SaaS SEO Guide
How to Win at Search in an AI World
In 2015, I joined a bootstrapped time tracking SaaS called Time Doctor as their second marketing hire.
No VC runway. No brand budget.
My KPI every single month was the same: how many trials did we generate?
We stumbled into SEO by accident. Someone suggested a post called "Toggl Alternatives."
We published it, got some traffic.
And three weeks later we got our first organic trial.
By the time I left in 2021, that same approach had helped grow the company from under $1M to over $10M ARR.
The playbook that got us there still works.
But in 2026, it's no longer sufficient on its own.
AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity have changed where buyers start their search.
And the companies winning at AI recommendations are the ones with the strongest brand signals across the web, not just the best-optimized pages.
What's Changed
SaaS SEO in 2016 and SaaS SEO in 2026 are two different games.
The rules didn't change overnight. They shifted gradually, and then all at once when AI search arrived.
Here's the simplest way I can show you what's different:
| Before | Today |
|---|---|
| Analyze the SERP | Create content with a unique POV |
| Create content that ranks based on the SERP | Build a brand, not just a backlink profile |
| Top, middle, and bottom of funnel content | Focus mostly on bottom of funnel content |
| Build links | Get your SaaS shortlisted by LLMs |
| Give a nod to the Google Gods | Cross-platform visibility |
| Capture existing demand | Create Demand |
The program at Time Doctor took years to build. This playbook compresses the most important lessons into six chapters. The fundamentals are not complicated. The discipline to execute them consistently is the hard part.
Let's get into it.
I'm going to share the tech stack that we use at Content Guppy, and that I've used most of my SEO career.
But if you're more comfortable with something else, that's totally fine. Use what you know (or more importantly, what you've already purchased.)
I'm going to link to all the tools that we use. There are no affiliate links.
We tend to keep it totally lean here at Content Guppy.
What's Coming
Over the next five chapters, we'll cover:
- Content strategy: the archetypes that convert visitors into trials and the POV-driven approach that gets you recommended by AI.
- Keyword research: finding the terms that attract buyers, not just browsers, and understanding what those same buyers are asking AI.
- Setting up Your Content for Success: the foundation that makes everything else work, including structured data that helps AI parse and cite your content.
- Content production: how to create content that outranks incumbents and earns a place in AI answers.
- Link building: earning the authority signals that move Google rankings and tell AI systems your brand is worth recommending.
Content Guppy SEO Tech Stack
But, let's face it. The tools aren't going to make or break your SEO strategy. So if you're comfortable with something else, then use it.
Content Archetypes for Organic Search and AI Recommendations
Not all content is created equal. Some content is designed to convert readers into users. Some content is not.
Over the past decade, I've developed what I call Content Archetypes: pieces of content designed for the sole purpose of attracting the right buyers to your site and converting them into users.
There's also an AI angle here that didn't exist a few years ago.
When someone asks ChatGPT or Perplexity "what's the best time tracking software for remote teams," it's pulling from exactly these types of posts: alternative lists, best category roundups, comparison pages. Jobs to be done posts. Template posts.
Bottom of funnel content is what gets your SaaS recommended. And it's the content that converts the best in organic search.
Here are the five archetypes that have consistently driven the most trials and MRR.
Alternative Posts
This type of post is one of the most popular "SEO posts" that are written.
But whenever I consult with clients, they tend to do it wrong... leaving a lot of money on the table.
But first, let's talk about why they work.
Your prospect is currently looking for a tool just like yours. But they only know about the 800 pound gorilla in your industry. And they've only heard bad things about it.
For instance, they're looking for accounting software. They know about Quickbooks... but all their friends tell them how janky it is.
So, they go to Google and they type in "Quickbooks Alternative".
And what does Google show this fine potential user? A whole list of list posts called "Quickbooks Alternatives".
This is bottom of the funnel content. A person actively looking to try out a tool to solve a problem that your SaaS solves.
You want to create content that provides them with the answer to their question... in this case "What are Quickbooks alternatives?"
How to Execute it for Maximum Results
[Number] [Big Brand Alternatives/Competitors] [Benefit]
Number: I wouldn't go anything less than 10 here. A lot of times, I'll use 17 or 21.
