generate backlinks with a longer article. Totaling over 14,000 words, QA Symphony collates a list of more than 100 software testing tools. It accounts for 14% of all referring domains to their site.

Why did it succeed?

• Clear, valuable comprehensiveness. This article is by far the most comprehensive list on the first three pages of search results for “best software testing tools.” It covers 100+ tools—more than twice as many as the next-longest list. Longer doesn’t always mean better, but it works for this topic.

What could they have done better?

• Keep it updated. This article occupies the third organic spot for “best software testing tools.” Since its 2016 publication, it’s been beaten out by two newer (or at least more recently updated) articles—both of which reference 2019 in their page titles. Updating the title and adding a few new tools could push it to the top of the rankings and generate even more links.

Takeaway: The skyscraper technique works—if you have a plan.

If you’re looking to “steal” links from existing content, it’s not enough simply to create a post that’s longer/newer/better. To generate links for your new content, you need to invest time and effort in the outreach. To quote Ahrefs:

“ The key to successful execution of the Skyscraper Technique is email outreach.  But instead of spamming every blogger you know, you reach out to those who have already linked to the specific content you improved upon. The idea is this: since they’ve already linked to a similar article, they are more likely to link to one that is better.”

Something else to keep in mind: The initial bump you might get from outdoing others will only continue if you keep your content up to date. If you choose a topic (like software tools) that requires annual updates to maintain user interest and organic rankings, make sure your strategy includes time to keep the content fresh.

5. Choose high-volume topics—and be patient.

This last option is a blend of easy (“do your keyword research”) and hard (“win buy-in for a years-long strategy”).

Keyword research ensures that your posts have a chance to earn passive links. Once your post rises to the top of search results, it becomes the easiest source for others’ to grab as they write their articles. However, that strategy works only if your stakeholders buy into the “long play.”

Among the 55 of the best-performing articles, the majority were published in 2017 and 2018:

With more than half the articles between 1 and 2 years old, the data suggests that it takes time for articles to rank well in search, be recognized as a reputable source, and earn backlinks. (At the same time, the link opportunities may diminish after a couple years as content decays.)

Conclusion

The more links you get, the more traffic you’ll see. Simple as that.

If you’re trying to generate links with your SaaS content marketing, the biggest takeaway is this: Not one of the 55 top-performing articles are run-of-the-mill 500-word blog posts. All required more editorial resources for research, design, and/or writing. Further, all require ongoing editorial support to maintain and expand upon their initial success.

Nonetheless, as a starting point, focus on these five strategies:

1. Become a reference point.
2. Share others’ research.
3. Make the news—for better or worse.
4. Go bigger or better.
5. Choose high-volume topics—and be patient.

Note: Full article has more examples for each type of the strategies above 👇

SaaS Content Marketing: 5 Proven Strategies to Earn Links

PS. None of these strategies are easy but if I had to choose one, I’d focus on becoming a reference point. Just be thorough in your research and update frequently.