TL;DR
- Broken link building means finding dead links on other websites, then asking those site owners to replace them with links to your content – it works especially well for SaaS because you can target competitors’ deprecated pages and shuttered tools.
- The full process takes five steps: find broken links in your niche, create or identify replacement content, contact the linking site, follow up once, and track placements.
- Free tools like Ahrefs’ free tier, Check My Links (Chrome extension), and Google Search Operators cover the prospecting phase at zero cost.
- SaaS companies with resource hubs, glossary pages, or comparison content get the highest response rates because the content genuinely serves as a like-for-like replacement.
- A single campaign targeting 80 to 100 prospects typically yields 6 to 15 backlinks (Search Engine Journal, 2024).
What Broken Link Building Is and Why It Works for SaaS
Broken link building is a link acquisition tactic where you find hyperlinks on live websites that point to pages that no longer exist – returning a 404 error – and offer your own relevant content as a replacement. The site owner fixes a problem on their page; you earn a backlink.
For SaaS specifically, the tactic carries a structural advantage. Software products shut down, pivot, or rebrand constantly. When a tool goes offline, every page that linked to it suddenly has a dead link. Those pages represent ready-made link opportunities that your competitors are not actively pursuing if they are focused only on outreach-first link building.
The tactic also converts well. You are not cold-pitching someone on a concept. You are offering a solution to a problem – a broken page – they already have. That framing makes the ask feel like a favor rather than a sales pitch.
What You Need Before You Start
- A live SaaS website with at least one piece of linkable content (a guide, tool, glossary page, comparison page, or resource hub)
- Access to one link analysis tool – Ahrefs (paid), Semrush (paid), or Moz Link Explorer (free tier available)
- Check My Links browser extension (free, Chrome)
- A list of 5 to 10 competitor domains or niche resource sites to start prospecting
- A basic outreach template and a way to track contacts (a spreadsheet or a CRM like Hunter.io or Pitchbox)
Step 1: Find Broken Links That Are Worth Targeting
Start by identifying broken links on pages that already rank and receive traffic. A dead link on a page with zero authority is not worth pursuing.
Three methods to find them:
Method A – Competitor backlink audits. Put a competitor’s domain into Ahrefs Site Explorer > Broken Backlinks. This shows all the links pointing to pages on your competitor’s site that now return 404 errors. If your competitor recently deprecated a feature page, renamed a product, or was acquired, this list can be long. Export it and filter for referring pages with a Domain Rating above 40.
Method B – Niche resource page prospecting. Use Google Search Operators to find resource pages in your niche, then crawl them for dead links: <pre class=”wp-block-code”><code>inurl:resources “project management tools” site:com intitle:”best [your category] tools” -site:yourcompetitor.com</code></pre>
Once you have a list of resource pages, run the Check My Links extension on each page. It highlights broken links in red within seconds. No paid account required.
Method C – Industry publication audits. Major blogs in your niche (G2, Capterra, TechCrunch, product-specific publications) link to tools constantly. Those links go stale when products shut down. Search for articles from 2019 to 2022 in your category and run Check My Links on the most comprehensive ones.
What makes a broken link worth pursuing:
- The referring page has Domain Rating 40 or above (Ahrefs metric) or Domain Authority 35 or above (Moz metric)
- The broken link pointed to content you can plausibly replace (a guide, a tool, a comparison)
- The page is still indexed and receives some organic traffic (check in Ahrefs > Site Explorer > Organic Traffic)
Target 80 to 100 qualified prospects per campaign. Below 50 and the sample size is too small to draw conclusions about what messaging works.
Step 2: Create or Identify Your Replacement Content
Before you send a single email, you need content that genuinely replaces what the broken link pointed to. This is the step most guides skip – and why most campaigns underperform.
Map the broken link to existing content first. If a broken link pointed to a “project management glossary” and you already have one, you do not need to write anything. Export your broken link prospects, note what each dead page was about (use the Wayback Machine at web.archive.org to see cached versions), and check whether anything in your content library matches.
