SaaS SEO: Best practices to build organic traffic for your SaaS business

Ryan Law, Vice President of Marketing at Content Agency Animalz, shares valuable insights into how SaaS companies can leverage SEO. He explains, “Many SaaS businesses require a large number of new sign-ups each month due to the low average customer spend. SEO becomes crucial in these cases, as it enables companies to generate cost-effective, high-volume traffic to fill their sales funnel.” His analysis revealed that 85.19% of blog traffic for all the data and SaaS companies he worked with came from organic searches.

A search-optimized page typically experiences increased organic traffic each month after it's published. This effect is compounded as more pages are published over time, leading to exponential traffic growth for your website. A successful SaaS SEO strategy can be built on its own success, as demonstrated in this well-known graph:

By understanding SEO techniques, you can make sure that your online presence is strong and your website is optimized for search engines. This can lead to increased visibility, higher rankings in SERPs (Search Engine Results Page), improved user engagement and more relevant traffic to the website. Ultimately, SEO helps businesses be found online and reach their customers. Any company, big or small, can get great results with the right approach.

As voice-activated devices continue to surge in popularity, the way users search the internet is undergoing a transformation. Voice search is a game-changer for SaaS SEO. More people are utilizing smart speakers, smartphones, and other voice-enabled gadgets to ask questions and command actions. It's predicted that by 2025, nearly 75% of U.S households will have smart speakers. With voice search, keyword phrases become more conversational and longer. Instead of typing "SaaS best practices", one might ask, "What are the best practices for SaaS SEO?". This shift necessitates tailoring content to be more conversational, answering direct questions, and understanding the user's intent behind voice queries. But, it’s not just about capturing these longer search queries. Ryan Law observes, "As voice search becomes mainstream, ensuring that the information provided is concise, accurate, and immediately valuable becomes paramount. After all, a voice search typically returns only one answer." This evolution underscores the urgency of securing that coveted 'position zero' or the featured snippet on search engine results pages. As the digital landscape transforms, integrating voice search into your SaaS SEO strategy isn't just an option – it's a necessity.

Investing in search-optimized content pays off with more organic traffic and new business. Eventually, the cost of search engine optimization is outweighed by the business it attracts.

SaaS SEO cost-effectiveness increases over time. Ryan Law explains, “Most acquisition channels exhibit a linear relationship between input and output, requiring increased spending to acquire more customers, and often, the cost for achieving the same results increases over time (such as with paid advertising). SEO works differently.” SaaS SEO delivers consistent traffic. Online customer acquisition can be difficult, especially for new businesses. SEO traffic and customer acquisition, on the other hand, tend to grow steadily with ongoing investment. Ryan states, “Our research indicates that SEO was the only traffic source to consistently grow last year, increasing by 3.19% month after month.”

The evolution of the SaaS model has significantly intertwined with the rise of cloud computing. As SaaS providers and vendors shift away from traditional software licensing, the cloud's vast scalability and data security have become paramount. This transition has not only streamlined operations for SaaS companies but also reshaped the SEO landscape for these businesses.

For example, as more enterprises embrace cloud solutions, the search intent around cloud security and software vendors has heightened. This requires SaaS vendors, particularly those delving into customer relationship management or operating systems, to align their SEO knowledge and tools towards these emerging queries. The goal is to ensure search engines understand the relevance of their content in this changing landscape.

Moreover, the ubiquity of mobile devices demands a responsive and optimized user experience, which further ties into organic traffic generation. While Google Ads and paid search can expedite visibility, the long-term success hinges on crafting relevant content that satisfies search intent, ensuring a top position in Google search results.

An adept SEO professional knows that while the technical aspects, like optimizing for vendor's servers or understanding software licensing nuances, are crucial, the foundation remains the same. It's about understanding the needs of the target audience, analyzing search traffic trends, and then leveraging the right SEO tools and plan to ensure that the content resonates.

Given that a vast majority of SaaS decisions now involve considerations around cloud aspects and service providers, SaaS companies cannot afford to overlook these elements in their SEO strategy. The perfect synergy between cloud computing knowledge and SEO best practices can set a SaaS business apart in the crowded search result pages.

Companies must employ the best SEO strategies to be successful.

The most effective SaaS SEO strategies involve creating content that is relevant and optimized for search. This means using natural language to create keyword-rich titles, descriptions, headings, and content. Additionally, companies should focus on building high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites. These practices help boost your website’s visibility in the SERPs and drive more organic traffic.