Big Brand Alternatives/Competitors: When you're doing your keyword research, you might find that Quickbooks Competitors has more search volume than Quickbooks Alternatives. It's not a huge deal, as Google is smart enough to understand the search intent. But I typically like to match my headline to the term with the most search volume.
Benefit: Quickly say why someone needs that alternative.
Here's some examples:
- 17 Ahrefs Alternatives to Help You Rank Higher without Breaking the Bank
- 21 Quickbooks Competitors to Help You do Taxes in Less Time
- 10 Mailchimp Alternatives to Grow Your Email List
About Your Tool
Your tool is going to be first!
Don't be shy here. Most people won't scroll past the third tool. So if you're putting yourself fourth or fifth for modesty reasons, you're leaving a lot of money on the table.
Go into all the benefits of your tool. Compare why it's better than the big brand competitor.
Treat this almost like a mini sales page. You can use a button as a call to action which works great or you can just link to your sign up page.
Body of Post
As for the rest of the tools, I follow a simple formula.
- I will use an image that I take from the competitor's website.
- I'll make a 100-200 word summary of the tool.
- I'll summarize key features.
- And then I'll summarize pricing.
That's it.
We added my friend's tool in the top spot on this post. 4 days later he had 11 new trials.
Sometimes these keywords don't look like they have tons of search volume. But that's OK.
Toggl Alternatives has a search volume of 150 searches per month according to Ahrefs. However, Time Doctor's "Toggl Alternatives" post routinely gets between 200 and 400 visitors per month.
Imagine 200-400 people coming to your site each month looking for an alternative to your biggest competitors. And that's just one post. Write a dozen of these and you'll be growing in no time.
Examples
The Best Category Post
Next to the Alternative Post, it's probably one of the most common types of "SEO posts" you'll see.
Once again, this type of post is a list post designed to attract your ideal buyer when they're looking for the tools to do their job better.
Here's why it works.
A potential prospect is looking for software in your industry because they have a problem they need solved. So a business owner looking for accounting software will go to Google and ask "best accounting software".
You want to create content that provides them with the answer to their question... in this case "What are the best accounting software available?"
Can you see how getting folks to your site with a list of tools that solve their problem can be a good thing? 🙂
But here's the key, you can think outside of the box. Chances are, your software belongs in multiple categories.
For instance, at Time Doctor, we were a time tracking tool for remote employees. So, our categories could be:
- Time Tracking Tools
- Time Management Tools
- HR Tools
- HR Tools for Agencies
- HR Tools for SaaS companies
- Project Management Tools
If you're an accounting SaaS, you can be:
- Best Accounting Tools
- Best Accounting Tools for Small Business
- Best Accounting Tools for SaaS
- Best payment processing tools (if you have a payment feature)
Think about all the types of customers you serve and all the use cases.
How to Execute it for Maximum Results
[Number] [Category] [Benefit]
Examples:
- 17 Best SEO Tools to Help You Rank Higher without Breaking the Bank
- 21 Accounting Tools to Help You do Taxes in Less Time
- The 10 Best Email Automation Software to Grow Your Email List
About Your Tool
Your tool is going to be first! Don't be shy here. Most people won't scroll past the third tool. Treat this almost like a mini sales page.
Body of Post
Same formula as the Alternative Post: image from the competitor's website, 100-200 word summary, key features, and pricing.
First hand experience, your company's data, personalized stories are all going to play a role in helping your content rank higher.
With AI and cheap labor creating so much "spin" content, it's going to be the content that stands out that will get noticed and rank higher.
So, if I were to write these posts in the future, I would write something like: "We tried 10 Link Building Services, Here's What We Learned" or "We Tested 10 Call Center Management Tools..."
Examples
X vs. Y Posts
In this post, you're comparing one brand vs. another brand.
Here's why it works.
A potential user who's looking for the kind of software that your SaaS is may want to compare two brands.
So they may say: I want to know the difference between Toggl vs Time Doctor.
And they'll Google Toggl vs. Time Doctor.
There are two ways to do this.
First, if you're an established brand, you can compare your brand vs one of your competitor's brands.
For instance, in the later days of Time Doctor, we would do something like Time Doctor vs Hubstaff.
However, in the earlier days, we would need to do a different strategy.
A Trojan Horse if you will.
So, we'd write a post called Toggl vs. Harvest (two much bigger brands), and once we got potential users onto the page, we'd introduce Time Doctor to them.
