SEO for marketing software. The searches that buy, and what links cost.
A crowded, link-heavy category where review and affiliate sites dominate the head terms.
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.
- Free tools earn links; connect them to the paid product with internal links.
- Alternatives and comparison pages are where buyers decide; keep them fair and current.
| Search | Kind | Searches/mo | Ads CPC |
|---|---|---|---|
| email marketing software | Comparing | 90,500 | $81.98 |
| marketing automation platform | Comparing | 3,600 | $95.78 |
| marketing automation | Comparing | 3,600 | $72.05 |
| marketing automation softwares | Comparing | 1,900 | $80.43 |
| email automation marketing | Comparing | 1,300 | $89.64 |
| what is the best email marketing software | Comparing | 210 | $363 |
| social media scheduling tool | Comparing | 2,900 | $25.82 |
| marketing automation tool | Comparing | 1,000 | $50.63 |
| marketing automation platforms | Comparing | 880 | $55.72 |
| best marketing email software | Comparing | 390 | $107 |
| best tool for scheduling social media posts | Comparing | 720 | $34.15 |
| marketing automation ai | Comparing | 480 | $50.80 |
| ai marketing automation tools | Comparing | 320 | $71.78 |
| crm email marketing software | Comparing | 140 | $98.86 |
| drip email marketing software | Comparing | 210 | $62.66 |
| ai landing page builder | Comparing | 480 | $27.29 |
| free marketing email software | Comparing | 210 | $59.55 |
| free landing page builder | Buying | 590 | $18.83 |
| crm for marketing automation | Comparing | 390 | $27.91 |
| sms marketing automation | Comparing | 110 | $97.85 |
- Lower quartile
- $88.88
- Median
- $172
- Upper quartile
- $340
| 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 marketing 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 marketing 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 marketing software business, not data: replace them with yours. At these, each visitor from a buying search is worth $24.
6 of 20 buying searches pay back within 12 months; 2 more within 18.
$16,300/month for 3 months
A link budget that funds all of them at a natural pace, expected to bring in $54,804 a month once the links are live (risk-adjusted).
- Searches a month
- 720
- Extra clicks, #7 → #4
- about 32
- Value per visitor
- $24
- Extra revenue a month
- $768
- × 50% confidence
- $384/mo
- 30 links at $232 (DR 40–49)
- $6,968
- Payback
- 18.1 months
| Search | Extra revenue/mo | Payback | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| email marketing software | $47,784 | under a month | Worth it |
| marketing automation platform | $1,896 | 3.7 months | Worth it |
| social media scheduling tool | $1,536 | 4.5 months | Worth it |
| marketing automation | $1,896 | 5.5 months | Worth it |
| marketing automation softwares | $1,008 | 6.9 months | Worth it |
| email automation marketing | $684 | 10.2 months | Worth it |
| marketing automation tool | $528 | 13.2 months | Slow |
| marketing automation platforms | $468 | 14.9 months | Slow |
| best tool for scheduling social media posts | $384 | 18.1 months | Not yet |
| free landing page builder | $312 | 22.3 months | Not yet |
| marketing automation ai | $252 | 27.6 months | Not yet |
| ai landing page builder | $252 | 27.6 months | Not yet |
| best marketing email software | $204 | 34.2 months | Not yet |
| crm for marketing automation | $204 | 34.2 months | Not yet |
| ai marketing automation tools | $168 | 41.5 months | Not yet |
| what is the best email marketing software | $108 | 64.5 months | Not yet |
| drip email marketing software | $108 | 64.5 months | Not yet |
| free marketing email software | $108 | 64.5 months | Not yet |
| crm email marketing software | $72 | 96.8 months | Not yet |
| sms marketing automation | $60 | 116.1 months | Not yet |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| landing page builder | Learning | 2,900 |
| what marketing automation | Learning | 480 |
| what is marketing automation | Learning | 480 |
| marketing automation news | Learning | 260 |
| definition marketing automation | Learning | 170 |
| benefit of marketing automation | Learning | 170 |
| marketing automation defined | Learning | 170 |
| marketing automation advantages | Learning | 170 |
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 marketing software 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.