We’ve released a major update to rental links. Smart Topic now helps users find topically relevant link placements across a database of 37 million pages, using semantic search rather than just keyword matching. Well-indexed websites and pages now appear higher in search results, and users are buying twice as many indexed link placements. Homepage link opportunities are just one click away. Here’s what’s changed and how these improvements can help you get better results.
1. Smart Topic Just Got Smarter
Topical relevance is one of the most important factors search engines consider when evaluating a backlink. You can search for relevant pages manually, but it takes time. Suitable placements can be hard to find, and competitors quickly snap up the best opportunities. Smart Topic solves this problem. In the latest update, we’ve revamped two key aspects of Smart Topic: its database and search functionality. Here’s what’s new:
- The database has grown almost 4×, from 10 million to 37 million active pages. New pages are added daily.
- New pages are available in search immediately. Previously, new websites had to be processed before their pages appeared in search. Now, pages are added as soon as a website is submitted, with the same quality standards in place.
- Search is now 2.5× faster. Even the largest queries are processed in 15 seconds or less.
Smart Topic Finds Relevant Websites That Keyword Search Misses
Keyword search focuses on matching words rather than topical relevance. As a result, search results may include pages that contain the right keywords but cover unrelated topics.
Smart Topic helps you find relevant link opportunities faster, with less time spent reviewing websites and more topically relevant placements. It complements traditional keyword search rather than replacing it. For the best results, use both methods: keyword search finds pages containing your exact terms, while Smart Topic uncovers additional pages that are semantically relevant. Run the searches separately, then choose the websites you want to place links on from both sets of results.
Topical Relevance Makes a Difference
Search engines consider not only the presence of a backlink but also how closely the linking website relates to the target page. This is supported by Google patents and studies of Google and Yandex ranking factors:
| Search engine | What it considers |
| Each link is assigned a weight based on the topical relevance of the linking page to the target page (topicalityWeight). This determines how much link equity the link passes. | |
| Links with anchor text that doesn't match the target page's content may carry less weight (anchor mismatch demotion). | |
| Pages are grouped by topic based on co-citation patterns. Search results are then reranked based on links between websites covering similar topics. | |
| Yandex | Link relevance is calculated based on the topic and quality of each link for each search query. |
| Yandex | The ratio of “good” to “bad” backlinks to a website is considered. SEO specialists generally regard links from high-quality, topically relevant sites as “good” links. |
The takeaway is simple: all else being equal, a backlink from a topically relevant page is more valuable than one from an unrelated page. What matters is the topic of the specific page containing the link, not necessarily the overall topic of the website. For example, a home improvement website could benefit from a tile-selection article published on a major city portal or a women’s magazine, even though those websites do not focus on home renovation. Smart Topic finds these kinds of pages, uncovering relevant opportunities on websites you might otherwise overlook.
What’s Changed in Smart Topic
| Metric | Original Smart Topic | Smart Topic 2.0 |
| Pages available for semantic search | 10M | 37M |
| Search speed | Standard search | 2.5× faster |
| When a new website appears in Smart Topic search | After the next database update | Immediately after being added |
What SEO Experts Are Saying
“Topically relevant backlinks really do help websites rank higher in search results, but finding the right websites for these placements can take a lot of time. Sape’s new interface makes this process much easier. With AI-powered topical filters, you can find relevant websites in just a couple of clicks and choose the ones that work best for you.”
— Sergey Shaburov, Head of SEO, Kokoc.com
“I tested Smart Topic on a plastic surgery clinic project to see how well it could find pages related to a page we were promoting about breast augmentation. Most of the results were a strong topical match for the project.I’d recommend giving Smart Topic a try. It makes finding relevant pages for link placements much easier and more efficient. Topically relevant backlinks are good for both search engines and users because they fit naturally into the content.”
