SaaS SEO has changed a lot in 2023.
Traditional SEO tactics like keyword stuffing, link buying, and content creation (without adding any value) do not work anymore.
Google has upgraded to an AI-powered spam prevention system called SpamBrain, which can detect sites buying and selling links.
Moreover, Google now rewards sites that publish original reporting and analysis and create helpful, people-first content (very important).
As a result, you need to upgrade your B2B SaaS SEO strategy for 2023 to stay ahead in the race.
How Can I Upgrade My B2B SaaS SEO Strategy For 2023?
First things first, here is a complete, actionable checklist for B2B SaaS SEO that you need to follow in 2023 and ahead:
- Target different keywords based on the phases (awareness, consideration, decision, and purchase) of the buyer journey.
- Don’t just create content to increase the number of articles on your site. That’s a waste of time and resources. Invest time in creating valuable content that provides a unique approach compared to other pages on the search results.
- Avoid buying links from PBNs and spam sites. Create valuable content that automatically attracts natural editorial backlinks.
- Provide a good page experience as Google algorithms reward sites that consider all aspects of offering an excellent website browsing experience.
- Focus and improve your EEAT score. Google systems assign more weight to content with a strong EEAT, which stands for expertise, experience, authority, and trust. Among these, trust is the most important factor that Google evaluates and considers for every website, including SaaS.
- Add a variety of visual elements to your site to help it stand apart in the search results. A Google search results page comprises a variety of visual elements like images, videos, and rich snippets.
Also See: Best B2B SaaS SEO Agencies
Is SaaS SEO Still Useful in 2023?
Of Course, it is! Here are some key stats that prove the effectiveness of SaaS SEO:
- SEO drives 53% of all website traffic, which is more than any other channel of digital marketing.
- SaaS SEO offers an exceptional ROI of more than 500%.
- B2B buyers read 5-7 articles on an average before reaching out to a salesperson.
- More than 80% of B2B companies are planning to spend $7000+ a month on SEO services in 2023.
- Technical search engine optimization offers businesses an average ROI of more than 115%.
Hence, there is no doubt that SEO should be a top priority for software-as-a-service companies to improve their bottom line.
Now that you have understood the basics of a powerful SaaS SEO strategy, let’s discuss how you can achieve it.
SaaS SEO Tips For 2023
Now, let us discuss in detail the SaaS SEO tactics we discussed earlier.
1- Compile And Target SaaS Buyer Journey Keywords
Keyword research helps SaaS companies understand what potential customers are searching for online. By targeting the most relevant keywords, you can attract high-quality organic traffic, boost brand awareness, and ultimately drive conversions.
B2B SaaS Buyer Journey Stages
The B2B SaaS buyer journey comprises the following stages:
- Awareness: Identify problems, research broadly.
- Consideration: Explore solutions, compare vendors.
- Decision: Select vendor, negotiate, finalize.
- Purchase: Commit, onboarding, implementation.
For example, if you are selling CRM software, the table below summarizes a list of sample keywords for all the B2B SaaS buyer journey stages:
| Stage | Keywords |
| Awareness | – CRM challenges |
| – Customer data management | |
| – Sales process optimization | |
| – What is CRM software? | |
| Consideration | – Best CRM software |
| – CRM vs. marketing automation | |
| – CRM reviews | |
| – Salesforce vs. HubSpot CRM | |
| Decision | – Microsoft Dynamics 365 pricing |
| – Salesforce CRM features | |
| – CRM software demo | |
| Purchase | – CRM software purchase |
| – CRM onboarding process | |
| – CRM implementation checklist |
You can use any of the top SEO keyword research tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, WordStream, SErankings, or any other to find the top keywords.
For example, I used SEranking to gather keyword ideas for the CRM awareness stage by inputting the seed keyword in the SEranking keyword research tool:
Now click on Analyze to see the keyword difficulty, search volume, CPC, and other metrics for the searched keyword.
Scroll below to find a section called Keyword Ideas. Here, you can find ‘similar keyword ideas’, ‘related keyword ideas’, and ‘question keyword ideas’.
Click on each of these sections to uncover relevant keyword phrases that people enter on search engines to discover content related to CRM software.
Similarly, you can repeat your research for all the remaining B2B SaaS buyer journey stages.
SaaS SEO Expert Tip:
Perform keyword gap analysis of your top competitors to find the keywords that are bringing traffic to their sites. You can easily find them using the SEMrush keyword gap analysis tool.
2- Create People-First and NOT Search-Engine First Content
Don’t just create content to increase the number of articles on your site. That’s a waste of time and resources. Invest time in creating valuable content that provides a unique approach compared to other pages on the search results.
