Are you facing a lot of link building challenges at the moment? Well, that’s everyone’s story for the last 5 years. 

Most clients I’ve met usually have a problem with budget, quality content, and backlink velocity. And guess what? This doesn’t end here. 

In this blog post, I will talk about more challenges in detail and show you some easy ways to overcome them.

So, let’s get started! 

#1 – Coming up with a Personalized Outreach Pitch

Your targeted audience is already receiving a lot of emails, LinkedIn messages, and slack DMs. 

Outreaching them with a generic message is a surefire way to get ignored. 

Backlinko analyzed 12 million emails and found that 91.5% of outreach emails are ignored. Findings suggest that personalized emails and subject lines increase reply rates by 32.7% and 30.5%, respectively.

And as per several studies, personalized LinkedIn messages perform 15% better than generic ones. 

So next time you try to outreach for a guest post, I suggest you to follow this checklist: 

✅ A customized subject line that includes name of the person 

✅ Show who you are and what do you do

✅ Any achievements? Feel free to brag about it

✅ Pitch your ideas but try to be as relevant as possible

✅ Show your past work 

✅ CTA 

For outreach, you can leverage LinkedIn, email, and Slack. 

Let me show you an example of each:  

Cold Email 

Outreach: 

LinkedIn Outreach: 

Response From Editor:

Slack:

#2 – Guest Post Execution Difficulties 

From finding high-quality websites to outreach, a lot goes in for guest posting. What’s the worst part? Publication takes days, or even weeks. 

Remember, targeting is everything! 

An email marketing platform can’t outreach to a recruitment agency for guest post or link insertion. 

Creating a list of targeted sites based on relevance and authority helps a lot. The more options you have, the better! 

Let’s suppose we’re running a link building campaign for getvoip.com

We will find similar businesses and make a list for outreach: 

Once you start reaching out, you have to follow up too as it 2X the response rate.

Antonio Gabrić, an outreach manager from Hunter.io said something similar in his post:

You can leverage tools like Mailshake, Lemlist, Hunter, or anything similar to automate your follow-ups. 

Alternatively, establishing a good relationship with the site’s editors showing a gesture like this one also helps you in the long run: 

#3 – Need to Build and Maintain Relationships

It’s true that building and maintaining relationships require consistent efforts, but you can’t ignore the long-term benefits. 

Interacting on LinkedIn is my all-time favorite as it gives me an opportunity to interact with multiple people in one go. 

For example, take a look at this post and comment: 

A single comment helped me interact with Azfar and Rochi at the same time. Besides, anyone who might be interested in our conversation can participate. 

This is just an example, you can do much more! 

You can help someone in the comments and send personalized connection requests to discuss further. It’s so powerful, you can’t even imagine! 

#4 – Getting Comfortable with Rejections

Whether it’s acquiring links or clients, rejections are always there. You have to understand that these rejections are not personal and everyone has a reason for it. 

If the editor you’re reaching out to is nice, you might get a reason why they’re not going further. Just in case they say no without feedback, you can politely ask what you can do better next time. 

If they don’t respond at all, try reaching out to other people of the same organization.

If even this doesn’t work, let the concerned person know you’re always there for them and it would have been nice if they could at least give you feedback. 

In the end, learn from your failure and move on with positivity. 

#5 – Lack of Quality Content 

Quality content is the #1 factor for SEO, especially when it’s about E-E-A-T. 

Trust me, an extra E really matters because that’s what Google is after these days – expert level content! 

People always link back to great content. And if we look at the bigger picture, everybody loves to be a part of something big. So psychologically too, this plays a crucial role here. 

Snacknation is a great example here. One of their blog posts is getting almost 2K organic visitors. Besides, they have received 1.3K backlinks so far. 

Why? 

Right, their content is linkable! 

#6 – Backlink Quality vs Backlink Velocity 

Backlink velocity in SEO means how quickly a website or a specific webpage is gaining new inbound links.

Finding a balance between velocity and quality is one of the biggest link building challenges. In general, SEO experts go through: 

👉🏻 Rapid linking at the cost of quality which delivers minimal results

👉🏻 Slow link acquisition which gives your competitor an upper hand

Leveraging my 5-year expertise in SaaS link building, I came up with a 4-step framework that can help you evolve from this loop. 

This is what it looks like: 

#7 – Scaling up Dilemma

After securing more than 1K backlinks, I’ve learnt that diversifying is the key to scale as a link builder. 

This is what you can do to scale: 

• Build an authority on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Reddit 
• Stay active in different SEO & Content Marketing groups
• Create relevant niche sites 
• Run your own Slack community with other link builders
• Start posting more case studies on your blog

The more value you give, the more backlinks you’ll get in return. Without a reason, your prospects have no reason to link back to you. 

#8 – Confusion Over What Could Be the Ideal ‘Anchor Text’

An ideal anchor text link is so controversial, people are fighting over it on forums. 

Some experts say a brand or service name should be there, others argue that ‘click here’ is fine, while some prefer to use exact match keywords or anything that describes the post we are linking to. 

I guess we should follow what Google says, no? 

As per Google developer link text guide, you should write short keyphrases that provide context for the article you’re linking to. 

Personally, I do the same but it’s a bit different. Apart from keeping the keyword relevant and contextual, I also use different combinations of words across multiple websites. 

#9 – Do Follow vs No Follow Balancing Act

Between do follow and no follow, a 60-40 ratio is a general rule of thumb. But the reality is, as long as links are created naturally via customized manual outreach, you don’t have to worry about this ratio. 

