Bottom-of-funnel pages are where B2B deals actually start. Someone comparing you against a competitor is closer to buying than someone reading a listicle. Yet these pages sit near the bottom of most link profiles, because writers do not link to a page whose whole job is to sell. This is one of the most common structural problems we see, and there is a clean way through it.
Why these pages get ignored
A comparison page says "we are better than them." An alternatives page says "here is why to leave them for us." No neutral writer wants to link to that, because linking implies endorsement of a sales argument. The commercial intent that makes these pages convert is the same thing that repels editorial links. That is not a flaw in your page. It is the nature of the format.
The internal linking route
The most reliable tactic is indirect. Build links to informational pages around the same topic, then link from those pages down to the commercial page with descriptive anchors. Authority flows through your own site. Google still counts it, and you are not begging strangers to link to a sales page.
For this to work, the informational and commercial pages have to be genuinely related. A guide on "how to evaluate a CRM" can link naturally to your "CRM comparison" page. The cluster has to make sense to a reader, or the internal links look forced and do little.
| Page type | Earns external links? | Role in the cluster |
|---|---|---|
| Original research / guide | Yes, directly | Link magnet and authority source |
| How-to / evaluation content | Sometimes | Bridge between guides and money pages |
| Comparison page | Rarely | Conversion target, fed by internal links |
| Alternatives page | Rarely | Conversion target, fed by internal links |
| Use case page | Rarely | Conversion target, fed by internal links |
When direct links to money pages are worth it
There are a few cases where pointing links straight at a commercial page makes sense. Resource pages and curated tool lists sometimes link to comparison or product pages naturally, because that is what the list is for. Integration and partner pages on other companies' sites can link directly to your relevant use case page. These are legitimate and worth pursuing, but they are a supplement, not the backbone.
What does not work is buying guest posts stuffed with exact-match anchors pointing at your pricing page. Executives ask for this constantly. It looks unnatural, it skews your anchor distribution, and Google has seen the pattern a million times. We push back on it, every time.
Anchor text for commercial pages
When you do link to a money page, whether internally or externally, keep the anchors varied and mostly descriptive. A mix of branded, partial-match, and natural-phrase anchors reads as organic. A page whose only inbound anchor is the exact keyword you want to rank for reads as manipulated.
- Lead with branded and natural anchors for commercial pages.
- Use partial-match anchors sparingly and only where they read naturally.
- Reserve exact-match anchors for a small fraction of links, if any.
- Let informational pages carry more keyword-rich anchors, since they attract links more naturally.
A worked example
Say you sell contract management software and want your "DocuSign alternatives" page to rank. You are not going to earn many links to that page. So you publish an original benchmark on average contract turnaround times by industry, earn links to it through digital PR, then link from the benchmark to a guide on choosing contract software, which links to the alternatives page. Three internal hops, each one logical, moving earned authority toward the page that converts.
Comparison and alternatives pages are so consistently underlinked that we consider them one of the biggest opportunities in B2B SEO. We made that case in full in our post on the most underlinked assets in B2B.
How long it takes to move a money page
Slower than an informational page, because you are moving authority through two or three hops and the target keywords are competitive. Expect three to six months of consistent work before a commercial page climbs meaningfully. The pages that convert are worth the wait, which is the whole point.