Above Apex

Had to share this win with everyone. Remember when I posted about focusing on listicle inclusions for our SaaS clients? Well, the results are speaking for themselves. One of our clients just sent over their traffic data. Their LLM web traffic has been climbing steadily, but look at that spike starting last week. What changed? We've been doubling down on getting them mentioned in "best-of" lists and comparison articles. Even when we don't get the link, we're still getting the mention. The correlation is pretty clear - our listicle strategy is directly impacting their organic growth. This is exactly what we've been telling clients. People don't just click through from these articles. They research, they compare, they come back later and search for you directly. The compound effect of being consistently mentioned alongside competitors in buying guides and in big media outlets. Sometimes the best proof is in the numbers. Anyone else seeing similar results from their listicle campaigns and expert quote outreach?

Listicles - Those "Best X Tool" articles with thousands of visits a month. Getting included in those is pretty hard - I know. I just published a plug-and-play guide for getting listed in high-performing listicles - the kind that: - Drive qualified traffic - Feature your product without being pushy - Can be scaled across multiple use cases, ICPs, and features It includes: 👉 A proven structure 👉 Email Templates 👉 SEO-focused inclusion logic 👉 Plug-and-play templates 👉 A setup your team can implement today Why Listicles? - One of the most relevant backlinks you can get - The best link-building strategy for building brand awareness - They are one of the main factors that can get you in AI Overviews - 40% of Listicles have traffic (can translate into direct click/visits to your SaaS) I've implemented this framework for over 30 SaaS companies in the past 16 months across dozens of industries. From Data Privacy to Business Intelligence and Service Management. Want the guide? Comment "YES" and I will send it your way.

Your competitors are stealing your backlinks. Not maliciously… but methodically. They’re securing high-authority links from blogs, partner sites, resource pages - links you should have too. Most SaaS teams don’t realize just how much low-hanging SEO authority is sitting in plain sight… on their competitors' backlink profiles. That’s where competitive link analysis comes in. Or what we like to call: The Competitor Link Hijack Report We run a forensic backlink scan on your top rivals. Pull the exact domains you’re not on (but should be) Hand you a prioritized list with: - metrics - contact info - suggested outreach angles This isn't just a list. It's a playbook for stealing link equity back. Why is this important? Because backlinks still move the needle fast. Especially the right ones. In the next few days, I'll be offering this DFY report exclusively to marketing & SEO heads in the SaaS space. If you're trying to scale MQLs, increase blog traffic, or beat a better-funded rival in organic… this is one lever you’ll want to pull. Let me know in the comments or DM if you want early access.

I'm celebrating my birthday by giving away free backlinks. But only to 3 SaaS Marketing Leaders who want to scale their blog’s traffic & MQLs in 90 days. If you're tired of: - Competitors outranking your great content. - Agencies ghosting you & chasing for updates. - Poor backlinks are killing your rankings. - Lack of transparency- Stagnant blog traffic. Then here’s my birthday gift to you: 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗛𝗶𝗷𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 ($2000 value) - 𝟯 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵-𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗣𝗥 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀 ($1700 value) - 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗗𝗙𝗬 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀-𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 - 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗚𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲 (we don’t deliver high-authority links that meet our standards; you don’t pay for them.) - 𝗥𝗮𝗻𝗸-𝗼𝗿-𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗚𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲 (rankings improvements within 90 days, or we work for free.) This offer disappears on 𝗔𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗹 𝟴𝘁𝗵. Want in? DM me “𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀” now. (Case studies in comments if you're skeptical)

Listicles are no longer one of the best backlinks your SaaS can obtain. Here's why. They're en route to being the best. A recent study by Productive Shop outlined aspects we've seen in the past months. But one of the main things the article focused on was; What can you do to trigger AIOs and GEO results? To no surprise, the second data-based suggestions was: "Get backlinks in listicles that are popular." Why Listicles Matter: - They provide clear, digestible content for readers - AI search engines love structured, easy-to-parse information - They're an effective way to showcase your product among competitors We're seeing a change in search happening. It's normal that the value of different factors will change. We must adapt to it and constantly test what is working. As we add clients to listicles, we're tracking how this would affect them. Will post my findings as we go. P.S. Here's what a client (head of marketing) said about their Data Privacy Management platform being added to a listicle.

