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At Stigan Media, our SEO team specializes in boosting the online presence of SaaS companies. Take, for example, our work with a real estate software company.
How did we achieve such impressive results? Keep reading this article or save your time contact us for a free SEO audit for your SaaS or Software companies.
By applying our latest SaaS SEO strategies, we increased their organic traffic to the main page by 2477% but most importantly, conversions by 742% within 9 months:
We’ve been successfully running SEO campaigns for several SaaS clients for years, who all appreciate our results-driven approach. In this article, we’ll share insights into how our SaaS SEO agency consistently achieves top rankings in organic search for SaaS websites.
1. We Start with Precise Keyword Research Tailored for Your SaaS Business
The cornerstone of any successful SaaS SEO campaign is thorough keyword research. While it may seem straightforward, this task requires specialized expertise, particularly in the SaaS industry. At Stigan Media, we’ve developed a systematic approach to ensure we identify the most effective keywords for your SaaS business:
- Analyzing Search Volume: We ensure the keywords we target aren’t just popular but relevant. For instance, we had a client who ranked #1 for ‘honey bee wing morphological analysis software.’ Despite their top ranking, the keyword had zero search volume, leading to no website visits or leads.
- Understanding Search Intent: It’s essential to match keywords with the right intent. For example, ‘beekeeper software’ indicates a commercial intent with a specific need, ideal for attracting potential customers in beekeeping industry. Conversely, informational keywords like ‘how bees make honey’ may drive traffic but not leads, as they often lead to informative articles unrelated to software solutions. We are focusing on the keywords that bring leads and quality traffic.
- Assessing Keyword Difficulty: Using advanced tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush, we evaluate the competitiveness of keywords. Our SaaS SEO agency invests in these resources to identify optimal keywords for your budget. If the budget is limited, we focus on less competitive yet still effective keywords that can drive traffic and leads.
Consider keyword research in SaaS SEO as setting the course for a ship’s voyage. If the course isn’t plotted accurately from the start, the journey may lead off-target, no matter how well you navigate later. At Stigan Media digital marketing agency, we carefully chart this course to ensure your SEO strategy sails smoothly towards success.
2. Working on Web Analytics Before Embarking on SaaS SEO
Unlike many SaaS SEO agencies that dive straight into SEO tactics after finalizing keywords, we at Stigan Media believe in taking an additional, crucial step: verifying and setting up comprehensive web analytics. This ensures that every aspect of the project is tracked, allowing us to provide insightful and accurate SEO reports to our SaaS clients.
Here’s how we ensure your SaaS project is primed for success:
- Validating Google Analytics 4 Setup: We check if Google Analytics 4 is accurately tracking your website’s data. This tool is essential for monitoring user behavior and gauging the effectiveness of our SEO strategies.
- Google Search Console Integration: We ensure full integration with Google Search Console, a vital tool for tracking your website’s SEO performance and identifying any technical issues.
- Access to Google Business Page (if applicable): We verify access to your Google Business Page, ensuring all information is up-to-date and reflective of your current business status.
- Expanding Visibility To Different Search Engines: We don’t stop at Google. Adding your business to Bing as well as SaaS platforms such as G2 or Capterra.
- Conversion Set Up in Google Analytics 4: Perhaps most importantly, we set up and define specific goals in Google Analytics 4. This allows us to track key conversions and leads accurately, such as software downloads, contact form submissions, and/or calculator uses. Understanding these metrics is crucial for us to evaluate the real ROI (Return on Investment) of your SEO campaign.
By ensuring these foundational elements are in place, we differentiate ourselves from many SaaS SEO companies that may overlook these critical steps. We aim to provide you with not just data, but meaningful insights that demonstrate the real value and impact of your SEO investment.
3. Comprehensive Website SEO Architecture Audit
The next step is to check the current website architecture. In most cases, we find several areas that can be improved, benefiting not only SEO but also user experience. For SaaS SEO, having a well-structured website link architecture is extremely important. We identify the pages that are attracting traffic and generating leads for your software solution, as these are the ones we’ll focus on optimizing.
Website architecture example for SaaS SEO client
In addition to this, we work on creating proper inbound links between these pages and optimizing the navigation elements such as the navbar and footer.
By conducting a thorough SEO website architecture audit, we lay the groundwork for a more robust online presence. This comprehensive approach not only bolsters your SEO efforts but also significantly enhances the overall user experience on your site (which is also an SEO ranking factor).
4. SEO Content Optimization
Continuing our SEO journey for SaaS clients, we next focus on the content optimization of pages targeted for the chosen SaaS keywords. The process typically begins with a thorough rewrite of existing page content. To align our efforts with Google’s algorithms, we utilize an advanced tool named Surfer SEO. This tool rigorously analyzes the content on the first-page search results, determining the optimal number and placement of keywords needed for effective SEO.
After gathering these insights, our SEO copywriting team steps in. Our first step is to collaborate closely with our SaaS clients, ensuring we include all essential information on each page. Then, our skilled copywriters craft content that not only incorporates the required keywords as per our analysis but also focuses on high conversion potential. This is a critical stage where many SaaS SEO agencies falter, often resorting to low-cost outsourced writers who produce subpar content focused solely on keyword stuffing. Such an approach might temporarily boost SEO rankings, but it risks losing user interest due to poor content quality.
Our strategy is different. We strike a balance between SEO-rich and highly engaging content. Our in-house team of local writers excels in creating material that captivates the audience while satisfying SEO requirements. It’s not just about climbing the search engine ranks; it’s about keeping users engaged and interested once they land on your site. This balanced approach is key to successful SEO content optimization for SaaS industry.
