How to Get Started With SEO for SaaS

I’ll be straight with you. SEO for SaaS isn’t that different than SEO for other companies — it’s not as if Google changes the rules based on the type of business you run.

That said, I see a lot of SaaS founders out there who are brilliant developers or innovators, but who don’t have the marketing background needed to understand SEO best practices.

It’s also worth keeping in mind that the way consumers search for SaaS products can be different than traditional software or other solutions — simply because the products themselves are different. People don’t buy SaaS subscriptions the same way they buy sneakers or sports cars. So the SEO principles founders need to keep in mind vary slightly from leaders in other verticals.

Whether you see yourself in one of the descriptions above, or whether you want to improve the performance of your existing SaaS SEO campaigns, here’s what you need to know:

Step #1: Conduct a Site Audit

A lot of SaaS leaders think of SEO in terms of adding keywords to pages or building and buying backlinks back to their sites. And although both of those practices are important, they come later in the process. First, you’ve got to be sure technical issues aren’t preventing your site from being indexed properly.

Fortunately, tools like Semrush and Ahrefs have made it easier than ever to run a site audit (Here’s a detailed SEMrush Guide). Sign up for your favorite tool, enter your domain, and you’ll get a custom report card of all the SEO opportunities you can capitalize on before investing in content or link building. 

As you’re reviewing your audit report, there are a few areas in particular you’ll want to pay attention to:

• Site speed – Yoast’s Edwin Toonen reports that, “Google has said time and again that a fast site helps you to rank better.” If your SEO tool doesn’t give you granular insight into what to fix and which of your pages need help, check out Google’s free PageSpeed Insights tool.
• www vs non-www – There are a few slight advantages to including the www prefix on your domain name, compared to using a “naked” non-www prefix. What’s most important, though, is that you’ve chosen one or the other and implemented the appropriate redirections so that both your www and non-www URLs aren’t being indexed individually.
• HTTPS – Using HTTPS has been a ranking factor since 2014, and many registrars and domain hosts now offer free SSL certificates to customers. If your security needs are especially complex (say, for example, because you’re storing users’ personal data), consult a specialist to determine whether or not a free SSL cert is sufficient. 
• Mobile responsiveness – As with HTTPS usage, Google places a premium on mobile site speed. And considering how frustrating poor mobile experiences can be for users (who now make up more than 50% of worldwide website traffic), investing in mobile experience is just a smart move overall. Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool can help.
• On-page optimization – Most audit tools will report on your existing on-page optimization, including your inclusion of meta tags, their length, your internal link structures, and any “thin” (or low-value) content on your site. Fixing these issues often produces quick SEO wins that’ll create a stronger foundation for your future optimization efforts.

Step #2: Identify Your KPIs

Data-driven improvement comes naturally to most SaaS founders, so the idea of identifying target key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure on an ongoing basis makes sense. Here are a few you’ll want to pay attention to, in particular:

• Organic rankings – The whole goal of SEO is to be more visible in the organic search results, so tracking rankings is a no-brainer. Look specifically at the number of keywords for which you rank, the keywords themselves, and your ranking position. Depending on the complexity of your tech stack, you may even be able to tie conversion data to specific keywords in order to figure out how to prioritize future SEO efforts.
• Organic traffic volume – Next, track the number of visitors that arrive on your site from the organic search results (and again, if you can, measure whether or not they convert after they get there).
• Backlinks – Generally, a higher quantity of high-quality links produces better organic search performance. Measure the number of backlinks your site has earned; if that number is increasing, it should correlate to better rankings and more traffic.
• Value of traffic – Depending on the SEO tool you use, you may be able to estimate the value of the organic traffic your site receives in terms of what it would have cost to purchase a comparable number of visits via PPC. Not only should this number go up as you invest in SEO, but it can give you a better idea of how many resources you can safely allocate to your efforts.

Try to identify at least 10-15 SEO KPIs that’ll give you a holistic understanding of how well your company is performing in the organic results. Then, take a baseline measurement of where you are now and set growth goals based on percentage improvements that feel doable over a set period of time (aim for 6-12 months, given how long it can take to see SEO results).

Step #3: Optimize Your On-Site Content

Your site audit will show you where you need to work on your on-site optimization. The SEO tips below will ensure you’re getting the biggest bang for your buck:

• Write your meta descriptions like sales copy – Get your target keywords (more on those below) into your meta description tags, but make them as appealing as possible, since they’re generally what’s displayed below your page’s title in the search results. Keep them to 160 characters or less.
• Optimize one page per target keyword – As long as you write naturally, you’ll find that keyword variations will be covered incidentally. Make sure your target keyword is included in key page areas, like your headings, body copy, and image ALT tags. Never, ever keyword stuff.
• Link to 2-3 internal site pages in every piece of content you create – This will help both visitors and the search engines’ indexing tools find their way around more easily. 
• Link out to reputable resources – Links to external authorities don’t necessarily diminish your site’s SEO value or cause you to lose visitors. Instead, they make your content appear more authoritative (a win for you) and they help your site be associated with “better neighborhood” sites (a win for your SEO performance).

