SEO for cybersecurity. The searches that buy, and what links cost.
Long sales cycles and very high contract values, so even small buying searches can justify real spend.
Searches: DataForSEO, United States, English. Link prices: Placement API Backlink Price Index, September 2026. Collected 2026-09-28.
Ship· Page improvements
The searches that buy.
Buying and comparing searches with at least 100 a month, ranked by volume times what advertisers pay per click. These are the pages worth improving first.
- Compliance frameworks (SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA) are strong buying entry points.
- Buyers expect proof: named certifications and specifics beat general reassurance.
| Search | Kind | Searches/mo | Ads CPC |
|---|---|---|---|
| penetration testing services | Comparing | 3,600 | $308 |
| endpoint security solutions | Comparing | 2,400 | $336 |
| managed security services | Comparing | 2,400 | $152 |
| managed cyber security services | Comparing | 1,900 | $104 |
| managed it security services providers | Comparing | 720 | $238 |
| managed security services providers | Comparing | 6,600 | $14.70 |
| endpoint security software | Comparing | 1,600 | $60.19 |
| best soc 2 compliance software | Comparing | 140 | $255 |
| managed cyber security services provider | Comparing | 170 | $98.07 |
| cyber security managed services provider | Comparing | 320 | $43.61 |
| endpoint security platform | Comparing | 1,000 | $12.73 |
| managed endpoint security | Comparing | 210 | $50.88 |
| endpoint security products | Comparing | 170 | $47.63 |
| endpoint security tool | Comparing | 320 | $15.34 |
| managed security services provider companies | Comparing | 140 | $32.40 |
| endpoint security agent | Comparing | 260 | $9.75 |
| best endpoint security software | Comparing | 140 | $16.97 |
| antivirus software for endpoint security | Buying | 320 | – |
| cloud based endpoint security solutions | Comparing | 320 | – |
| endpoint security services | Comparing | 260 | – |
- Lower quartile
- $71.44
- Median
- $135
- Upper quartile
- $290
| Claimed DR, all subjects | Websites | Middle half | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| DR 20–29 | 48,775 | $81–$332 | $174 |
| DR 30–39 | 42,432 | $86–$357 | $171 |
| DR 40–49 | 20,524 | $111–$506 | $232 |
| DR 50–59 | 14,530 | $124–$641 | $260 |
| DR 60–69 | 6,135 | $213–$1,042 | $483 |
| DR 70–79 | 5,108 | $342–$1,647 | $726 |
| DR 80–89 | 834 | $506–$4,148 | $1,399 |
| DR 90–99 | 115 | $383–$3,651 | $1,062 |
Scale· Backlinks
What links cost here.
What websites in technology ask for a link: the cheapest price for each website across every marketplace, suspect websites left out. Higher-rated websites cost more, as the table shows; these are asking prices, not what was paid.
Your numbers
Would links pay back for you? Enter what a customer is worth.
Each search is modelled moving from #7 to #4 into the top four. That takes 20 to 50 links depending on how well linked the results above are, priced from the table above: the technology median, or a higher DR band where the competition is stronger. Half the modelled gain is counted, as a hedge against rankings that don't move as planned.
Starting assumptions for a typical cybersecurity business, not data: replace them with yours. At these, each visitor from a buying search is worth $125.
20 of 20 buying searches pay back within 12 months.
$23,700/month for 3 months
A link budget that funds all of them at a natural pace, expected to bring in $63,063 a month once the links are live (risk-adjusted).
- Searches a month
- 320
- Extra clicks, #7 → #4
- about 14
- Value per visitor
- $125
- Extra revenue a month
- $1,750
- × 50% confidence
- $875/mo
- 20 links at $135
- $2,700
- Payback
- 3.1 months
| Search | Extra revenue/mo | Payback | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| penetration testing services | $9,875 | under a month | Worth it |
| managed security services providers | $18,125 | under a month | Worth it |
| managed cyber security services | $5,250 | under a month | Worth it |
| endpoint security platform | $2,750 | under a month | Worth it |
| endpoint security solutions | $6,625 | 1.1 months | Worth it |
| managed security services | $6,625 | 1.1 months | Worth it |
| managed it security services providers | $2,000 | 1.4 months | Worth it |
| endpoint security software | $4,375 | 1.6 months | Worth it |
| cyber security managed services provider | $875 | 3.1 months | Worth it |
| endpoint security tool | $875 | 3.1 months | Worth it |
| antivirus software for endpoint security | $875 | 3.1 months | Worth it |
| cloud based endpoint security solutions | $875 | 3.1 months | Worth it |
| endpoint security agent | $688 | 3.9 months | Worth it |
| endpoint security services | $688 | 3.9 months | Worth it |
| managed endpoint security | $563 | 4.8 months | Worth it |
| managed cyber security services provider | $438 | 6.2 months | Worth it |
| endpoint security products | $438 | 6.2 months | Worth it |
| best soc 2 compliance software | $375 | 7.2 months | Worth it |
| managed security services provider companies | $375 | 7.2 months | Worth it |
| best endpoint security software | $375 | 7.2 months | Worth it |
Extra revenue is risk-adjusted: 50% of the modelled gain.
Big, but not for links
Searches to answer, not to buy links for.
The biggest learning searches in this industry. Worth good content and internal links to the pages that sell; rarely worth link money.
| Search | Kind | Searches/mo |
|---|---|---|
| endpoint security | Learning | 2,400 |
| endpoint security protection | Learning | 1,300 |
| what is an endpoint security | Learning | 880 |
| endpoint detection and response security | Learning | 720 |
| cloud endpoint security | Learning | 480 |
| soc 2 compliance software | Learning | 390 |
| cloud-based endpoint security | Learning | 260 |
| cloud based endpoint security | Learning | 260 |
Run this on your own site. With your real numbers.
Ship/Scale replaces the guesses on this page with your Search Console and analytics data, then shows which of your cybersecurity pages would pay back.
Pro is $99/month. Free has no subscription fee: you pay your own AI and data providers. Backlinks cost extra on both plans.