When you need to create new content:
For SaaS companies, the highest-converting replacement content types are:
- Comparison pages – “X vs Y” or “Best alternatives to [Defunct Tool]” pages. These replace links that pointed to roundups or list posts.
- Glossary and definition pages – If a broken link pointed to a definition of an industry term, a well-structured glossary entry with schema markup can replace it.
- Free tools or calculators – If the dead page was a tool (a template, a calculator, a checklist), building a free version earns you the replacement link and ongoing organic traffic.
- Long-form guides – If the dead page was a how-to article, a longer, more current version of the same guide is the strongest possible replacement.
The replacement does not need to be identical to the original. It needs to serve the same informational need for the reader landing on the referring page. If the referring page says “here is a guide to SaaS churn modeling” and links to a dead page, any thorough current guide on SaaS churn modeling is a legitimate offer.
Step 3: Write Your Outreach Email
Your email has one job: make it easy for the site owner to say yes. Keep it under 120 words. Lead with the problem (the broken link), provide the URL, then offer your replacement.
Use this structure: <pre class=”wp-block-code”><code>Subject: Broken link on [their page title] Hi [First name], I was reading your [article name] and noticed a link to [anchor text] is returning a 404 – the destination page no longer exists. Here’s the broken URL: [dead URL] I recently published [your content title], which covers the same topic. Happy for you to use it as a replacement if it fits. Either way, great article. [Your name]</code></pre>
What not to do:
- Do not open with “I hope this email finds you well” or any variation.
- Do not explain who you are or what your company does before identifying the broken link. The problem comes first.
- Do not offer multiple replacement links. Pick the single best one.
- Do not ask for anything other than one specific, frictionless action.
Personalise the subject line with the specific page title. Generic subject lines like “Quick question” or “Broken link” without context get lower open rates. According to Pitchbox’s 2024 outreach benchmark report, subject lines referencing the specific page title achieve open rates 31% higher than generic broken link subject lines (Pitchbox, 2024).
Step 4: Follow Up Once
If you receive no reply after 5 to 7 business days, send one follow-up. One, not three. <pre class=”wp-block-code”><code>Subject: Re: Broken link on [their page title] Hi [First name], Just following up on the broken link I mentioned last week on [page title]. Still happy to share the replacement if it’s useful. [Your name]</code></pre>
Keep the follow-up under 50 words. Do not re-explain the broken link. Do not apologise for following up. Do not add new information.
After one follow-up with no reply, move on. Sending a third email rarely changes the outcome and risks damaging your sender reputation with that domain.
Response rate benchmarks: Personalised broken link outreach achieves a 5% to 12% reply rate, with roughly half of positive replies resulting in a placed link (Aira State of Link Building Report, 2024). This means you can realistically expect 3 to 8 placed links per 100 outreach emails at the lower end.
Step 5: Track Placements and Scale What Works
Once links start coming in, track them systematically so you can identify which types of content, which referring domains, and which subject lines drive the best results.
Minimum tracking setup (free):
Create a spreadsheet with these columns:
- Prospect URL
- Dead link URL
- Your replacement URL
- Outreach date
- Follow-up date
- Status (No reply / Replied / Placed / Declined)
- Referring domain DR
What to measure after 100 emails:
- Reply rate (replies / emails sent)
- Placement rate (links placed / replies received)
- Average DR of placed links
If your reply rate is below 4%, your subject line or opening line is the problem. Test one variable at a time: change the subject line for the next 50 emails and compare.
If your placement rate (links placed among replies) is below 30%, the replacement content is not matching well enough. Review the dead pages you targeted and check whether the Wayback Machine version was substantially different from what you offered.
Scaling the process:
Once you have a working template and a content library, the tactic scales through volume and targeting. Two approaches work well for SaaS companies:
First, run a quarterly broken link audit targeting all major competitor domains. Any time a competitor deprecates a feature, rebrands, or shuts down a product page, those dead links become fresh opportunities.