— Ramazan Mindubaev, Head of SEO, TRINET.Group
How to try it: First, find and purchase placements using the “Keywords” filter. Then turn it off, enable “Smart Topic,” and see which additional pages it finds. Don’t use both filters at once: doing so significantly narrows the results and may exclude suitable placements. Browse rental links
2. Twice as Many Indexed Placements: The Best Sites Now Appear First
Twice as Many Indexed Placements
Around 70% of rental links are currently indexed. This means that more than half of the marketplace inventory consists of pages that search engines can discover and take into account. We recheck indexing at least once per quarter and update website statuses accordingly.
Publishers Play a Part, Too
Publishers can now see the indexing rate for their websites, along with the indexing status of each page and link. Well-indexed websites appear higher in search results and sell more link placements, giving publishers an incentive to monitor their indexing performance.
Smarter Search Results: We’ve Evaluated the Websites for You
Our intelligent recommendation algorithm now identifies the strongest websites for rental link placements and filters out spam. It evaluates each site against dozens of factors, including organic traffic, domain authority, indexing, and successful sales history. When search results are sorted by “AI-powered ranking,” only trusted websites with strong indexing performance appear at the top.
All websites are divided into three quality tiers:
| Tier | Criteria | Position in results |
| Top | 75%+ of links indexed and 40+ successful link sales | Top |
| Standard | All other websites | Middle |
| Low | Websites with poor indexing, few indexed pages, low domain authority, or almost no traffic | Bottom |
Within each tier, websites are ranked by a score based on:
- Website quality: Domain authority metrics (DR, DA, or CF/TF) and traffic.
- Indexing: The percentage of indexed links. If it falls below 65%, the website’s score is reduced by 20%.
- Top-level domain (TLD) and language: For example, an English-language website with a .ru domain receives a significantly lower score.
- Pages indexed by Google, pages available for link placements, traffic, and Authority Score: These filters have less influence on search rankings and help distinguish between websites with similar scores.
Why it matters: Links placed on websites at the top of search results are 2–3 times more likely to be indexed within a month of purchase than the database average. There’s no need to check every website manually. We’ve already done that for you.
How to enable it: In rental link search, select “AI-powered ranking.”
3. Homepage Links
A link from a homepage is considered one of the most powerful types of rental backlinks. Previously, finding suitable websites meant searching through the full results manually. Now it takes just one click.
Find homepage placements faster with the new “Homepage” badge and “Homepage links” filter in rental link search. The filter works for both rental niche edits and contextual links.
Why Homepage Links Matter. The value of homepage links is also reflected in how search engines evaluate them:
- Yandex: Leaked source code reveals a ranking factor that assigns more weight to homepage links than to links from internal pages.
- Google: Links pointing to a website’s homepage can also boost its internal pages, as link equity is distributed throughout the site.
- Indexing: 82% of homepage links are indexed within a month of placement.
When to Use Homepage Links:
- Give a page that’s close to the top an extra push. Stuck in positions 10–20? Add five rental homepage links for a month to help move things along.
- Give a new website or landing page a quick boost. For example, a landing page for a special offer or a product or service page that needs a quick boost before it has time to build authority organically.
- Speed up indexing of guest post links.
- Access fresh inventory. We’ve added more than 1,000 new websites offering homepage placements. All have passed quality checks and are ready for orders.
The highest-quality, best-indexed websites appear first among homepage results, making it easier to choose a placement.
How to find them: In rental link search, enable the “Homepage links” filter.
“What makes Sape stand out is that it brings together traditional guest post placements and rental links at different levels of a website’s hierarchy, all in one platform. The new interface makes working with Sape much easier and shows that the team is constantly improving the product and listening to user feedback. There are plenty of high-quality websites to choose from, and every site goes through a careful review process. The accurate topic filters also make it much easier to find relevant websites for link placements.”
— Georgy Nikitin, SEO Specialist, Detsky Mir
All these updates have one goal: to make every rental link deliver results. You can now find topically relevant websites faster, see the best options at the top of search results, and know exactly what you’re paying for. Try the updated rental links and see the results for yourself!
