SaaS original research report before outreach sprint
Publish one original research report before scaling outreach, so every pitch has something worth linking to.
Why this can grow a startup
Cold outreach becomes much easier when the ask is not “please link to our product page.” Original research gives journalists, bloggers, partners, and newsletter writers a reason to care. The BacklinkGrid case is useful because the research report was expensive and slow, but it outperformed cheaper tactics and kept earning links after the initial campaign. For founders, the move is to turn proprietary data, customer patterns, survey results, or workflow benchmarks into one serious asset before running the outreach machine. The asset should be useful even to people who never buy.
Source-backed example
BacklinkGrid’s SaaS link-building case study named an original research report as the highest-ROI activity, ahead of many faster outreach tactics, because it earned links and brand mentions over time.
Source-reported evidence
Source: BacklinkGrid: SaaS link building case study
BacklinkGrid reports that the original research report earned 143 links and continued earning links passively, at about $59 cost per link.
Attributed to the cited source; GrowthDex has not independently verified it. Use this as context, not as a forecast, benchmark, or recommended target.
Evidence scope: claims and metrics are attributed to the linked source; GrowthDex has not independently replicated the reported result. Check the original context and validate fit before applying it. Read the evidence methodology.
When to use it
Use this when Digital PR, SEO, Content is relevant to original research, linkable asset, digital PR and you can run a bounded test with a medium budget.
When not to use it
Do not use it as a substitute for customer evidence, a clear owner, or a measurable stop condition. Local platform rules and market behavior still need checking.
How to do it
- Choose one target segment and define the exact next action this tactic should prompt.
- Adapt the tactic to Digital PR and SEO, using evidence from BacklinkGrid: SaaS link building case study as context—not as a promised result.
- Record a baseline for: Qualified search visitors who complete the intended next action. Set a guardrail that would make you pause the test.
- Run a narrow pilot and choose a test window that fits the normal decision or use cycle; do not scale before you have observed the full cycle.
- Compare the signal with its baseline. Scale only if the intended action improves without crossing the guardrail; otherwise revise one variable or stop and record what you learned.
Compare a stack for your situation
Compare source-backed tactics against your product, stage, budget and channel strengths, then choose one experiment to test.
Explore the context
Did you launch this experiment?
Report a launch to help us understand which growth ideas founders put into practice.
Apply this with an operator
Turn isolated search tactics into a crawlable visibility system tied to demand and proof.