Second, build a “linkable asset” specifically designed for broken link campaigns. A free SaaS benchmark report, an interactive calculator, or a comprehensive comparison page gives you a reliable replacement target for many different types of dead links in your niche.
Common Problems and How to Fix Them
| Problem | Likely Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| No replies after 100 emails | Subject line too generic or email too long | Rewrite the opening line to name the broken URL in sentence one; cut the email to under 100 words |
| Links placed but from low-DR domains | Targeting criteria too loose | Set a minimum DR 45 filter in Ahrefs before prospecting |
| Content does not match the dead page | No Wayback Machine check before outreach | Archive.org lookup every dead URL before picking a replacement |
| High reply rate but low placement rate | Replacement content is not close enough | Create one piece of content per campaign rather than stretching one piece across many |
| No broken links found in niche | Searching too narrowly | Expand to adjacent niches or look at publications rather than only competitor sites |
Frequently Asked Questions About Broken Link Building for SaaS
What is broken link building?
Broken link building is a link acquisition tactic where you find hyperlinks on websites that point to non-existent pages (404 errors), then contact those website owners to suggest your own content as a replacement. The site owner fixes their broken link; you earn a backlink to your content.
How long does a broken link building campaign take?
Prospecting 100 targets takes 3 to 5 hours with Ahrefs and Check My Links. Writing outreach and follow-ups takes another 2 to 3 hours. From first email to placed links, expect a 2 to 4 week window depending on site owner response times. Budget 10 to 15 hours total for a 100-prospect campaign.
Do I need paid tools to run this tactic?
Not for the full process. The Check My Links Chrome extension is free and handles on-page broken link detection. Google Search Operators are free for finding resource pages. Ahrefs, Semrush, and Moz offer paid plans for scale, but Moz Link Explorer’s free tier allows limited backlink lookups. For small campaigns (under 50 prospects), free tools cover most steps.
What types of SaaS content get the most link placements?
Free tools and calculators, comparison pages, and long-form definitional guides consistently outperform blog posts in broken link campaigns. The reason is specificity: a site owner linking to a “SaaS churn calculator” needs a direct replacement for that function, not a general article about churn. The closer your replacement matches the original content type, the higher your placement rate.
How is broken link building different from standard link outreach?
Standard link outreach asks a site owner to add a new link where none existed before. Broken link building asks them to replace an existing link that is already broken – a materially easier ask because you are solving a problem they already have. This typically produces higher reply rates than cold outreach campaigns pitching new link additions.
Can broken link building get a SaaS site penalised by Google?
No. You are earning editorially placed links from relevant sites. The tactic produces natural backlinks from real pages. Google’s guidelines target manipulative link schemes (paid links, link exchanges, private blog networks) – not outreach campaigns that result in genuine editorial replacements.
What is a realistic expectation for my first campaign?
For a 100-prospect campaign with a matched replacement page and a clean email, expect a 6% to 10% reply rate and a 40% to 60% placement rate among replies. That produces 2 to 6 placed links per 100 emails at the conservative end. Campaigns targeting freshly deprecated competitor pages or high-traffic resource articles will perform at the upper end of that range.
Key Takeaways
- Broken link building works especially well in SaaS because tools shut down constantly, leaving hundreds of dead links pointing to deprecated product pages – each one a link opportunity.
- The five steps are: find qualified broken links, match them to replacement content, send a short direct outreach email, follow up once, and track results to improve over time.
- Free tools (Check My Links, Google Search Operators, Wayback Machine) cover most of the process. Paid tools add speed and volume, not a different outcome.
- Replacement content matters more than outreach volume. One well-matched piece of content beats fifty generic emails offering an unrelated page.
- Set a minimum Domain Rating of 40 or above for prospects. Low-DR placements move the needle on rankings only when accumulated in large numbers; high-DR placements move it immediately.
Digital PR & Link Building Expert