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Dofollow Digest #19: Why link fundamentals matter more in an AI world

Dofollow Digest #19: Why link fundamentals matter more in an AI world

Eric Carrell
March 28, 2025

Hey, it's Eric 👋

Just read a fantastic piece on SEO fundamentals that got me thinking about our SaaS clients. In a world where everyone's obsessing about AI and its impact on search, there's something oddly comforting about the data: the basics still matter, and they might matter more than ever.

I've spent the last week deep-diving into our client results, and there's a clear pattern. The SaaS companies seeing the most growth aren't chasing every new SEO trend – they're the ones with rock-solid foundations. More on that below, plus our usual roundup of the best links from around the industry.

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🔍 DEEP DIVE: Back to Basics – Why Link Fundamentals Matter More in an AI World

The rise of AI has everyone scrambling to adapt their SEO strategies. But here's what many are missing: as search gets more sophisticated, the fundamentals aren't becoming less important – they're becoming more critical.

This is especially true for backlinks, which remain one of the strongest indicators of authority. What's changed isn't their importance but how you need to approach them.

What I'm seeing across our SaaS client portfolio is striking. Companies that focus on earning high-quality, relevant backlinks through valuable content are seeing 2-3x the traffic growth compared to those trying to game the system with volume-based approaches.

One client in the project management space saw a 144% year-over-year increase in organic clicks after we implemented a strategic internal linking strategy that reinforced their topical authority. Another newly launched SaaS platform saw their keywords jump from virtually nothing to over 1,000 first-page rankings in 6 months using our three-pillar approach to backlinks:

Foundational links: Industry-specific directories and citation sources that establish baseline credibility
Social fortress: Consistent presence across platforms that signals legitimacy to both users and AI models
Strategic guest posting: Targeted content on relevant industry sites that drives both authority and qualified traffic

But here's where it gets interesting for SaaS companies specifically. AI tools are increasingly acting as gatekeepers, deciding which content gets surfaced. And they have an inherent bias toward websites that are:

Frequently cited by trusted sources
Consistently mentioned across the web
Referenced by industry authorities

This means the old "spray and pray" approach to link building is not just ineffective – it's actively harmful. Every low-quality link is a signal to AI systems that your site may not be a trusted authority.

For SaaS companies, this creates both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is that building quality links takes real work – creating content worth linking to, nurturing publisher relationships, and consistently demonstrating expertise. There are no shortcuts.

The opportunity? As more competitors chase AI tricks and hacks, those who focus on building genuine authority through strategic link building will stand out dramatically.

We're seeing this play out in real time with our clients. One SaaS analytics platform we work with published original research on industry benchmarks, earning links from 47 high-authority sites in just two months. This resulted in a rankings boost and significantly increased their chances of being cited in AI-generated content, creating a virtuous cycle of visibility.

My advice for SaaS companies navigating this AI-driven world:

Create linkable assets first: Before outreach, ensure you have content worth linking to – original research, data visualizations, or uniquely useful resources
Focus on relevance over volume: A link from a respected industry publication is worth dozens from random sites
Build relationships, not just links: The most valuable links come from genuine connections with industry publishers
Monitor your mentions: Track not just backlinks but also unlinked mentions, which increasingly matter for AI training

In a world where algorithms are getting smarter by the day, trying to outsmart them is a losing game. Instead, align with what they're designed to reward: genuinely helpful content that real experts want to reference.

🔗 LINK ROUNDUP

'Til next time,
Eric