SEO cheat sheet for scrappy SaaS marketing teams [Infographic]
I'm sharing my SEO cheat sheet that has helped to generate millions of signups for different SaaS startups in very competitive spaces.
SEO for SaaS isn't just about keywords and backlinks; it's a comprehensive approach to making your platform the obvious choice for your customers. Here’s a detailed, no-frills SEO plan that gets results:
🎯 Clear value proposition & customer profiling
Define your unique selling points (USPs). For example, if your SaaS offers time-tracking solutions, highlight how your unique AI predictions save users an extra hour daily.
Address your target audience's main issues. If customers struggle with project management, showcase your SaaS's user interface that simplifies task organization.
Develop an ideal customer profile (ICP) to focus your marketing efforts effectively. Create a profile for a marketing manager in a small business, including job title, industry, and pain points.
🔍 In-depth keyword research
Prioritize bottom-of-the-funnel keywords that indicate high buying intent. Look for terms like "best CRM software for remote sales teams" rather than more generic terms like "do you need a sales team."
Analyze competitors' keyword strategies to identify what they rank for and what they miss. Use tools like SEMrush to discover competitors' keyword gaps.
Create a topical map of your niche, covering all relevant subjects to achieve topical authority.
🌐 On-page SEO tactics
Optimize meta tags and H1 tags with relevant keywords without overstuffing. For a project management tool, your homepage H1 might be "Project Management Software For Remote Teams: [Product Name]."
Implement a structured internal linking strategy to improve user navigation and time on site. For example, link from your blog post on "Time Management Tips" to your product page for time-tracking features.
Ensure content is user-focused, providing value and answering audience questions.
📝 Regular and diverse content creation
Establish a consistent content calendar. For example, plan to post new blog articles every Tuesday and Friday and YouTube videos every Thursday.
Produce a mix of content types. Create blog posts and also videos that will be embedded in the articles but also promoted separately.
Ensure all content is original, informative, and reflects your brand’s expertise. Write in the first person and research the topics extensively before you write anything.
⚙️ Technical SEO improvements
Increase page loading speed. Compress images and use a CDN to serve your pages faster.
Audit and optimize your robots.txt and meta tags. Ensure your 'robots.txt' file allows search engines to crawl your important pages.
Create and maintain an XML sitemap. Update your sitemap regularly to ensure new content is indexed quickly.
🏗️ Building and maintaining authority
Regularly update content to keep it current and authoritative. Refresh your most visited blog posts with up-to-date information every six months.
Use social media platforms to distribute content and engage with your audience. Share your latest blog post on LinkedIn with a question to encourage discussion.
Publish high-quality, research-backed content. Release quarterly industry reports that provide value and showcase your expertise.
📊 Analytics and performance tracking
Track important metrics. Monitor the conversion rate on sign-up pages from SEO traffic. Count SEO signups and keep an eye on the top 3 rankings.
Establish a regular reporting schedule. Review and share your SEO metrics with your team weekly to evaluate progress.
Analyze user behavior. If you’re getting a lot of impressions and low clicks (in Google Search Console), you might have a wrong assumption about the search intent of that page and a bad title reflecting that.
💼 Efficient resource allocation
Use in-house people and smartly outsource expertise. Make sure you have a marketing manager in-house who oversees the whole process, but outsource all the other functions you don’t have covered with the in-house team.
Ensure consistent content production. Try to scale up the content publishing schedule to 10-15 articles per month as soon as possible, but if that’s not realistic, do at least 1 post per week to keep consistency.
Budget for SEO tools and expert consultations. Allocate funds for premium SEO tools and quarterly expert advice on SEO strategy, workflow automation, and other ad-hoc SEO needs.
By following these steps, your SaaS platform will not only climb the search rankings but also become a go-to resource for your audience.