This isn't a bait and switch. We'd write several thousand words comparing Toggl vs. Harvest. Then we'd talk about Time Doctor at the end of the post.
How to Execute it for Maximum Results
Brand vs. Brand: Which tool is better
Body of Post, Way 1: Write about one brand then write about the second brand.
- Brand 1: Overview, Features, Pros and Cons, Pricing
- Brand 2: Overview, Features, Pros and Cons, Pricing
Body of Post, Way 2: Compare the two brands side by side.
- Overview: Brand 1 / Brand 2
- Features: Brand 1 / Brand 2
- Pros and Cons: Brand 1 / Brand 2
- Pricing: Brand 1 / Brand 2
About Your Tool
If your SaaS has brand recognition or market penetration, you'd just use your SaaS as Brand 1.
If you're a startup, or you don't have any market penetration yet, you need to do a trojan horse method.
At the end of your post, you will talk about your SaaS and why it's a viable alternative to Brand 1 and Brand 2.
Instead of a straight brand comparison, write something like "Hubstaff vs. Time Doctor: Here's What Customers Say."
First-hand experience and real customer data is what will stand out as AI-generated comparison content floods the SERP.
Examples
Jobs to Be Done Posts
I also call this "features" posts.
Here's why these posts convert so well. They show a prospect how to do a job that they need to get done... and how your SaaS can help them do it better/faster/cheaper.
A user will "hire" your SaaS to complete a job faster, cheaper, better, than they would be able to if they did it manually.
For instance, at Time Doctor, even though our main "thing" was time tracking for remote employees, we had the following use cases:
- Agencies would use the tool to manage projects
- Agency owners would use the tool to pay their freelancers
- Agency owners and SaaS founders would use the tool to estimate how long projects take
- Medical transcription companies would use the tool to see how much to bill clients
- Call center owners would use the tool to see how long each agent was spending on a customer service call
How to Execute it for Maximum Results
Title: 90% of the time, this is going to be a "how to" post.
- How to do Keyword Research
- How to reduce churn
- How to claim 1099 employees on your tax returns
Body: Go deep into the weeds on how to solve the problem using your software.
A step-by-step approach works best.
Your Tool: Include screenshots, videos, and gifs of your product. You want people to feel like they CANNOT do the task properly without signing up for your SaaS.
Instead of "How to Do Keyword Research," write "Keyword Research: How We Come Up With 100 Topics in 60 Minutes."
Your company's data and real results are what will differentiate this content as the SERP fills up with generic how-to posts.
Examples
Template Posts
Welcome to my absolute favorite type of post to write.
The Templates Post.
Here's why this type of post works:
Your prospects are always searching for templates that your SaaS already automates.
One of the features within Time Doctor is the ability to track employee timesheets.
We created a post called Timesheet Templates. At the time I'm writing this, the keyword currently gets 7,700 searches per month.
Then, you create a post whereby you give away the template for free. Our templates were Google sheets, PDFs, and Excel Sheets.
Now, here's the kicker.
Manually managing timesheets is a real pain in the butt. It is much easier to just have a software do it for you.
See where I'm going with this? 🙂
Most of the people who read this post are going to just download the free template.
They may eventually become customers down the road.
But there are going to be enough people who read the post, realize they don't want to be bothered by doing it manually, and sign up for the tool.
How to Execute it for Maximum Results
[Number] Free [Category] Templates You can Download and Use Today
- 4 Free Timesheet Templates You Can Download and Use Today
- 5 Free Inventory Management Templates You Can Download and Use Today
Body: Give it away for free. Don't even collect email addresses.
We found that when you gate something like this, you lose rankings in search. We'd much rather have the traffic to our site and let them use the templates for free than not have the traffic at all.
Your Tool: Throughout the post, and especially at the end, let people know that using the template manually is a pain in the butt, and that your tool will make their life a hell of a lot easier.
Examples
Keyword Research
Now that you have some topics to write about, this chapter is all about doing some keyword research to make sure you're writing posts that have search volume, can rank in Google, and drive sales.
Over the next few sections, you're going to learn how to:
- Identify search intent, and why that's important
- Do keyword research for each type of content archetype
- Prioritize your content
Why Search Intent is Killing Your Rankings
Whenever I consult with a client, they usually tell me one of two things:
- Their content is ranking, but not converting.
- Their content has links, but isn't ranking.
