When it comes to SaaS SEO, founders and marketers often find themselves stuck in a chicken-and-egg dilemma: should we focus on content marketing first, or prioritize link building to boost rankings? Both are crucial, and both play different — but deeply interconnected — roles in driving long-term organic growth. So which one should come first?
The short answer? Start with content. But the longer — and more useful — answer is that it depends on your goals, resources, and where your website currently stands. Let’s unpack this in detail so you can make an informed decision for your SaaS brand.
What Is Content Marketing in the Context of SaaS SEO?
Content marketing, in the context of SEO, is about creating valuable, relevant, and optimized content that attracts and engages your target audience — typically in the form of blog posts, landing pages, guides, or educational content.
For SaaS companies, this might look like:
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A blog post on “How to Reduce Customer Churn With Automation”
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A comparison page like “Intercom vs. Drift: Which Is Right for You?”
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A tutorial on integrating your software with another popular tool
This type of content doesn’t just bring people to your site; it educates them, builds trust, and subtly nudges them toward your product.
From an SEO perspective, content gives search engines something to index, rank, and serve to users who are actively searching for solutions your SaaS offers. Without content, you’re invisible — it’s as simple as that.
Read: SaaS vs. Traditional Software: What's Better for You
What About Link Building?
Link building, on the other hand, is the process of earning links from other websites back to yours. These backlinks act as votes of confidence in the eyes of search engines. The more high-quality, relevant backlinks you have pointing to your site, the more likely you are to rank well for competitive keywords.
In the SaaS world, link building can take several forms:
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Guest posting on industry blogs
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Getting featured in software roundups or tool comparison articles
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Digital PR campaigns (e.g., original research or surveys)
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Resource link outreach (e.g., offering your guide as a helpful reference)
Link building boosts your site’s domain authority, which in turn increases the likelihood that your content ranks. It’s a powerful strategy — but without content to link to, you don’t have much to promote.
So, Which Comes First?
For most SaaS companies, content marketing should come first — and here’s why.
1. You Need Something Worth Linking To
Imagine reaching out to someone and asking them to link to your site, only to have them click through and find a bare homepage and a pricing page. That’s not link-worthy.
High-quality, informative, and useful content gives people a reason to link back to you. Whether it’s a helpful how-to post, a data-driven case study, or an in-depth comparison article, content is what makes your site valuable in the eyes of others.
In this way, content lays the groundwork for future link building. No content? No links.
2. Google Needs Content to Understand Your Site
Before backlinks even matter, search engines need context. Content provides that context — it helps Google understand what your SaaS does, who it serves, and what problems it solves.
Without pages targeting the right keywords, your link equity has nowhere to flow. It’s like pouring water into a bucket full of holes — without a solid content foundation, your SEO efforts leak out without delivering real results.
3. Content Helps with the Entire Funnel
While link building primarily affects rankings and authority, content marketing supports the entire customer journey. Top-of-funnel blog posts bring in awareness, mid-funnel guides educate and build trust, and bottom-of-funnel product pages convert visitors into users.
In a competitive SaaS market, content does more than attract — it converts.
When Should You Start Link Building?
That said, don’t sleep on link building entirely — just time it right.
Once you have a few well-optimized, valuable pieces of content live on your site, that’s the perfect time to begin outreach. Your blog posts, whitepapers, and tool integrations can now serve as solid targets for backlinks. This is when link building becomes meaningful — when it amplifies content that’s already working.
Another good time to start link building is when:
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You’ve published several blog posts but they aren’t ranking yet
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You want to improve the authority of your domain or key pages
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You’ve launched a new feature or tool that deserves attention
Just remember, link building without content is like promoting an empty store. Content gives visitors something to stick around for. Link building brings them to the door.
The Best Strategy? Combine Both — Strategically
While content comes first, the real magic happens when content and link building work together. Publish helpful, search-optimized content regularly. Then, promote your best pieces through strategic outreach to earn high-quality backlinks.
You might start with a “pillar post” — an in-depth guide on a core topic in your niche — and then create spin-off posts that dive deeper into specific subtopics. Once that’s live, begin link outreach to relevant blogs, podcasts, or directories that cater to your target audience.
If you're looking for expert help with both sides of the equation — especially a partner that understands how to turn organic traffic into recurring revenue — learn more here.
Final Thoughts
In the battle of content marketing vs. link building, there’s no true winner — because they’re on the same team. But when it comes to order of operations, content has to come first. It’s the foundation that supports everything else in your SEO strategy.
Start by creating content that solves real problems, answers questions, and aligns with your SaaS product. Then, invest in building links to that content so it can rise through the rankings and bring in sustainable, long-term traffic.
SEO for SaaS isn’t about shortcuts. It’s about building something that lasts — and that starts with content.