Plenty has been written about on-site optimization already, so if you really want to dig into the details, I’d recommend the guides produced by Backlinko and Moz. On top of that, there are tools that facilitate content optimization and production such as Surfer and Jarvis.

Step #4: Build Your Keyword Strategy Around Consumer Pain Points

There are plenty of different ways to build keyword strategies, but for SaaS marketing, my favorite is to target consumer pain points.

In some ways, that’s intuitive. But it’s also easier said than done. To plan your keyword strategy this way, you have to understand what questions your customers are asking at each stage of buyer funnel — but you also have to have a clear understanding of who your customers are.

To start, spend some time mapping out different funnel stage needs, as this will reveal keyword opportunities. For example, Tyler Hakes writes on the Optimist blog that six types of content and pages attract middle-of-funnel searchers in particular: 

• Product category – Your most basic searches like “help desk software”
• Product category comparison – When the buyer is comparing multiple possible solutions to their initial pain. “Help desk software vs knowledge base software”
• Solution/industry – More specific searches that identify the buyer’s persona or industry. “B2B help desk software”
• Features – Specific features that the user is looking for in a solution. “Help desk software with chatbots”
• Integrations – How the software plugs into other tools. “Help desk software with Salesforce integration”
• Implementations – Specific use cases that the user is researching. “How to route support tickets to Slack”

Keep keyword commercial intent in mind as you narrow down your list, and try to hone in on keywords and queries that tie directly to pain points. If you can reach people who are already searching for solutions, you increase the odds that the right people are landing on your website in the first place.

Step #5: Invest in Content That Solves Problems

Based on the list you created in Step #3, build content that solves the problems you identified and that creates a compelling case for your product.

A few specific content structures to consider include:

• Content clusters – In a content cluster, content pieces built around long-tail keywords support a central piece that targets a high-value, high-volume keyword.
• Pillar posts, pages, and playbooks – These exceedingly valuable resources (which can be used at the center of a content cluster or published on a standalone basis) build keyword exposure as well as a perceived authority. As an example, our Mailshake playbooks have become trusted resources in their spaces, but they’re also great for adding tons of different keywords to the site.
• Staged growth – Rather than diving into a high-value asset, start with shorter blog posts built around target keywords on your list. Wait 3-6 months to see what gets traction, and then expand successful pieces into larger resources.

Step #6: Get Links Back to Your Site

No matter how much on-site optimization you do, your SEO won’t really take off until others are linking back to you. As a SaaS company, you can take advantage of broken link building, guest contributions and round-up or link resource lists like every other company, but you also have a couple of special opportunities others don’t:

• Directory listings – First, claim your listing on SaaS directories like G2 and Capterra. Being featured on ProductHunt and similar sites can help as well.
• Integrations listings – If you’ve built any integrations – whether directly with other platforms or through a service like Zapier – make sure your company info is listed and a backlink to your site is included.
• Startup news websites – If you close any funding rounds or land a notable name as an advisor, reach out to sites like TechCrunch that cover startup news. Either contact an editor directly or send out a press release with your news.
• Co-marketing – There are plenty of ways to do this, but one is to figure out what other non-competitive businesses are already reaching your target customers, and see if there’s an opportunity to exchange promotions. If all goes well, you may want to explore a deeper relationship by developing future resources or products together.
• Podcast interviews – If you can land guest spots as a podcast interview subject, not only will you benefit from exposure to new audiences, you’ll likely get a link back from the producer’s website as well.

Want more link building ideas? Check out the list here.  Or if you need help executing the link-building ideas, try these B2B SEO Agencies.

Monitor Your SEO Progress for Best Results

If you’ve gone through the steps above, you should have established both a baseline understanding of your current SEO performance and a general toolbox of strategies to help you improve it going forward.

Regularly track your progress by reporting on your chosen KPIs to ensure they’re moving in the right direction, that you haven’t inadvertently introduced technical issues into your site’s structure through recent updates, and that your content is current. If, for example, you’ve released a new feature, you may have invalidated existing content that describes your former setup. 

Keep an eye on the content your competitors have released for ideas that might inspire your future efforts, and don’t be afraid to delete content you’ve created that’s no longer serving your needs. Remember, trimming underperforming content can actually improve your rankings.

If that all sounds like a lot, that’s because it is. Keeping up with SEO requires a multi-pronged approach, executed consistently over time. But think of it like the compounding interest of digital marketing. You may not see the full impact right away, but over time, the cumulative benefits you’ll accrue in terms of free traffic to your site will make it all worthwhile.

Any other tips you’d like to add to this list? Share your best SEO for SaaS suggestions by leaving me a comment below:

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