Amidst the sea of text-based content, video emerges as a rapidly growing medium, enhancing the SaaS SEO ecosystem. Video content not only grabs user attention but also retains it. Research indicates that websites with embedded videos can increase organic traffic from search results by up to 157%. But how does video content fit into SaaS SEO? Ryan Law suggests, "Embedding product tutorials, user testimonials, and explainer videos can enhance user engagement on a page, thereby signaling to search engines the page’s value and relevance."

Furthermore, platforms like YouTube, the second largest search engine, provide additional avenues for SaaS businesses to be discovered. Optimizing video titles, descriptions, and transcripts with relevant keywords can lead to better rankings on these platforms. Additionally, videos can effectively break down complex SaaS functionalities into digestible content for potential users. "But it's not just about having a video," Ryan adds, "it's about integrating it strategically into your content and ensuring it aligns with users' needs and search intent." In an age where users demand instant, easily consumable information, integrating video into your SaaS SEO strategy can be the differentiator that sets you apart from the competition.

Keyword research should be used to identify target audiences, relevant topics, business applications, and content ideas. Analyzing search engine data can help decide which keywords to focus on and what searchers want from a SaaS company. Niche keywords are usually more profitable than general terms as they have less competition and higher conversions. Additionally, optimizing for local search queries is a great way to reach customers in specific geographic areas.

Ryan suggests, “Companies should start with keyword research, user behaviour and competitor analysis. As you identify high-value keywords that users are searching for, make sure to incorporate them into your content strategy.” It is also important to focus on the user experience by optimizing page load speeds and improving user navigation. Additionally, adding an SEO audit tool to measure the performance of SEO initiatives can ensure that the strategy is on track.

In an era where smartphone usage has skyrocketed, ignoring mobile optimization can be detrimental to any SaaS company's SEO efforts. Mobile search has surpassed desktop search in volume, reshaping how businesses should approach their online presence. The Google mobile-first indexing update means the search giant now prioritizes mobile-friendly content. As Ryan Law points out, "Mobile optimization isn’t just about responsive design anymore. It's about ensuring that content, navigation, and site speed are tailored to mobile users."

When a SaaS website is not optimized for mobile, bounce rates can soar, and engagement can plummet, sending unfavorable signals to search engines. On the brighter side, a well-optimized mobile experience can lead to improved SERP rankings and higher conversion rates. "Remember, it's not just about visibility," Ryan advises, "it’s about the experience you offer when users land on your site from a mobile device. A streamlined, intuitive mobile experience can be the differentiator that turns a curious searcher into a loyal customer." As mobile search continues its upward trajectory, weaving mobile optimization into the fabric of your SaaS SEO strategy becomes an imperative, not an afterthought.

Generally, the user loves to read and understand the material easily and efficiently. Don't use complex or confusing language that can put off the user. Ryan says, “Using plain language and formatting your content to make it easier to read will help improve user engagement and keep people coming back for more.”

If you choose to use a photograph as a link, fill it out to help search engines see your link. Let's suppose you used anchor text to create text links.

As search engine algorithms evolve, the significance of User Experience (UX) in SEO grows exponentially. No longer is it sufficient to merely focus on keyword optimization and backlinks; today's successful SaaS companies recognize the indispensable role of UX in their SEO strategy. A well-designed and user-friendly website not only retains visitors but also encourages them to engage more deeply with the content.

Factors like page load times, intuitive navigation, and clear Calls to Action (CTAs) directly influence bounce rates and session durations. Search engines interpret these metrics as indicators of a site's quality and relevance, often rewarding those with superior UX with higher search rankings. Moreover, a positive UX is a critical element in converting organic traffic into tangible leads and customers for SaaS businesses. As the competition in the SaaS landscape intensifies, prioritizing UX can be the subtle edge that differentiates a generic SaaS platform from an industry leader. Integrating user-centric design with a robust SEO strategy ensures not just visibility but also meaningful engagement and conversion.

High-quality content should be optimized to help search engines find and index your website. Choose a search engine friendly website platform that supports SEO, fast loading, search-friendly URLs, and accessibility for web browsers. Stay up to date with Google updates to get the best results and increase organic traffic.

Link building is an important component of SEO as it helps sites establish trust and authority with search engines. Creating relationships with other search engines and websites to get backlinks to your website is called link building. This requires researching high-quality websites, creating and distributing relevant content, and optimizing link titles and anchor text. By building links to your website from other reliable sources, it can help to increase organic rankings. Additionally, it can also drive direct traffic to your site.

