Okay, so let’s talk all things SaaS, a.k.a Software as a Service. It’s competitive out there, we know, but in today’s world, your SaaS company needs visibility. This is the only way you’ll outrank your competitors, so it’s time you became familiar with this SaaS SEO guide.
Here, we’ll turn you into a SaaS SEO oracle with our easiest SEO for SaaS methods. Discussing how to implement a specialised approach to be able to genuinely connect with your ideal customers. Saas SEO isn’t just a rehash of traditional SEO techniques; you’ll need to master a creative and new strategy to stay on top of your game as a SaaS company.
So, let’s walk through the essential SEO practices specifically tailored for SaaS companies, helping you rank higher, lure in more organic traffic and provide your customers with some top-notch service.
SaaS SEO is a niche of its own, and your audience will be looking for specific solutions to specific problems that your software addresses. Oh, and add in a different stage of a complex buyer’s journey with each query, and you’re all set!
So, do you now understand why it is so important to tailor your content correctly by using SEO as a growth strategy?
Your first port of call with this SaaS SEO guide will be to make sure that your website is technically sound. It needs to be solid, and here’s how you make it so:
1. Website speed & mobile responsiveness
You may be wondering why this matters, but trust us, it does. Our buddy Google will automatically prioritise fast, mobile-friendly sites over slow ones with loading times that make you want to throw your mobile out the window (for obvious reasons). Slower loading times will lead to higher bounce rates.
A huge chunk of your users will be using their mobile devices when looking through your content and product, so you need to make sure it’s speedy-gonzales!
So, what you can do to avoid this is to use Google’s PageSpeed Insights so that you can identify and fix any issues. But you need to ensure that your website uses responsive design principles to be able to do this.
2. Site structure & navigation
When your website is structured properly, both your users and Google will understand the hierarchy of your website and will be able to find information easily.
So, make sure that you sort your content into clear categories, using breadcrumbs and clear navigation menus. Users want to be able to click as little as possible to get to their endpoint.
3. Crawlability & indexability
When the crawl police are let loose, they need to be able to access and understand the content on your site so that it can be included in their index. So, here’s what you can do to help those search bots out:
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4. HTTPS
HTTPS is important because it encrypts data that is transferred between your site and your users, which provides security to both sides. Google uses it as a minor ranking signal.
So, make sure the entirety of your site uses HTTPS.
5. Core Web Vitals
The way in which your site runs will impact the user experience. Your Core Web Vitals are a set of metrics that are related to speed, responsiveness and visual stability. Google now uses these metrics to rank your site.
You need to regularly monitor your site’s Core Web Vitals in GSC and prioritise improvements to Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS).
So, when you see issues relating to these specific metrics in GSC, you need to make fixing them your priority. Improving on these will make your website load faster, respond more quickly to actions from the user, and be more visually stable.
You might already have some knowledge on SEO keyword research, but SaaS keyword research isn’t about keyword stuffing your content. It’s more about understanding the issues your customers are trying to solve and focusing on the language they use to find solutions at every stage of the funnel. Let’s take a look at some of the easiest SEO for SaaS methods below:
So, you need to make sure you focus on high-intent, long-tail keywords to show much higher purchase intent. Think about the solutions your software brings and the pain points it will alleviate. What kind of queries do your users ask our buddy Google before they know about your software?
Next, you need to look at mapping your keywords to the customer journey, depending on where they find themselves in the funnel. So, when they are initially investigating certain software, they are not yet solution-focused. So, be sure to create informational content such as blogs, guides or educational resources.
When users are at the middle of the funnel, they’re investigating different options as they are now aware of the type of solutions that are on offer. So, look to create comparison pages, feature pages or webinars.
If users are at the bottom of the funnel, they’re looking to purchase. Here, you’ll look at creating pricing pages, testimonial pages, or free trial sign-up pages.
Look around you and find out what is working for your competitors. Identify any gaps in their content strategy and look to see how you can do better! Using tools like Semrush or Ahrefs is useful for doing this, too. With these tools, you can analyse a competitor’s organic keywords, their best-performing pages and their backlink profiles.
Next on the agenda in this SaaS SEO guide is content.
Once you have your keyword strategy sorted, you can begin to create educational and solution-focused content. Here are the types of content pieces you can create to ensure your users are receiving the necessary insights.
Solving user problems is so important in being able to solve specific pain points or answer questions. So, don’t just talk about features, highlight the benefits of those features and how they can solve real-life issues.
Now, you’ll start to look at on-page SEO best practices to help in boosting your content buzz-lightyear style! Here’s what you should focus on:
Title tags & meta descriptions: Write keyword-rich titles and descriptions that tempt readers to click on your content. Header tags (H1, H2, H3): Structure your content logically to improve readability.
Optimising images: Make sure that you use alt text and descriptive file names, both for accessibility and SEO purposes.
Readability & user engagement: Aim for using shorter paragraphs, clear headings and internal links, using a more conversational tone so that readers understand your content. Use clear calls to action, too!
Content freshness and updates: Always make sure that your blogs stay relevant and up-to-date. Google will always favour a site that does this over one that uses outdated information.
Another part of this SaaS SEO guide is to build backlinks from other websites to yours. You want those votes of confidence from other sites to be directed to yours because this will signal to search engines that your site is trustworthy and authoritative.
For SaaS companies, this would ideally come from industry-specific sites, tech blogs and all relevant publications. Backlinks will improve your website’s domain authority/domain rating, which will help your site rank higher. Links that are high-quality will drive targeted traffic to your site.
As well as acquiring links from other websites, you should always make sure that you link internally, too. When you link internally, you help to distribute link equity throughout your website, which helps improve user navigation and reinforces your site’s structure.
You need to nurture your website continuously, as SEO is not a one-time fix. It’s necessary to track your SEO efforts because search algorithms change and user behaviour evolves. Marketing is a continuously evolving process, and your competitors won’t freeze along the way.
Here are key metrics to look out for:
So, regularly review your data. If a page isn’t ranking, optimise it further or reconsider your keyword strategy. If traffic is high but conversions are low, look at your on-page experience and calls to action.
Speaking of, it’s about time for our call to action!
This SaaS SEO guide has covered a lot today, so don’t be afraid to get in touch with our team of experts at Assisted for more information! Reach out to us on 01788 288020 today.