Let me give you an example by analyzing Cloudtalk backlink profile:

In total, there are 1173 do-follow contextual links from high-authority SaaS websites. 

As far as the no-follows are concerned, there are just 149 links. 

Any SEO person who lacks knowledge might say this sounds like spam. The ratio is like 90-10.

But here’s the kicker – All those 90 links are not placed without context and they’re coming from high-quality authority sites.

According to Google’s latest update, only contextual links are not enough. The site you’re linking to shouldn’t be a part of any PBN or link farm. 

So at the end of the day, ratio doesn’t matter. 

#10 – Black Hat Techniques Have Given This Industry A Bad Reputation 

A collaboration between two great websites is a win-win, right? 

Well, that’s what we think! 

Not all outreach efforts are the same.

The perception of exploitation still exists among website owners. To some extent, they’re right about it as they get a bunch of outreach messages every single day. 

Just take a look at this one: 

How will you separate yourself from the black hat? 

I’d say a white hat that doesn’t look like one can’t stand out. You have to become an authority in your niche. 

The content you push, the people you work with, your social media presence, and overall search rankings says a lot about who you are. 

#11 – No Guarantee Over Your Link Building Strategy’s Success 

SEO is all about testing and scaling. What works for others might not work for you and vice-versa. 

There’s a saying, don’t put all eggs in one basket. You shouldn’t stick to one strategy either. Include guest posts, broken links, skyscraper content, and press releases to your backlink strategy. 

For better search engine positions, keep optimizing the most suitable method. 

#12 – Budget Constraints 

When reaching out to authority sites, a few editors replied to me saying they charge $20, $50, and $100 for a guest post. 

First, paying for links is bad karma. Now or later, it will catch up to you. If anyone can get that link for $20, you’re trying to get published on a website that everyone is spamming on. 

Second, you don’t have a budget or you’re testing the waters. 

Invest your time in building content, networking with industry leaders, and engaging in forum discussions related to your niche. 

If possible, you can even mention your brand or service name across these forums. 

Somewhere along the lines, this will build your authority as people will know more about what you’re doing. 

#13 – Continuously Following & Adapting to Google Algorithm Updates

Gary Illyes, John Mueller, Matt Cutts, and many experts from Google often say that link building isn’t important. 

In fact, Gary Illyes, who is Google’s search analyst, recently said it’s not even considered as the top 3 ranking factor. 

My opinion? They want to reduce spam. That’s why they’re trying to trick people into thinking that links are not relevant anymore. 

We have reached a point where we have to think smart and don’t follow everything that Google says. 

Here are a few things that prove why link building in SEO still matters: 

• “Mentioned in” search snippet feature still exists 
• Google’s SGC (Search Generative Experience) documentation says their upcoming LLMs will rely on links and mentions to seek relevant results 
• Illyes says links are not in the top 3 and people are overestimating their value, means it might be in the top 10, 20, or even 50 
• Google wouldn’t have penalized sites based on links if it wasn’t a factor at all 

How A SaaS Link Building Agency Like Clickass Can Help You Build Links?

Clickass focuses on building natural links through customized manual outreach. 

Some of our clients got mentions from Churnzero, Convert, Spiralytics, Leadsquared, NiceReply, Web Engage, Biteable, and many other well-known brands.

This is how we do it: 

• Consultation Regarding Your Current Circumstances, Strategies, and Existing Link Profiles 

First of all, we engage in a detailed conversation to discuss your current circumstances, existing link profile, and the challenges you’re going through. 

Based on our niche expertise in SaaS martech, we craft a personalized link building strategy that syncs well with your unique SaaS Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

• Dedicated Content Team 

All outreach efforts go in vain if you don’t have quality content writers by your side. Not all sites have the same quality standards. Since the very beginning, I knew this would be a bottleneck in our system. 

So, I made a team of writers that live and breathe SaaS all the time. 

That’s why we have a higher chance of getting approval from sites that agree for a guest post. 

• Strategic Relationships with Reputed SaaS sites 

Working for multiple clients, I got a chance to connect with a lot of editors who are now in a good relationship with Clickass. 

So having such an extensive network helps us deliver a number of opportunities in an instant. Not only me, even our writers are in sync with them. 

• Large Link Builder Network 

Having comrades is always better than keeping competitors. In SaaS itself, there are uncountable niches. 

Let’s say you’re into email marketing, and I am not connected to relevant site owners or editors. 

In that case, I can always seek help from other members of the Clickass team who might have relevant connections for you. 

• Monthly Reporting on Metrics 

When working on link building campaigns, I actively monitor links to ensure long-term effectiveness.

Additionally, I give you monthly real-time reports to keep you updated with progress and results. This way, you can track the ROI my  SaaS link building service generates for you. 

• No False Claims of “Guaranteed 1st Page Rankings within 7 Days” 

SEO is unpredictable!

Achieving 1st page rankings within 7 days is as lucky as hitting a number in a roulette game. The reason being? Google’s algorithm, your competition, and market trends don’t always remain the same. 

The only control we have is keeping ourselves updated with the latest SEO trends. 

The Bottom Line

Whether it’s 2024 or 2034, link building will always be a crucial factor for SEO. After all, Google’s entire product is based on linking. 

If they stop crawling sites through links, how will they index rapidly? There’s no other signal! 

So if you’re planning to start a link building campaign for your SaaS brand and want an expert to take care of it, book a call for free consultation.