The reason their content is ranking, but not converting, is because they didn't follow the content archetypes we went over in the last chapter.
The reason the content isn't ranking? Search intent.
What is search intent?
I borrowed this definition from Backlinko because I like it a lot:
"Search Intent (also known as 'User Intent') is the main goal a user has when typing a query into a search engine. Common types of Search Intent include informational, commercial, navigational and transactional."
It means that when a company fails to identify the search intent, it's because they've created a page that Google's users don't want to consume.
And when Google's users don't want to consume a page, Google doesn't rank it.
Here's an example.
Let's say you're trying to rank for the keyword "Email Marketing Software".
And you're busting your butt trying to build links, optimize the page, add internal links... all the things.
But you're not getting anywhere.
That's because your search intent is probably off.
If you Google "Email Marketing Software", 9 of the top 10 results are list posts.
And the tenth listing is Mailchimp, the biggest email software in the industry.
Instead, if you want to rank for "Email Marketing Software", you're much better off writing a "Best Category Post". Because that's what the search intent suggests you do.
NEVER GO AGAINST SEARCH INTENT! Seriously, this is the number 1 mistake that I see with companies who are struggling to rank their content, despite how many links they're building.
Doing the Keyword Research
Because you did the work and came up with about 20 ideas in the Content Archetype chapter, this is going to be a breeze.
Instead of doing this all in text, I'm going to show you short videos for each of the archetypes.
Keyword research isn't a straightforward process. It can be a bit messy. But if you practice, you'll get good in no time.
Quick note: I very rarely worry about search volume. If a keyword has 20 or 30 searches a month, I'll still create that post. Chances are the amount of traffic I get to it will be significantly higher.
Video Breakdown: Keyword Research for Alternative Posts
How to find alternative post keywords with real buyer intent using Ahrefs.
Video Breakdown: Keyword Research for Best Category Posts
Finding category keywords that attract ready-to-buy prospects.
Video Breakdown: Keyword Research for X vs. Y Posts
Identifying the best comparison keywords for your category.
Video Breakdown: Keyword Research for Jobs to Be Done Posts
Finding use-case keywords that connect your product to buyer problems.
Video Breakdown: Keyword Research for Template Posts
Uncovering high-volume template keywords your SaaS should own.
Content Prioritization
You probably have 20, 30, or even 40 post ideas to get started on.
But where do you get started?
You can use the SaaS SEO Playbook sheet to help you.
In this video, I show you how to prioritize and score your content.
How to Prioritize and Score Your Content
Setting Up Your Blog Post for Search and AI Success
Good post structure has always mattered for SEO. But in an AI world, it matters even more.
The way you structure your content determines whether humans want to read it and whether AI can easily use it to synthesize answers.
Those two things are more connected than most people realize.
Your URL tells an LLM what the topic of the page is before it reads a single word. A clean URL like /email-marketing-software is instantly understood. A messy one like /10-best-email-marketing-software-in-2024 creates noise.
Short paragraphs that contain one thought make it easy for AI systems to extract and use your content. When you write in dense blocks of text, you're making the AI work harder to find the answer. It will find a post that makes it easier.
Subheadlines tell both search engines and AI what the next topic in the post is. They're not just for skimmers. They're a signal about the structure and scope of your content.
Get the structure right and you're building content that ranks in Google and gets surfaced in AI answers. Get it wrong and you're invisible in both.
Setting Your URL Structure
So many companies I consult with will have a URL structure like:
www.companyname.com/10-best-email-marketing-software-in-2024
I find this to be a bad way to set the URL for a few reasons:
- It doesn't give you the opportunity to edit the post down the line. What if you decide you want or need to add 10 more tools to the list?
- NEVER include a date in your URL. Dates change. URLs remain.
Instead, just keep it super simple:
www.companyname.com/keyword
For instance:
www.companyname.com/email-marketing-softwarewww.companyname.com/ahrefs-alternativeswww.companyname.com/timesheet-templates
That way, if you need to edit the post, the URL will still describe what the post is about.
Content Titles
Your content's title is probably the single most important determinant if your content gets read, or not.
More specifically, we're going to think about post titles as it relates to SEO.
Let's take a look at a post title for a keyword like "mailchimp alternatives".
The post title has the keyword in it.
This is very important. When I consult with companies who's content isn't ranking, one of the first things I look at is the post title. Is the keyword in the H1?