Just got back from SERP Conf. Sofia yesterday. Met some great people and OG experts, and one conversation kept repeating. Growth leaders aren't obsessing over link quantities or domain metrics. What they actually want is painfully simple: People who understand SaaS and deliver results without requiring micromanagement. Simply put, a reliable partner. I had multiple conversations with Growth & Marketing heads. What became clear is that the most successful agency-client relationships share two traits. The agency deeply understands the SaaS business model and metrics They focus on business outcomes, not vanity metrics This confirmed our approach of building industry-relevant links that directly impact top-of-funnel traffic and MQL rather than chasing arbitrary numbers. Kudos to Serpact for the great organisation and seasoned practitioners that took the stage. P.S. Got a quick photo with part of the Above Apex team - someone has to stay and do the work after all 😃

"I need an expert who actually understands the SaaS industry so I don't have to babysit them." I hear this from SaaS growth heads almost weekly. Between managing teams, tracking metrics, and reporting to executives, the last thing you need is another person requiring constant direction. From my experience what SaaS marketing heads really want someone who: ➝ Genuinely understands your product's business model ➝ Knows attribution complexities in the SaaS buyer journey ➝ Can connect organic-focused efforts directly to MQLs ➝ Is focused on high-intent keywords, not vanity metrics ➝ Who proactively identifies opportunities and add value That is what we think about as we constantly build our entire service model And that psychology can apply to pretty much every business relationship Our team understands the difference between ranking for "email marketing" and generating qualified demo requests from "email marketing platform for e-commerce." In the past year, we've helped 20+ seven-figure SaaS companies scale their blog's traffic leading to more MQLs with a transparent, hands-off model allowing them to focus on other high-level marketing efforts. I am wrong here?

I’ve been floating about on here for 10 years. And I’ve never properly introduced myself… I’m Kristiyan Yankov a 29-year-old link-building fanatic, born in the ancient Rose Valley in Bulgaria This is my story so far 2014: In high school, I started working for a close friend who had the biggest SEO agency on Fiverr and was introduced to the Digital Marketing world. 2017: Started taking on SEO projects with my closest friend. 2018: Founded a small SEO agency. 2022: Had a portfolio of B2B & B2C clients I serviced with a small team. 2023: Started focusing more and more on link building for SaaS companies. 2024: Productized our entire DFY link-building system, grew to a 9-person team, and started servicing exclusively B2B & B2C SaaS. And that's only the half of it! I'm also here to help SaaS heads of marketing scale their blog traffic with no additional effort from their team, leading to more MQLs with relationship-based link-building strategies. So if you need some help → shoot me a DM :) Look forward to meeting everyone! PS - What should a "noobie" like me know about LinkedIn?

Recently, the Head of Marketing at a Security Platform asked me, "How can we get included in more 'Best Security Platforms' listicles?" Listicles are pure gold for SaaS companies for three reasons: ⇾ They provide contextually perfect backlinks (Google loves these). ⇾ 40% of listicles generate significant traffic, translating into potential direct clicks. ⇾ Users seeking solutions remember brands they see repeatedly. Most SaaS companies simply email editors asking to be included. That's why most fail. Here's how to triple your success rate - create win-win incentives: ⇾ Free Extended Trial ⇾ Discount Codes ⇾ Sharing their Article on your company's Socials You can get creative here. Value-driven approaches always win over asking for favors. Make it a win for everyone involved. Am I missing something?

How A Client Scaled to 8,700 Monthly Visits in 90 Days An AI content platform came to us with 1,000 monthly organic visits. However, they struggled to compete in a crowded market dominated by established players. They said: "We have a great product and content, but we need to turbo-charge our content, and our competitors seem to be everywhere." I suggested they focus on reverse-engineered competitor analysis. - More efficient than starting from scratch. - Built on proven success patterns - Creates sustainable growth momentum Here's what we did next: - Reverse-engineered competitor link profiles to identify high-value opportunities - Put outreach systems in place with several touchpoints. - Built relationships with complementary (non-competing) brands in their space - Leveraged LinkedIn outreach for the top 10% of the best targets The result? 40 new high-quality backlinks, 170 first-page keywords, and growth from 1,000 to 8,700 monthly organic visits in just 90 days. Success in link building comes from following proven patterns, not reinventing the wheel.