SEO for SaaS can be extremely difficult and intimidating at times. In the SaaS space, search volumes for core product terms are typically much lower than in the consumer space. When you combine this with the massive competition from aggregator sites, SaaS SEO can become extremely difficult very quickly.

We work with a large number of SaaS-related websites. In terms of improving SEO in the SaaS space, we have developed a number of strategies over the years.

Our suggestions for improving SEO for a SaaS website are listed below:

1. What Exactly Is SaaS SEO?

SaaS SEO is a set of optimization considerations for websites that provide software as a service. Common SaaS SEO strategies include developing key landing pages, integrating rich content, and identifying blog opportunities. The most common challenges in SaaS SEO are aggregator site competition and limited search volume.

In this post, we’ll discuss best practices for competing in search as a SaaS product. We’ll go over how to find keyword opportunities that are more likely to lead to conversions while facing less competition from aggregator sites. In addition, we’ll go over the various types of pages that work well on SaaS websites.

2. What SEOs Should Know About SaaS

While many SEO fundamentals apply, there are some unique considerations that must be made with SaaS for SEO campaigns.

3. Keyword Investigation

One of the most common challenges we face when starting an SEO for SaaS client is determining the best keywords to target. While the answer is sometimes obvious (“accounting software,” “CRM software,” etc.), there isn’t always an obvious keyword to target.

This is because many SaaS companies provide extremely niche solutions with no obvious keyword target. For example, when we talk to product teams to learn more about the company, we often get very specific answers like “we help democratize data to empower users and transform their businesses.” While this may shed some light on the overall service offerings, there is no clear keyword target from the start.

Competitor research frequently falls flat as well. While there may be a few competitors who have optimized their pages, we frequently see that many of them lack clear keyword targets.

We can see from the breadcrumb that the primary category listed is “file-sharing software.” This gives us a fantastic starting point for a keyword that encapsulates the technology’s overall value proposition. On the page, we can also see the “Featured In” section. This gives us the terms “remote work software” and “document management software.”

We can take it a step further and perform the same analysis on competitor pages. When we go to the Microsoft OneDrive page, we can see that they have a new category called “digital asset management software.” This can also be added to our seed list.

Google AdWords Information

In addition, I believe it’s critical to dive into the client’s Google Ad data at the start of SaaS SEO campaigns if they’ve been running campaigns. If goals are properly set up, this can provide incredible insights into which keywords actually drive results.

While we will generally pay close attention to keywords that result in things like signing up for a free trial, it is important to evaluate keywords that result in a variety of goals. Here are some examples of goals we’ll use to track the success of a keyword:

Trial enrollments

Organizing a demonstration

Account creations new

Telephone calls

Email subscriptions

Interactions with chatbots

Remember that SaaS products have longer sales cycles, so focus on keywords that move users further down the funnel rather than just those that result in sign-ups and demos.

Unsurprisingly, branded keywords are frequently found in this section. Furthermore, we frequently see that the keywords “chart” and “template” perform quite well. It is critical to collect and add to your master keyword list all of the keywords that are performing well in terms of conversions. Then you can find pages to optimize or suggest ways to fill content gaps.

Investigating Competitor Blogs and Resources

The next step is to examine competitor blogs and resources. You can accomplish this by using a tool like ahrefs and selecting the “Prefix” option to see all of the keywords for which a competitor’s blog or resources section ranks well.

4. SaaS Landing Pages

Now that we’ve identified the primary keywords to target, the next step is to ensure that the site’s landing pages are optimized for those keywords. There are a few types of pages that are essential for SaaS SEO.

Product pages are widely regarded as some of the most important on a SaaS website. They typically highlight the primary service offering of the SaaS and target some of the most competitive and high-volume terms (“CRM software,” “sales software,” and so on).

Because of the intense competition for some of these product pages, they are frequently the most difficult to rank. Keywords associated with these pages face a lot of competition from aggregator sites. When product pages rank well, they place a high value on landing page design and the amount of content on the page.

Overall, product pages may be much more difficult to rank than the majority of other content on the site. This isn’t to say you shouldn’t put effort into SEO for these pages, but you should be realistic about the results. This will be determined by the strength of your current SEO, the search intent of the mapped keywords, and the resources available.

If you do decide to invest time in these sections, here are some elements we believe contribute to great product pages.

1-2 CTAs above the fold

Demo video for the platform

High-resolution platform screenshots

Advantages of the Solution

Section “What Is [Solution]” (for the featured snippet)

Internal links for case studies

Signals of brand image trust