The year is in the post.
This means the post is updated and relevant.
This title is direct and to the point.
It's not cute or witty. To be honest, it might even be a bit boring.
Most of my titles are a lot like this. But in 2024 and beyond, I'm going to be experimenting with posts that are a bit more spicy.
- 10 Best Mailchimp Alternatives to Crush Your Email Marketing Campaigns
- 10 Mailchimp Alternatives that Aren't Completely Feature Bloated
- 10 Best Mailchimp Alternatives that You can Actually Afford
But if you're just getting started with SEO for your SaaS, don't worry too much about making it cute. Get the keyword in the H1. Put the year if needed to keep it relevant.
Title Tags
Title tags are the headlines you see when you enter a keyword into Google.
90% of the time, they're taken straight from the content's H1 tag.
Title tags have a VERY significant role when it comes to increasing click through rates.
The higher the clickthrough rate, the higher your post will rank.
EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE TITLES IS ALMOST THE EXACT SAME!!!
So, let's talk about how to make your title tag a bit more... interesting!
First, you can have a much bigger list. Instead of 10, 11, or even 22 Mailchimp alternatives, you can have 101 Mailchimp alternatives.
The second thing you can do is add personal experience. For instance:
We tried these 10 Mailchimp Alternatives for a Week, and Here's what We Learned
Look at what types of titles are ranking in the top 10 and make yours more interesting.
Subheadlines
I have some bad news for you.
The truth is, you're going to spend all this time or money creating content. And almost no one is actually going to read it.
They're going to skim it.
Which is why you need subheadlines. Otherwise known as H2, H3 tags. (I typically don't go below H4 tags.)
Every time you change topics within a post, you're going to add a new subheadline.
Create SEO Subheadlines
From time to time, I like to create optimized subheadlines. This doesn't always work, nor do I go over the top with it. But maybe once or twice a post, I'll optimize a subheadline to a keyword related to my overall post.
SEO Subheadline Ideas
Line Spacing
I just wanted to quickly talk about spacing.
More specifically, line spacing.
In all of my content, I tend to write short paragraphs.
No more than two or three sentences.
Sometimes, it's just one sentence.
Sometimes, it's just a few words.
See how spaced out all the text is?
The reason is this:
If you have large blocks of text in your content, your reader will skip it. We've found that creating these spaces INCREASES time on site.
Which increases rankings.
You might not need to be as crazy as me with your spacing.
But avoid text blocks at all costs.
Converting Traffic into Leads
So, you're spending a lot of time and money getting the right traffic over to your site.
You're attracting your ideal buyers with sound keyword research.
You're leveraging content archetypes to help convert traffic into users.
But there's one more thing we could be doing.
And while you may cringe at the thought, they do work.
I'm talking about "Exit Intent Popups".
When someone is about to leave your site, a popup will appear giving them an offer.
At Time Doctor, we leveraged a full screen Exit Intent Popup that we split tested the hell out of.
Even at about 10,000 visitors per month, fractions of a percent improvement can lead to a lot of trials.
At that level of traffic, every 0.1% increase in conversion rate adds 10 extra users to our app.
When you get to 100,000 visitors a month, those fractions of a percentage add up to hundreds of new users per month.
(For the record, when I left Time Doctor, our popup was converting at about 2%)
Some Tools to Use:
- Sumo.com
- Mailmunch
- Optin Monster
- Hubspot
Again, I know a lot of people cringe at the thought of a popup, but they could make some huge differences in your MRR. Especially when your traffic is growing rapidly due to SEO.
Let's Create Some Content
Creating content has changed. It used to be enough to write a well-optimized post, build a few links, and wait to rank. That's no longer the whole picture.
Today, you need your content to do two things. Rank in Google. And get your SaaS recommended when someone asks ChatGPT, Perplexity, or an AI Overview which tool they should use.
And the best way to do both is the same: create content with a point of view that nobody else can replicate.
Not because it's clever. Not because it's well-optimized.
Because it's built on first-party experience and data that only you have.
AI systems are getting very good at identifying generic content. The posts that are going to win, in search and in AI recommendations, are the ones that say something nobody else can say.
That's what we're going to focus on in this chapter.
Minimum Viable Content
You know what an MVP is, right?
It's the least amount of product you have to do to validate your hypothesis.
Now, let's talk all about MVCs: Minimum Viable Content.
