E1168: SaaS link building gets expensive fast. In this episode, Kristiyan Yankov breaks down why a single placement in the right listicle can be worth $1,000+, how he decides which backlinks are worth paying for, and the link-building methods his team uses across more than 60 SaaS companies.
We go deep into the actual process behind SaaS link building, from finding competitor backlink gaps to pitching publishers, negotiating paid placements, building relationships on LinkedIn, getting links from major publications, and using third-party mentions to increase visibility in both Google and AI search.
We also get into what separates a valuable backlink from one that Google may effectively ignore.
What we cover:
- Why some SaaS companies will pay $1,000+ for a single listicle placement
- What separates a $300 backlink opportunity from a $1,000+ opportunity
- How to identify the listicles and roundups dominating your industry
- How Kristiyan reverse-engineers competitors' backlink profiles in Ahrefs
- Why multiple competitors appearing on the same site signals a strong outreach opportunity
- Why existing articles are often better targets than creating brand-new guest posts
- How to check whether a listicle actually ranks, gets traffic, or feeds AI search results
- Why LinkedIn often beats cold email for link-building outreach
- What an actual paid-placement outreach message looks like
- When to mention payment in the first message and when not to
- Why you should not name your price first when negotiating a backlink
- Why smaller, highly targeted outreach lists outperform mass outreach
- How incentives such as free product access, payment, content creation, and link swaps improve response rates
- How to maintain consistent brand positioning across dozens of third-party listicles
- Why inconsistent descriptions of your company across the web create problems for AI search
- How to split backlinks between your homepage, commercial pages, comparison pages, and informational content
- How expert quote outreach gets links and mentions from sites such as BBC, HubSpot, Zapier, and Wix
- Why expert quote platforms remain one of the strongest low-budget link-building methods
- Foundational backlinks every new SaaS company should build
- Why directories such as Crunchbase, BetaList, and Product Hunt still matter
- How a Product Hunt launch caused a major organic traffic spike for one of my projects
- How to use link swaps without making the links look artificial
- Why adjacent industries are strong targets for link exchanges
- How link-building outreach itself can generate customers and partnerships
- How podcasts, industry meetups, and personal relationships create backlinks competitors struggle to copy
- Why thanking tools you use publicly can turn into case studies and backlinks
- How to build your own Rolodex of marketers and site owners for recurring link opportunities
- The biggest mistake people make when judging backlinks by DR and traffic alone
- Why a smaller, highly relevant site can be more valuable than a much larger generic site
- When guest posting is worth the effort and when it is a waste of time
- How third-party brand mentions influence ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and other AI search systems
- Why getting included in the sources AI systems already retrieve is one of the fastest off-page opportunities
- Which link-building strategies compound over time instead of producing one-off results
Kristiyan and I also share some of the stranger link-building tactics we've used ourselves, including podcasts built partly around relationship building, industry networking, creative link exchanges, expert contributions, and other methods that go far beyond sending thousands of generic outreach emails.
⭐️ Kristiyan Yankov's agency, Above Apex - https://aboveapex.com/
⭐️ Kristiyan Yankov on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristyan-yankov/
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 SaaS Link Building Intro
00:12 Kristiyan SEO Journey
01:50 Top Link Building Plays
03:43 Link Gap Analysis Steps
07:01 Proving Competitor Links Work
09:12 Outreach and LinkedIn First
10:12 Incentives for Listicles
13:13 Outreach Message Templates
14:43 When to Lead With Money
17:01 Finding Dominant Listicles
17:58 Existing Posts and Indexing
22:23 Small Batch Outreach Strategy
28:18 Follow Ups and Timing
30:13 Listicle Pricing and Value
34:11 Positioning and Keywords
37:24 Deep Links Beyond Homepage
39:09 Expert Quote Outreach Setup
40:02 Best Quote Platforms
41:31 Low Budget Link Tactics
43:10 Directory Links That Work
45:37 Clicks From Backlinks
46:40 Adjacent Industry Link Swaps
51:42 Relationship Driven Links
56:50 Common Link Building Mistakes
01:00:28 Guest Posts Done Right
01:05:37 Brand Mentions For AI Search
01:10:52 Linkable Assets And Virality
01:15:05 Natural Backlink Profiles
01:17:41 Where To Find Christian
01:17:56 Bulgaria Rose Valley Chat
01:21:34 Podcast Wrap Up
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #linkbuilding #saasmarketing #seo