Related: Best SaaS SEO Marketing Firms
What to Do?
- Original and Valuable Content: Ensure your content offers original information, research, or analysis that adds value to your target audience.
- Comprehensive Coverage: Provide thorough and comprehensive descriptions of topics, going beyond the obvious to offer in-depth insights.
- Expertise and Trustworthiness: Demonstrate expertise and trustworthiness by citing sources, offering author background information, and maintaining factual accuracy.
- Clear and Descriptive Headings: Use clear and descriptive headings and titles that summarize the content accurately without exaggeration.
- Bookmark-Worthy Content: Create content that readers would want to bookmark, share, or recommend to others.
- Comparable to Print Media: Strive to produce content that could be found in or referenced by printed magazines, encyclopedias, or books.
- Value Relative to Competitors: Ensure your content provides substantial value compared to other pages in search results.
- Quality and Consistency: Maintain high-quality content production and avoid mass-produced or outsourced content that lacks care and attention.
What to Avoid?
- Search Engine-First Approach: Avoid creating content solely to attract search engine traffic. Focus on user needs and value instead.
- Keyword Stuffing: Do not prioritize keywords or word counts over user-focused content quality.
- Thin and Automated Content: Steer clear of producing thin, automated, or low-value content on a wide range of topics.
- Lack of Expertise: Avoid writing about topics without genuine expertise solely for the purpose of gaining search traffic.
- Misleading or Unverifiable Claims: Refrain from making misleading claims or suggesting unverifiable information, such as release dates, without confirmation.
- Quantity Over Quality: Do not prioritize the quantity of content over the quality of the information provided.
SaaS SEO Expert Tip:
Apply the 10x content strategy by Moz to create content that stands out. 10x content means creating content that is 10 times better than the ones currently ranking in the search results.
3- Create Linkable Assets By Publishing Original SaaS Research, News, and Stats
Avoid buying links from PBNs and spam sites. Create valuable content that automatically attracts natural editorial backlinks.
Valuable and high-quality linkable assets are the backbone of SaaS link building. You should spend an ample amount of time creating them.
| Linkable Asset | Description | Example |
| E-books and Whitepapers | In-depth resources offering industry insights, research findings, and solutions. | HubSpot’s “State of Inbound” Report |
| Case Studies | Success stories showcasing the impact of SaaS products on businesses. | Salesforce’s Customer Success Stories |
| Infographics | Visual representations of data or trends, highly shareable on social media. | Social Media Today’s “Design Trends” Infographic |
| How-To Guides | Informative articles addressing common challenges or providing solutions. | Coinbound’s “Crypto SEO Strategies Guide” |
| Industry Reports | Analyses of industry trends, user behavior, or market insights, often with original research. | Buffer’s “State of Social” Report |
| Templates and Checklists | Downloadable or ready-to-use resources helping users manage tasks or processes. | Trello’s “Project Management Templates” |
| Expert Roundup Posts | Collaborative posts featuring insights from industry experts on relevant topics. | Search Engine Journal’s “SEO Experts Expert Roundup” |
SaaS SEO Expert Tip:
Create free tools that your target users can use and share with their colleagues. It is one of the best ways to bring in traffic to your site and also acquire natural backlinks. Need examples? Here is a list by Search Engine Journal.
4- Offer A Good SaaS UX
Provide a good page experience as Google algorithms reward sites that consider all aspects of offering an excellent website browsing experience.
From perfecting your ON-page SEO to having an easy-to-crawl site structure, you should focus on improving the technical aspects of your SaaS website.
Related: Top ROI-Boosting B2B Marketing Tactics
The table below summarizes the list of SEO actions you should take to maintain a good SaaS UX on your website:
| UX Element | Description |
| Intuitive Interface | Use a consistent layout for navigation menus and buttons. |
| Responsive Design | Test your SaaS platform on various devices and browsers to ensure compatibility. |
| Fast Loading Times | Compress images and minimize HTTP requests to improve page loading speed. |
| Clear Information Hierarchy | Use headers, subheaders, and bullet points to break up text-heavy pages. |
| Title Tags | Craft descriptive and concise title tags for each page. Include target keywords. |
| Description Tags | Write compelling meta descriptions that summarize page content and encourage clicks. |
| Internal Linking | Link to related articles or pages within your content to keep users on your site longer. |
| A/B Testing | Experiment with different button colors, layouts, or wording to see which performs better. |
| Search and Filters | Implement autocomplete in the search bar and allow users to filter results. |
| Help and Support | Offer a knowledge base with FAQs, video tutorials, and chat support for quick assistance. |
| User Training | Create video tutorials and guides explaining advanced features. |
| Performance Monitoring | Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to analyze and optimize loading times. |
| Breadcrumb Navigation | Implement breadcrumb trails to show users the path to their current location. |
| XML Sitemap Submission | Submit an XML sitemap to search engines to ensure all pages are indexed and discoverable. |
SaaS SEO Expert Tip:
Perform a comprehensive site audit every quarter to ensure your site remains search engine friendly. Keep an eye on the Google Search Console to identify and fix errors that Google encounters while crawling your site.