Minimum viable content is the least amount of content you need to create in order to test the hypothesis of a blog post.
For instance, I wrote a massive blog post on 101 SaaS marketing strategies. The post ended up being 7,000 words long.
This was 40 hours or so of work.
Instead, I should have written a blog post called "10 SaaS marketing strategies", spent $100 in ads to see if the post drives conversions, and then if it does, added the other 91 strategies.
This would have saved me a TON of time.
Another time, I wanted to write a post on marketing implementation. At the time, it had a low keyword difficulty. Even now, the KD is 13. So not a difficult post to rank.
I spent about $100 hiring a very cheap writer to write the post. I built 3 links to it, and waited.
As of the time I'm writing this, this post currently ranks 7 in Google.
Gets about 200 visitors a month.
And absolutely zero conversions.
It's been hovering between position 4-8 for the past 6 months. Not even a single email subscriber.
I spent a few hundred bucks and 1 hour or so of my time. But now I know. There's no need to work on this post any further.
In fact, by the time you read this, it'll probably be deleted.
When to Create an MVC?
There are two main times you want to create an MVC.
First, you want to see if the post will convert traffic into users. So you can create something that's OK, run some ads to it.
If it converts, awesome! Make it a great post.
If it doesn't, no harm done. You didn't spend much time or money.
The second reason you may want to create an MVC is to see if the post will rank.
Start publishing a lot of posts.
Once a week, twice a week, etc.
Identify winners and losers.
In a few months, you'll start to see which posts are "winners" and which are "losers". The winners will be in position 30 or 40 in Google without any optimization or link building. The losers won't be ranked at all.
Optimize and build links to the winners.
So don't predict. Just act on the posts Google already wants to rank.
How to Create Content With a Point of View
Here's something most SEO guides won't tell you.
The best content isn't written by writers.
It's written by people who deeply understand the problem they're solving, the product they're writing about, and the customer they're writing for.
The writer just puts it on the page.
At Time Doctor, I hopped on at least one sales call per week.
Not because I had to.
Because I wanted to hear directly from the people who were about to become customers.
And it changed everything about how I wrote content.
When I was writing comparison posts like "Toggl vs Time Doctor," I wasn't guessing at what mattered to the buyer.
I knew.
I had heard it directly from the person on the other end of the phone. I knew exactly which features they were frustrated with at Toggl. I knew what they were looking to achieve. I knew the specific moment they decided they needed to switch.
That knowledge made our comparison pages feel different from every other "X vs Y" post on the internet.
Because they were written from the inside, not from a Google search.
Most SaaS content sounds the same because it's all sourced from the same place: the internet.
If your writers are researching your competitors the same way your competitors' writers are researching you, you're going to end up with the same content.
The way out of that is talking to people.
Talk to Your Subject Matter Experts
If you're not the product expert yourself, find the people in your company who are and interview them before you write anything.
Here are the questions I always want answered:
- What is their point of view on the topic you're writing about?
- Why is it important?
- Why was the feature designed this way?
- What's their take on a current event affecting your industry?
- Why are you in a unique position to solve this problem?
- What stories do they have that you can use in your content?
You don't need long interviews.
Thirty minutes with the right person will give you enough material to differentiate an entire post.
Talk to Your Sales Team
Or better yet, jump on a sales call with them.
This is the single highest-leverage thing I did at Time Doctor.
One call per week gave me a constant feed of real buyer language, real pain points, and real reasons people were switching from competitors.
Here's what you're trying to find out:
- What are they hiring your SaaS to do?
- What tool are they switching from? Is it a competitor, or are they doing it manually?
- What are they looking to achieve by hiring your SaaS?
- What features are most important to them?
- What integrations matter most?
- What were they doing when they decided they needed your tool? What pain finally pushed them to make a change?
The answers to these questions are gold.
They tell you what to write about, how to frame it, what to emphasize, and what your competitors are getting wrong.
No keyword tool gives you that.
How to Outsource Your Content
There's a couple of different strategies that I've found work best, depending on the types of content that you create.
The List Posts
For the alternatives posts and your best category posts, you can find a couple of writers, create your brief, and then ship it off to a writer.
Almost any type of writer can do this because they're basically doing research on the internet.
And you won't pay more than $500 per post, and in a lot of cases, less.