5. On-Page SEO Optimization
After targeting specific pages, we expand our focus to on-page optimization across your entire website. Here’s a brief guide on what to consider for effectively ranking your SaaS website in Google:
- Meta Titles Optimization: Include your primary keyword. A formula like ‘Your SaaS Solution’s Major Keyword + Catchy Phrase (e.g., ‘1M Downloads’, ‘Low-Cost Options’, ‘#1 Solution’)’ works well.
- Meta Description Optimization: While not a direct ranking factor, a well-crafted meta description can improve your click-through rate, which can indirectly benefit SEO.
- Alt Tags Optimization: Provide natural and relevant descriptions for your images, incorporating targeted keywords where appropriate.
- H1 Optimization: This is a critical element of your page. Ensure there’s only one H1 per page, properly describing the page’s content. Including your primary SaaS keyword along with a brief explanation (in 2-3 words) of what the page offers can be effective.
- H2 to H6 Optimization: These headings structure your content for both users and search engines. Avoid overusing your targeted keyword in these headings.
- Implementing Schemas: Schemas help explain to Google the context of your website and can enhance Google snippets. Include relevant schemas like reviews of your software, organization details, and pricing options if applicable.
- Checking SEO-Friendly URLs: Ideally done during the website architecture phase, but always worth double-checking to ensure your URLs are well-structured and include targeted keywords.
- Internal Linking: Establish a robust internal linking structure across your website, including in the navigation bar and footer, focusing on targeted pages.
- Adding Customer Testimonials: Incorporate real testimonials, especially those containing your keywords. Video testimonials are a significant bonus for SEO.
- E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness): Demonstrate your credibility to search engines. Include any certifications, awards, and detailed information about key team members on your team page to enhance trust for your SaaS solution.
By following these steps, you can significantly improve your SaaS website’s on-page SEO, enhancing its visibility and effectiveness in attracting and engaging your target audience.
6. Technical SEO for SaaS Businesses
Technical SEO is an area where many SaaS SEO agencies, especially those less experienced, often falter. Recognizing its critical importance, we go the extra mile to ensure our technical SEO strategies meet and exceed Google’s requirements.
Fixing 301 and 404 Pages
Our first step involves a comprehensive crawl of your SaaS website using a tool called Screaming Frog. This simulates how search engines view your site. The crawl helps us identify 301 redirects and 404 error pages. Correcting these issues is essential, as our goal is to ensure all pages return a ‘200 OK’ status code, indicating successful access.
Speed Optimization
We also prioritize your website’s loading speed. Given Google’s emphasis on speed since 2019, this aspect is non-negotiable. Using Google’s PageSpeed Insights, we first analyze and then methodically optimize your site’s speed. Below is a screenshot illustrating the speed optimization for one of our SaaS projects.
Mobile Version Assessment
A common oversight is the mobile version of websites. We always check for issues like small font sizes, elements being too close together, or broken styles that make the mobile version user-unfriendly. Our SEO team reviews these aspects and works with our web development team to address any issues. A mobile-optimized site is not just preferred by Google but is also essential for user satisfaction.
SSL Certificate Verification
Finally, we ensure that your SSL certificate is current and valid. An expired or invalid certificate can lead search engines to mark your site as unsafe, which could harm your rankings.
By addressing these technical aspects, we ensure that your SaaS website is not just SEO-friendly but also provides a secure and efficient experience for your users.
7. Off-Page SEO
The final and arguably most challenging aspect of SEO for SaaS websites is off-page SEO, primarily focused on acquiring backlinks. Many struggle with this crucial step. Backlinks are not just about quantity; their quality and relevance are vital. Using inexpensive backlink services can often result in poor-quality links that may harm your site’s SEO.
At Stigan Media, we’ve developed a systematic approach to building backlinks that effectively supports the ranking of SaaS businesses:
- Listing in SaaS Directories: We start by identifying and listing your business in well-regarded SaaS directories. This step is crucial for signaling to Google the relevance and niche of your website.
- Securing Valued Domain Links: Over the years, we’ve established strong relationships with numerous website owners in the software industry. These connections allow us to create guest posts and secure valuable backlinks to our clients’ websites. Currently, we collaborate with over 1000 reputable websites, a network that not many agencies possess.
- Disavowing Toxic Links: Sometimes, your website may acquire harmful backlinks, whether through previous SEO efforts, spam, or competitor actions. Our team conducts a thorough inspection of each backlink’s quality. If we identify toxic links, we promptly add them to a ‘disavow’ file and submit it to search engines, indicating that these links are not endorsed by your site.
Conclusion
Effective SEO is key to making your SaaS website stand out. It’s not just about higher rankings on search engines; it’s about attracting the right visitors and turning them into customers. The steps we’ve outlined – from keyword research to technical and off-page SEO – are crucial for success.
But, SaaS SEO can be complex. If you need help or want to ensure it’s done right, Stigan Media is here for you. We specialize in SaaS SEO and can create a strategy that fits your needs. Contact us for a straightforward discussion and a quote, and let’s help your SaaS website reach its full potential.
We’re experts in SEO for SaaS or Software buisness at Stigan Media. Struggling with SEO? Get a free SEO audit from us.
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Oleg is an experienced SEO specialist with a career beginning in 2014. He joined Stigan Media in 2017 and has been leading their SEO team since 2019. With a track record of successful SEO strategies, both traditional and local SEO, Oleg has contributed numerous case studies. His insights are shared on the Stigan Media Blog, his personal website (OlegG.ca), LinkedIn profile, and YouTube channel, showcasing his expertise and results in the field of SEO.
