State of SaaS Link Building in Europe
Links that
actually move
the needle.
What 163 SaaS marketing teams across Europe revealed about their link building strategy, outcomes, and the distance between what they're doing and what's working.
01 — Executive Summary
Most SaaS companies are building links.
Few are building the right ones.
European SaaS marketing teams are spending more on link building than ever before — yet the majority report that organic visibility hasn't moved meaningfully in the past 12 months. The problem isn't effort. It's strategy, or the lack of one.
Our research found that nearly two-thirds of respondents have no documented link building strategy, and of those that do, fewer than a third review it quarterly. Links are being acquired on autopilot: same sources, same tactics, same results.
Across respondents who shared Ahrefs or GSC data, teams that moved from reactive to strategy-led link building consistently showed higher DR-weighted link velocity and meaningful growth in non-branded organic sessions — typically within two quarters. The budget rarely changed. The system did.
02 — Key Findings
The five gaps between what teams think is working and what data shows
Across 163 respondents, a consistent pattern emerged: teams overestimate the impact of high-volume tactics and underestimate the compounding value of domain relevance and editorial placement. These aren't new ideas — but the data shows they're still not operational for most teams.
01 · Perceived vs. actual impact on organic sessions (self-reported vs. GSC/Ahrefs delta at 6 months, n=104)
02. Volume vs. quality: the wrong metric trap
Teams in the bottom half of the organic velocity distribution acquire more links per month on average than teams in the top quartile — but at significantly lower average DR. Acquiring fewer, more relevant links consistently outperformed volume-led approaches in this dataset. Volume is the most visible metric and the least predictive one.
02 · Avg monthly link acquisition vs. avg DR — bottom 50% vs. top 25%
03. Strategy frequency vs. results
Teams that review and adjust their link building strategy at least quarterly consistently reported stronger non-branded organic session growth than teams that set strategy once a year or never. The cadence of updating the strategy appeared to matter as much as its content.
03 · Avg non-branded organic session growth by strategy review frequency (12-month period)
Based on respondents who shared 12-month Ahrefs/GSC data (n=104). Median growth rates shown.
04. Anchor text diversity
Teams with heavily exact-match-weighted anchor profiles were disproportionately represented among respondents who reported manual action warnings or unexplained ranking drops. Most were unaware of their anchor ratio before the survey. Anchor diversity isn't a nice-to-have — for a significant share of teams in this sample, it was the variable that separated stable growth from volatility.
05. Reporting depth vs. budget continuity
Teams that report link building performance using session attribution and DR-weighted metrics reported stronger budget continuity year-over-year than teams that report link count alone. The pattern was consistent enough to suggest that how you measure determines whether you get to keep doing it — not just whether it's working.
03 — Maturity Classes
Five link building maturity classes
Based on survey scores across three dimensions — Strategy, Execution, and Measurement — respondents fall into one of five classes. Each class has a characteristic "organic velocity leakage": the gap between current organic growth and what the same budget could deliver with a more mature approach.
| Class | Profile | Velocity Leakage | At €4K/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Purely reactive. Links acquired opportunistically, no strategy, no measurement. Every month is a reset. | 60–75% | €2,400–3,000 wasted |
| Class 2 | Some tactics in place, usually one channel. No relevance scoring, no link velocity tracking. | 40–60% | €1,600–2,400 wasted |
| Class 3 | Multi-tactic, some prioritization. Measurement exists but isn't actioned. Strategy is informal. | 25–40% | €1,000–1,600 wasted |
| Class 4 | Documented strategy, quarterly review cadence, link relevance scoring active. Near-optimal allocation. | 10–25% | €400–1,000 wasted |
| Class 5 | Fully systematized. DR-weighted ROI tracked per campaign. A/B-tested anchor strategies. Link building as a compounding asset. | 3–10% | Minimal waste |
04 — Market Archetypes
The five archetypes we found in the data
Strategy, Execution, and Measurement — each scored Low, Medium, or High — produce a recognizable combination for most SaaS teams. Here are the five most common patterns and what they mean in practice.
LLL
The Spray & Prayers
Volume is the whole strategy here. No defined targets, no relevance criteria, no tracking beyond "did we get the link." Teams in this profile are often doing more work than anyone else — and getting the least from it.
Low
Strategy
No documented approach. Links pursued based on what's available, not what's needed.
Low
Execution
Single-channel, no anchor diversity, inconsistent outreach cadence.
Low
Measurement
Link count only. No DR tracking, no session attribution, no ROI model.