Don't overthink this one. Get these up as fast as you can. In a span of 6 months, it is conceivable that you publish 24 of these types of posts.
Comparison Posts
For this type of post, you're going to want to have someone with some familiarity with your industry.
Most of it is going to be done via internet research. And then 20% of the post is going to be done by experience.
You can sign up for the tools' trial and have the writer nose around and play with the UX a bit so they can go deeper in their comparison.
You can expect to pay about $700 to $1,000 for this type of post.
Template and Jobs Posts
These posts are going to require a bit more input on your end, and you'll need a writer who's willing to get into the weeds of your industry.
You'll want to give them access to your tool, share what it does, who it's for, use cases, etc.
At Time Doctor, we created a quick video training that we would hand each of these industry expert writers that we'd onboard.
Content Outlines
Before you write any post or outsource any post, you want to create an outline that you can give to your writer.
I've created outline templates for you. All you need to do is save them to your Google Drive. Then you'll be able to take the templates I've provided, fill them in, and hand them off to your writers.
How to Hire Writers
There's a few ways that you can do this.
Upwork
When I was at Time Doctor, we would hire from Upwork to write all of our list posts. You can typically find a writer at a reasonable cost. This type of post doesn't take a lot of work to get the writer up to speed.
Writer Job Boards
I would highly recommend you find writers with industry or niche experience in order to create your X vs Y, JTBD, and Template posts. A bit of industry knowledge can make all of the difference.
Read More Blogs
One of my favorite ways to find writers who have talent is to read a lot of blogs.
Then when you see a post that you love, reach out to the person who wrote it.
Sometimes, the person is a guest blogger and will be happy to take on paid gigs.
Sometimes the person works for the company, but will write for you on the side.
These are the types of writers that you can introduce to your company, teach them about your SaaS, and let them write posts that combine both industry knowledge and company knowledge.
Which to me, are the best types of posts.
Link Building
Link building has changed. It used to have one job: help your content rank higher in Google. That's still true. But in 2026, a well-placed link does three things.
It moves your rankings.
It builds your brand authority.
And it signals to AI systems like ChatGPT and Perplexity that your SaaS is a trusted, recommended solution in your category.
Most link building agencies are still only thinking about job one.
We think about all three.
What Makes a Good Link
You're going to hear a lot about PBNs, content farms, and link farms.
We don't worry about any of that for one simple reason: we made a decision early on to be very clear about the types of sites we would get links from.
A good link comes from three things.
High Domain Rank
We never reach out to sites with a DR below 60 according to Ahrefs. Domain Rank is a score that tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush use to measure how powerful a site is in Google's eyes. The higher the score, the more value the link passes.
Real Organic Traffic
We typically don't reach out to sites with fewer than 1,000 organic visitors per month. Ahrefs and SEMrush both give you traffic estimates. They're never exact, but they're good enough.
An Actual SaaS or Service Business
This one rule alone eliminates almost every content farm, PBN, and spammy affiliate site in one shot.
Ask yourself: is this an actual business that sells something?
If yes, it's a great link.
If no, use your judgment. But 95% of the time, we only reach out to SaaS companies and agency or service sites.
(One caveat: if Paul Graham wants to link to you from PaulGraham.com, you take it and you rejoice.)
Links Are How You Build Your Brand
Here's the part most people miss.
The biggest brands in any SaaS category are the ones that win at both SEO and AI search.
And the activities that build your brand off-page are the same activities that tell AI systems your company is worth recommending.
Podcast appearances.
Listicle placements on sites your buyers trust.
Brand mentions in newsletters and publications your ICP reads.
Guest posts that establish your point of view.
None of these are just links.
Every one of them is a brand-building moment that creates demand that didn't exist before.
When ChatGPT gets asked "what's the best time tracking tool for remote teams," it's not just crawling your website.
It's drawing on everything it's ever seen about your brand across the web.
The companies with the biggest, most consistent off-page presence are the ones that get recommended.
That's why link building and brand building are the same program now.
The ABC Link Exchange
Let's quickly talk about the biggest challenge with building links today.
Back in 2015, you could write an amazing post, send out 100 emails to other blogs, and some people would link to it out of the kindness of their heart.
Those days are gone.
Today, you have to pay for links in some way.
There are three ways to do that.
You can give the other site cash in exchange for a link.
You can pay with content. You write them a guest post that includes a link back to your site.