Direct traffic categorizes visits that do not come from a same website owner referring URL. When a visitor follows a link from one website to another, the site of origin is considered the referrer. These sites can be search engines, social media, blogs, or other websites that have links to other websites. Traditionally, we've attributed this traffic to visitors manually entering the URL of the website or clicking on a bookmarked link.

Internal links benefit your website in two ways: it signals search engines about your content's relevance and encourages visitors to explore your site more extensively. As users explore your site links and content, they learn about your field and product and may be encouraged to interact with or download your product.

Implementing a content marketing plan is also an essential part of increasing organic traffic. Ryan notes, “Creating compelling, informative content that your target audience will find useful should be the cornerstone of any SEO effort. Content should tie into the business objectives and provide value to visitors - don’t just write for search engine robots.”

You should also extend SEO efforts to social media. Optimize content for keywords and share it across various channels. This is important for driving organic traffic and helping your business earn more visibility.

Focus on On-Page and technical SEO strategies to improve organic search visibility on your website. On-Page SEO involves optimizing titles, headings, descriptions meta tags, and body text with relevant keywords to give users the best search experience. Ensure the website is indexed, create an XML sitemap, and optimize page loading speed for better SEO. Also, ensure that content is regularly updated to keep visitors engaged.

Attract organic traffic that leads to conversions by researching and using relevant queries and targeting the right keywords. Ryan emphasizes, “Not all search traffic is created equal. Generating a million page views from search without revenue is possible if the visitors are not interested in your product.”

Research your competitors' keywords to learn more about your target audience and create better content than them. Ryan notes, “Search not only generates new business but also helps take business away from competitors.”

High-quality content is the key to successful search optimization. Craft articles that are relevant and valuable to users and potential customers. Google's algorithm updates now consider metrics like time spent on pages, link click-throughs, and shares. As customers become more discerning, content must meet higher standards to be effective.

Analytics is another key factor in an SEO strategy. Analyzing website data can help identify opportunities to improve and drive organic traffic. It can be discovering queries that are driving more clicks and finding areas where content needs to be updated or created. Also, web analytics can help identify potential technical issues that may be impacting organic search visibility, such as broken links or incorrect redirects.

Web analytics platforms use an algorithm to determine the source of organic traffic. Google Analytics is an example.

To understand the performance of your content, it is important to review website analytics. By combining data from both Google Search Console and Google Analytics, you can gain a comprehensive view of your website’s organic search performance.

Analyze data to improve SEO and increase website visibility in search results. Also, you can use the insights to create more targeted content and refine your keyword strategies for better rankings.

It's important to remember that SEO should always be a process of continual iteration and optimization based on data-driven insights.

Exercise patience with SEO, because SEO success builds gradually. Avoid abandoning your efforts when immediate results aren't apparent. Most SEO strategies require months or even years to reach their full potential, making it a valuable long-term investment. "Ask any established SaaS company, and they'll confirm: SEO works," Ryan emphasizes.

The goal of a SaaS SEO strategy is to enhance your website's domain authority, which represents its reputation and relevance in a particular topic or field. With time, increased domain authority grants your website exceptional visibility and facilitates ranking for more competitive keywords.

The SEO landscape is saturated with similar content and websites targeting identical keywords. To attract internet users' attention, differentiate your content in a meaningful way. By making your content unique and relevant to your specific audience, you'll increase page visits, time spent on pages, and conversions. Ryan suggests asking yourself, "How can we make this content uniquely ours? What exclusive ideas or advice can we offer? What value can we add to existing search results?" Create content for various buyer journey stages. Create content for each step of the buyer journey (awareness, consideration, and decision) to reach a variety of customers. Avoid concentrating only on product-specific content or immediate purchases. Instead, publish content that appeals to various potential users of your product. For those at the beginning of their journey, focus on industry trends, tips, advice, or general informational articles. For those further along, offer practical guides, integration information, feature overviews, and present your product as a solution to specific issues.

SEO is a constantly evolving field, with complex search algorithms, growing competitor content, and rising customer standards. High-quality content remains a constant in SEO value. So, focus on providing useful and relevant content for your audience to stay competitive in the SEO game.

To conclude, SEO is a complex yet powerful tool that requires effort to succeed online. With the right strategy, businesses can quickly rise in SERPs and achieve desired results.

Monitor organic traffic, optimize content, and build links to ensure success. With patience and dedication, even the smallest business can soar above its competition in search engine rankings.