Backlinks Became One of My Main Growth Channels
When I started building SaaS products, I focused mostly on coding.
New features.
Better UI.
More tools.
But later I learned something important:
If nobody links to your product, Google thinks it is not important.
That changed how I approach SaaS marketing.
Now backlinks are one of the first things I work on.
Why Backlinks Matter So Much
Backlinks help me in two ways:
- Better Google rankings
- Direct traffic from other websites
And honestly, both matter a lot.
I started noticing a pattern:
When trusted websites linked to my projects, rankings improved much faster.
Google trusted my site more.
Backlinks are basically votes.
- More votes = more trust
- More trust = more visibility
- More visibility = more users
Simple idea. Big impact.
The Strategy That Worked Best for Me
I tested different SEO tactics.
The easiest one was surprisingly simple:
Publish my SaaS on relevant platforms.
Not random directories.
Not spam websites.
Relevant places where people already search for tools and startups.
Usually I add my project as:
- a startup listing
- a profile
- an article
- a launch post
This works really well for:
- SaaS
- indie projects
- tools
- services
- side projects
What I Check Before Posting Anywhere
I do not submit my project everywhere.
Before using a platform, I check:
- Does it have real traffic?
- Does Google trust this site?
- Do users actually stay there?
If the website looks spammy, I skip it.
Quality matters more than quantity.
Why These Platforms Work
A lot of these websites give free backlinks.
No budget needed.
Only:
- time
- patience
- consistency
Over time I noticed:
- rankings going up
- traffic growing
- domain authority getting stronger
- pages indexing faster
And the traffic feels different compared to ads.
People there are already searching for tools like mine.
So they are more likely to try the product.
My Favorite Part
This strategy is beginner friendly.
Big companies spend thousands on SEO and ads.
I don’t.
I prefer slow compounding growth.
Step by step:
- more visibility
- more trust
- more authority
That’s how I approach SaaS SEO.
Another SEO Trick I Use
Getting backlinks from huge websites is hard.
You usually cannot just ask sites like:
- Wikipedia
- Forbes
- AWS
- MIT
- Harvard
for a backlink.
So I started testing expired domains with existing backlinks.
I use GoneDomains for this.
It helps me find expired domains that already have strong backlinks from trusted websites.
Then I redirect them to my project.
Simple setup.
But surprisingly effective.
Platforms That Worked for Me
Some good places to start:
- Product Hunt
- Indie Hackers
- Dev.to
- SaaSHub
- Hashnode
- Hacker News
- Substack
These platforms already have the right audience.
That matters a lot.
Important Tip
Do not spam.
Every platform has its own community and rules.
Respect them.
Write useful content.
Fill profiles properly.
Help people first.
SEO works much better long term this way.
Final Thoughts
If I launch a new SaaS today, I start building backlinks early.
Before ads.
Before scaling.
Because distribution matters almost as much as the product itself.
A few strong backlinks can completely change your growth curve.
Small SEO wins compound over time.
Top comments (0)