Or you pay with a link in return. "You give me a link, and I'll give you one back."
That third option is the ABC link exchange.
Here's how it works.
Instead of a direct swap, which Google frowns upon, you bring a third site into the equation. Site A links to Site B. Site B links to Site C. Site C links to Site A.
Nobody is directly linking back to the site that linked to them. The exchange is spread across three sites. Same value, cleaner footprint.
Ideally, you want to find 10 or so sites you can partner with on a regular basis. These partners allow you to place links on their site. You can then use those relationships to entice other publications to give you a link in return.
At Content Guppy, we have relationships with hundreds of partners that we use to run this process for our clients.
Building Brand Authority Through Podcast Guesting
Getting on podcasts is one of the highest-leverage link building tactics you can invest in right now.
And most people aren't doing it.
Here's why it works so well.
A single podcast appearance gets distributed across YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, the host's blog, and their newsletter. That's five or six brand touchpoints from one conversation.
The transcript gets indexed by Google and cited by AI platforms. You're giving LLMs rich, natural-language content about who you are, what you do, and who you help, in a format they're specifically built to understand and surface.
You're borrowing an established audience that already trusts the host. That trust transfers.
And you get a backlink from the show notes. On a real site, with a real audience, in your exact niche.
No other link type does all of those things at once.
How to Find the Right Podcasts
We use Listennotes.com to search for podcasts in our clients' niches. You can filter by category, audience size, and posting frequency.
You're looking for podcasts with a few thousand listeners minimum, that post regularly, and whose audience matches your ICP.
Create a Media Page for Your Spokesperson
Before you pitch a single podcast, create a media page for whoever is going to be the guest. This should include their bio, topics they can speak to, past appearances if any, and a headshot.
Podcast hosts are busy. The easier you make it for them to say yes, the more yeses you get.
Outreach Scripts That Work
Keep it short. Lead with value for their audience, not a pitch for your product.
Hey [Podcast Host Name], I'd love to introduce you to [Name], [Title] at [Company]. [He/She] helps companies solve [specific problem]. [He/She] has compelling data on [insight that would interest the host's audience], and how companies like [client or example] are [achieving result]. Would [Name] be a good fit for [Podcast Name]? Happy to send over more details. Best, [Your Name]
Hi [Podcast Host Name], Quick question: would your audience be interested in hearing about [topic relevant to their show]? [Name] from [Company] has helped [type of companies] achieve [result] using [approach]. [His/Her] insights on [specific angle] could be valuable for your listeners. Let me know if you'd like to explore this! [Your Name]
Each appearance creates ripple effects across platforms: mentions, backlinks, brand signals, and entity authority.
You'll get your brand in front of thousands of listeners who match your ICP.
And you'll give LLMs training data on who you are and what you do.
Brand Distribution Through Listicle Guest Posting
LLMs pull heavily from listicles when forming recommendations.
When someone asks ChatGPT "what's the best employee engagement platform," the top results it draws from aren't homepages or product pages.
They're listicles.
This makes listicle guest posts one of the most important link building tactics you can invest in right now.
Here's why they compound.
Once a listicle gets cited by an AI platform, it tends to keep getting cited. The brand mentions on that page build entity signals over time. And the backlink to your site passes authority every time the page gets crawled.
One well-placed listicle on a high-authority site can drive AI recommendations for months or years.
How to Execute It
We write the listicle for you. A "10 Best [Category]" post targeting a keyword your buyers are actually searching for. Then we pitch it to publications in your niche.
The keyword should have real search volume. The post should be genuinely useful, not just a vehicle for your brand. And your SaaS should be featured prominently, with a real description of what it does and who it's for.
Hey [first name], We wrote a guest post called [Post Title]. The keyword gets [X] searches per month and has a difficulty score of [X] according to Ahrefs. We would love to publish it on your site. Thanks! [Your Name]
That's it. Short, specific, and leads with value for their site, not just yours.
Examples
That's the Playbook
Back in the day, you used to be able to do keyword research, outsource the content to a cheap writer, and build some links.
A few weeks later, your post would be ranking. And if you did everything right, revenue would go up.
That's not necessarily the case today.
Now, you need to create content with a point of view, build your brand, capture organic traffic, get recommended by LLMs, do customer development, and spread your message as far as you possibly can.
The steps outlined in this guide will take you there.