B2B SaaS SEO Mastery

1: Advanced Keyword Research for B2B SaaS Organisations 

Keyword research is the cornerstone of any successful SEO strategy, but the stakes are even higher when it comes to B2B SaaS SEO. The buying process in B2B scenarios is often more complicated and involves multiple stakeholders.

Therefore, it's imperative to conduct advanced keyword research that considers individual keywords and the intricacies of the B2B sales cycle, problem-solving, and user intent.  

The Core Dimensions of B2B SaaS Keyword Research 

Buyer Personas: In a B2B setting, you're not catering to just one persona. Different stakeholders, such as C-level executives, managers, and technical specialists, might influence the buying decision. Research and identify the keywords that each of these personas might use. 

Initial Data Gathering: use tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs to compile an exhaustive list of potential keywords. Remember to also analyse your competitor's keywords directly by researching their websites. 

Keyword Categorisation: divide your keywords into categories based on buyer personas, search intent, and funnel stage. This will help you create targeted content strategies. 

Competitive Analysis: for each categorised keyword, study the competition. Look at the domain authority of competing websites and evaluate how hard it would be to rank for each term.  

Search Intent: B2B keywords often include research, comparison, and purchase. This could range from 'best CRM software for small business' (comparison intent) to 'Salesforce pricing plans' (purchase intent). 

Keyword Prioritisation: prioritise your keywords based on relevance, search volume, and difficulty. The ideal keyword has high relevance, high search volume, and low competition. 

Problem-Solution Mapping: B2B SaaS products usually aim to solve complex problems. Use keyword research to identify your prospects' specific issues and then map these to solution-oriented keywords, like 'how to automate invoicing'. 

Long-Tail Keywords: In B2B SaaS, competition for broad keywords is fierce. Long-tail keywords, such as 'cloud-based inventory management for e-commerce', can be easier to rank and are more likely to attract highly qualified leads. 

Performance Tracking: implement tracking metrics like Google Analytics to monitor your chosen keywords' performance over time. This enables iterative refinement of your keyword strategy. 

Real-Time Adjustments: advanced keyword research is not a one-off task – it's an evolving process. Continuously monitor performance metrics and be ready to pivot your strategy according to changes in search algorithms, market trends, or customer behaviour. 

By adopting a multi-dimensional and dynamic approach to keyword research, B2B SaaS SEO organisations can improve their SERP rankings and attract the right kind of traffic—professionals who have both the intent and the authority to buy. 

3: SERPs Review for Scaling B2B SaaS 

SERPs Review 

Keyword Analysis: pinpoint the keywords your competitors rank for and their SERP positions. 

Ad Presence: note if competitors use paid ads for the same keywords. Analyse their ad copy and landing pages. 

Featured Snippets: keep track of competitors who secure the 'Position Zero' and scrutinise how they did it. 

Analyse Website & Content 

Technical SEO: inspect their site structure, loading speed, mobile optimisation, and other technical elements. 

Content Types: look at the types of content they produce, such as blog posts, eBooks, or webinars, and how they link them together. 

Content Depth: assess the thoroughness of your competitors’ content. Are they just scratching the surface or going in-depth? How many words have the produced in the core topics? How many words have they written on core ranking pages? How engaging is this content? 

Content Freshness: check how often they update old posts and produce new content. 

Content Relevance: gauge how closely their content aligns with user intent and pain points. 

Content Structure: review their use of headings, bullet points, and visual elements. See if the content is easily scannable and enjoyable to read. 

Content Metrics: consider metrics like social shares, engagement rate, and backlinks to measure content effectiveness. 

Backlink Profile 

Quality & Quantity: use tools like Ahrefs or SEM Rush to gauge the strength and number of backlinks your competitors possess and their domain authority. 

Anchor Text: analyse the distribution of anchor text to infer their keyword targeting strategies. 

Monitoring and Reporting 

Monthly SERP Tracking: document changes in keyword rankings for both you and your competitors. 

Quarterly Reports: incorporate competitor performance metrics to reveal areas of opportunity or caution. 

Leverage Competitive Insights 

Gap Analysis: identify opportunities or shortcomings in your current SEO strategy based on competitor data. 

Strategic Adjustments: apply the insights gleaned to refine your keyword, content, and backlink strategies. 

By incorporating a rigorous content analysis in your SEO competitor evaluation, you can pinpoint exactly what makes your competitors' content successful and identify areas for improvement.

This rounded view can be your ticket to crafting content that ranks and resonates better with your target audience, thus driving more meaningful engagement and conversions for your B2B SaaS SEO business. 

Here is an example of the term ‘Instagram Marketing' 

From this, we can learn that HubSpot is the top-ranking website for this term with competition, including Hootsuite and Shopify.