5- Focus On Google EEAT
Google systems assign more weight to content with a strong EEAT, which stands for expertise, experience, authority, and trust. Among these, trust is the most important factor that Google evaluates and considers for every website, including SaaS.
How to Establish A Good EEAT Score?
SaaS companies should position themselves as authoritative experts in their niche. This involves showcasing industry knowledge, thought leadership, and the competence to address user needs.
Focus on creating content that builds trust with your audience. Provide accurate information, cite reliable sources, and avoid misleading or deceptive practices.
You should also ensure high-quality content across your website. This includes well-researched articles, case studies, and documentation that demonstrate your expertise in SaaS solutions.
Related: Top B2B Tech PR Agencies
Moreover, encourage and showcase genuine customer reviews and testimonials to demonstrate the positive experiences of your users.
Lastly, collaborate with recognized experts in your industry for content creation or endorsements, reinforcing your authority.
SaaS SEO Expert Tip:
Always include an author bio and share complete information about the author of the article to enable Google to gather information about the person who has written the article. If possible, mention the author’s qualifications, experience, achievements, and social profiles in the author bio section. Apart from clear author information, you can add review ratings to your articles to allow users to rate your content. Higher ratings are a measure of how engaging and user-friendly your site content is.
6- Optimize For Visual Elements
The Google Search results page comprises various types of visual elements, each with its own unique attributes and potential for optimization.
Common Visual SERP Elements
Here’s a breakdown of the common visual elements:
- Text Result: These results are based on the textual content of the page and include elements such as attribution, title link, and snippet.
- Rich Result: Rich results rely on structured data in your page’s markup to display graphical elements and interactive experiences.
- Image Result: These results are based on images embedded on web pages and are more likely to show for image-related queries.
- Video Result: Video results are generated from videos embedded on web pages and are prevalent for video-related queries.
- Exploration Features: These features aid users in expanding and refining their initial search, commonly known as “People Also Ask.”
You should try and acquire a space in each of the above search engine pages real estate to get the best organic visibility.
The most important of these is the rich snippets. You should add structure data to your pages to increase a higher clickthrough rate.
Rotten Tomatoes experienced a 25% higher clickthrough rate on pages having structured data compared to the ones without structured data.
There are several types of schema that can benefit SaaS businesses, and here’s how to implement them:
Review Schema
- Purpose: This schema helps display product or service reviews on the search engine results page (SERP).
- Implementation: To implement a review schema, you need to mark up your product or service pages with structured data that includes review ratings, review text, and reviewer information. You can use Review schema markup in JSON-LD format.
- Benefits: Review snippets can make your SaaS product stand out in the SERPs, potentially increasing click-through rates. Positive reviews also signal trustworthiness to search engines.
Organization Schema
- Purpose: This schema provides information about your SaaS company, including your brand logo, location, areas served, and more.
- Implementation: To implement organization schema, mark up your company’s homepage with structured data. Include details such as your company name, logo, address, and contact information.
- Benefits: Organization schema enhances your website’s appearance in search results, making it look more official and trustworthy to users.
Schema for Monthly and Annual Pricing Options
- Purpose: As SaaS companies often offer subscription-based services, this schema provides pricing information for both monthly and annual subscription options.
- Implementation: You can use structured data in JSON-LD format to mark up your pricing information. Include details such as the name of your product, operating system compatibility, pricing options, and more.
- Benefits: This schema helps users quickly understand your pricing structure and makes it easier for search engines to display pricing details on the SERPs.
After adding schema markup to your web pages, it’s crucial to test the structured data to ensure it works correctly. Use tools like Google’s Rich Results Tester or Schema.org Validator to check your markup.
Also See: Best B2B SaaS Marketing Agencies
SaaS SEO Expert Tip:
Use the Review Schema WordPress plugin to show article reviews in the search results. The plugin is easy to install, and it will help you improve your website clickthrough rate.
Need Help Optimizing Your SaaS Website? Clickstrike Can Help
Clickstrike is a leading B2B SaaS SEO company that follows white-hat SEO practices to help your B2B SaaS website rank higher in the organic search results. Our SaaS SEO specialists will analyze your website and prepare an action plan to improve the organic visibility and conversions on your site. From technical SEO to link building and PR, we will leave no stone unturned to make SEO your competitive advantage.