Priority moves
- Define a target DR floor (e.g. DR 40+) and stop acquiring below it.
- Build a 20-domain relevance shortlist for your primary category before next month's outreach.
- Add Ahrefs or Semrush tracking for at least 5 priority pages to create a measurement baseline.
MLL
The Tool Buyers
These teams have the subscriptions — Ahrefs, BuzzStream, a prospecting tool or two — but the tools haven't changed the approach. Strategy and measurement are still underdeveloped, so the software produces data that nobody acts on. Having the tools feels like having a system. The numbers say otherwise.
Medium
Strategy
Informal targeting. Tools used for prospecting but not for strategic prioritization.
Low
Execution
One or two channels. Outreach is inconsistent. Anchor diversity is an afterthought.
Low
Measurement
DR tracked in dashboards. Not connected to session outcomes or ROI decisions.
Priority moves
- Turn tools into routines: a 30-minute monthly review — which links drove sessions, which didn't, why.
- Build a relevance scoring template (topical authority + DR + traffic) to prioritize outreach targets.
- Start tracking at least one conversion metric (trial signups, demo requests) attributed to organic traffic by landing page.
MMM
The Steady Operators
The most common profile in the dataset — roughly a third of respondents. These teams have figured out the basics — they know what they're doing and roughly why — but they haven't built the feedback loops that turn effort into compounding results. Every month is a fresh grind instead of a system that accelerates.
Medium
Strategy
Informal strategy exists. Not reviewed or adjusted regularly against data.
Medium
Execution
2–3 tactics active. Relevance matters but isn't scored systematically.
Medium
Measurement
DR and session data tracked. Not actioned fast enough to influence next month.
Priority moves
- Document the strategy — even a one-page doc — so it can be reviewed and iterated against data.
- Build a monthly 30-minute review cadence: which links drove sessions, which didn't, why.
- Introduce a relevance score to prioritize outreach targets: topical authority + DR + estimated traffic.
- Test one new tactic per quarter against a control period to find what compounds in your category.
MHH
The Precision Players
Strong execution and solid measurement, but the strategy layer hasn't kept pace. These teams are excellent at acquiring the links they're targeting — the gap is that targeting decisions are still made informally. Closing this is the fastest path to Class 5 from where they currently sit.
Medium
Strategy
Targets chosen from intuition and experience. No formal prioritization model.
High
Execution
Multi-channel, strong anchor diversity, disciplined outreach. High conversion rates.
High
Measurement
DR-weighted velocity tracked. Session attribution by link source. ROI model exists.
Priority moves
- Formalize a quarterly target audit: score all domains in the pipeline against topical authority + DR + traffic.
- Build a competitive gap model — which high-DR domains link to competitors but not to you?
- Feed measurement data back into strategy: which page types yield the highest DR links in your category?
HHH
The Compounders
This is the ceiling. Link building is a system, not a campaign. Every acquisition feeds a model, every model informs the next targeting decision, and the whole thing compounds over time. These teams don't talk about link building as a cost — they talk about it as an asset. That's not a mindset difference. It's a structural one.
High
Strategy
Documented, reviewed quarterly, fed by competitive data and session attribution models.
High
Execution
Multi-channel, DR-weighted relevance scoring, A/B-tested anchor strategies.
High
Measurement
Full DR-weighted ROI model. Session and conversion attribution by link and landing page.
Staying at the top
- Build a link acquisition experimentation roadmap: quarterly tests on anchor strategy, content format, and outreach sequencing.
- Systematize competitive intelligence — track competitor link velocity monthly, identify and move on gaps within 30 days.
- Create a closed-loop model where conversion data (not just sessions) feeds back into DR target-setting and domain prioritization.
05 — Closing
What the data is actually telling you
The European SaaS market is not underinvesting in link building. It's underinvesting in the thinking behind it. Budget is allocated, effort is applied, and links are acquired — but the strategic layer that connects those links to business outcomes is missing for most teams.
The teams in the top quartile of organic velocity aren't spending more. They're spending more deliberately: fewer links, better relevance scoring, faster feedback loops. The distance between the average and the top isn't a question of resources. It's a question of system.
If any of these archetypes sounds familiar — or if you're not entirely sure which one you are — that's a useful place to start.
If this describes your team,
that's exactly what we fix.
Brainy Bees builds link programs for European SaaS companies that compound. No upfront payment. 48-hour turnaround. Links that can't be bought — only earned.
Start a project → brainybe.es