Link credits explained: how SaaS teams earn and spend backlinks

Last Updated on October 9, 2026 by Ian Naylor

Most SaaS companies are sitting on a link asset they never use: their own blog.

You publish guides, comparisons and how-tos every month. Other sites would happily pay for a relevant link inside them. And you need links from sites just like yours. Link credits connect those two things, and this post explains how they work on 3way.social.

Building links for a SaaS product? See how credits and done-for-you packages work for your category on our SaaS link building page.

The short version

3way.social is a network of 14,000+ member sites. Credits are the currency. You get them 2 ways and use them 2 ways:

• Earn credits by placing a relevant link on one of your pages for another member
• Buy credits by card, if you’d rather not place links at all
• Spend credits on links from any member site, matched to your topic
• Cash out credits via PayPal, if you only want to sell

Mix them however you like. Plenty of SaaS teams do all 4.

Why credits work better than one-to-one deals

The old way was to email another site and offer a link in return. Which means you’re stuck with whoever says yes, even if their site isn’t relevant, and you both end up linking to each other.

Credits break that link. You might place a link for a marketing blog on Monday, then spend the credits on a placement on a SaaS review site on Thursday. The site that gives you a link is almost never the site you gave one to. It’s a market with thousands of participants, so every placement can go where it makes the most sense for both sites.

That’s the “3way” in the name. Paul links to Simon, Simon links to Bob, and Bob links to Paul, except across a network of 14,000+ sites, so the chain can run in any direction.

How a site’s credit price is set

This bit matters, because it’s what keeps the whole thing equitable. Every site is priced by the same formula, using:

• Domain Rating
• Organic traffic
• Spam score
• Niche

Prices aren’t negotiated, and no one gets a better rate because they know someone. For example, a DR 74 site with around 38,000 monthly visitors comes out at about 133 credits per link. A smaller, newer blog costs far less.

So you can sell 2 links on your mid-sized blog and use those credits on 1 link from a much bigger site. Or the other way round. Either way, you’re getting fair value. Our free domain link value tool shows what any domain is worth in credits, no sign-up needed.

Guest posts can be priced up to 200% of a site’s base link price, since someone’s writing a whole article.

What a deal looks like, step by step

1. You add your SaaS site and the pages you want to rank: comparison pages, “alternatives” pages, docs, templates.
2. AI matching finds placements. The AI Link Finder searches member sites for indexed articles that already mention your topic, and shows you the exact page, its traffic and its credit cost.
3. You send a request. The site owner can accept, decline or suggest a better page on their site. Nothing happens until both of you agree.
4. Credits go into escrow. They’re locked, not paid, until the link is verified live and do-follow.
5. The link is checked every day. If it disappears, we get it reinstated or refund your credits. That’s the link guarantee.

Your search keeps running in the background too. New member sites join all the time, and you get a weekly email with fresh matches.

How SaaS teams use credits in practice

The content-heavy SaaS. You publish 8 posts a month on topics like sales ops or HR. You open your blog to link insertions (with your own rules, like “no gambling, no crypto”), earn credits steadily, and spend them on placements pointing at your comparison pages. Link building pays for itself.

The early-stage SaaS. Your blog is too new to earn much. So you buy credits and spend them on 5 to 10 placements on relevant sites, then start earning once your own traffic grows.

The busy SaaS. You don’t want to touch any of it. That’s what the done-for-you packages are for: from $1,250 for 5 links for B2B SaaS, delivered in 15 to 20 days.

See what your own blog could earn. Join free (no card needed), add your domain, and you’ll see its credit value straight away.

Common questions

Do I approve every link placed on my site?
Yes. You set guidelines for what you’ll accept, and you approve or decline every request.

Can I choose the page my link goes on?
Yes. You see the exact article before you request, and the owner can suggest an alternative if a better one fits.

What does a credit cost in cash?
You’ll see the dollar value when you buy or cash out in the app. If you’re pricing a specific site, the backlink price calculator uses the same formula.

Is this only for SaaS?
No, members cover almost every niche. But SaaS companies get a lot out of it because they publish so much content. We’ve written up how it works for MarTech, developer tools, HR software, fintech, e-commerce apps, AI tools, vertical SaaS and productivity tools.

Wondering what this costs compared with an agency? I’ve broken down SaaS link building costs in 2026, with sources.