Suppose we want to rank for this page. In that case, we will need to produce at least 10,000 words of premium content, have a powerful website with a domain rating score of over 85 (AhRefs), have a solid amount of highly authoritative domains referring back to the page, likely at least 100 high domain authority websites linking back.

Further analysis would be required to assess the links' authentic quality and authority back to the page. 

You can apply this method to your top keyword targets and learn new ones as you analyse the top-performing competitor's website traffic and ranking status.  

Need more time? Need the software? Need the knowledge in-house? Angelfish can help you to plan.  

5: Mastering On-Page SEO for B2B SaaS Companies 

Why It Matters: 

On-Page SEO is crucial for B2B SaaS businesses for multiple reasons. First, it directly influences your page's visibility on search engines. Second, it impacts user experience and engagement, which indirectly affects SEO. Lastly, effective On-Page SEO can guide multiple stakeholders—whether they're CTOs, procurement managers, or end-users—through the complex B2B sales research funnel, ultimately driving conversions. 

The Four Pillars of On-Page SEO for B2B SaaS: 

Meta Titles & Descriptions 

Why: The meta title is often the first interaction a potential client has with your brand on search engines. Along with the meta description, it can be the deciding factor between a click-through and a missed opportunity. 

How: Craft unique and precise meta titles that include your target keywords towards the beginning. For meta descriptions, focus on providing a succinct summary that includes keywords and compels clicks. A/B testing these elements can help optimise their effectiveness. 

Here is an example from the HubSpot Instagram page referenced earlier: 

Header Tags 

Why: Header tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) not only make your content skimmable but also give search engines clues about the structure of your content. 

How: Your H1 should encapsulate the core topic and include your primary keyword. Subsequent headers (H2, H3, etc.) should logically break down the content into sub-topics, making use of long-tail and LSI keywords where appropriate. 

Here is an example of the opening header tag structure: 

Keyword Placement & Density 

Why: Including keywords throughout your content helps search engines understand the topic of the page. However, overuse can lead to penalties. 

How: Aim for a balanced keyword density, typically around 1-2%. Use synonyms and variations to avoid keyword stuffing. Prioritise putting keywords in the first 100 words, headers, and conclusion to maximise impact. 

Semantic SEO & Contextual Relevance 

Why: Search engines are becoming increasingly sophisticated in understanding context. In B2B SaaS, where terminology can get technical, context matters. 

How: Use terms and phrases related to your primary keywords to build context. This could include industry jargon, features, or related solutions. Contextually rich content is more likely to satisfy not only search engines but also B2B decision-makers looking for comprehensive solutions. 

Snippet Optimisation: strive to format at least one section of your content to fit the criteria for Featured Snippets. This increases the chances of your page appearing at the very top of search results. 

User Experience (UX): enhance user experience by leveraging elements like bullet points, numbered lists, images, or infographics to break up large sections of text. 

Internal Linking: use internal links to guide the visitor through a journey that aligns with the B2B sales cycle, linking to core pillar pages on use cases, benefits, customer testimonials, and finally, product demos or trials. 

7: Boosting Your Backlinks 

How to Do It: 

Craft a Link Building Strategy 

Building backlinks isn't just about quantity; it's about quality. Each backlink acts as a vote of confidence, but not all votes are equal. Search engines look at the quality of the site linking to you, its relevance to your industry, and its overall trustworthiness. As such, you need a well-thought-out strategy that focuses on acquiring high-quality links. 

Competitive Analysis: start by studying your highest-ranking competitors’ backlinks. This can provide valuable insights into what kind of backlinks you should aim for and help you discover new platforms or domains you hadn't considered. 

Editorial, Organic Links 

These are the gold standard of backlinks. They happen when other websites naturally reference your content because it adds value to their posts, guides, or articles. It's organic and incredibly effective for boosting your site's authority. 

Content Outreach: regularly reach out to industry blogs, news sites, and other platforms to showcase your high-quality content, encouraging them to reference it. 

Guest Blogging 

Writing guest posts for reputable industry blogs allows you to tap into their audience and acquire valuable backlinks. But remember, the quality of your guest post will reflect your brand, so make it as top-notch as the content you publish on your own site. 

Target and Approach: choose industry-relevant blogs that have a high domain authority. Pitch them with unique content ideas that can provide value to their audience. Always include one or two backlinks naturally within the content or in your author bio. 

Industry Partnerships 

Forming mutually beneficial partnerships with other industry players can open the door to a host of high-quality backlink opportunities. 

Collaborative Content: partner with other industry businesses to create valuable content such as webinars, eBooks, or in-depth articles. Both parties can share this content, providing fresh backlink opportunities for each. 

Social Shares 

While social media links generally don’t contribute directly to your website’s SEO, a higher rate of sharing can lead to increased visibility, which in turn can lead to more organic backlinks. 

Engagement Metrics: monitor the shares, likes, and comments on your social media posts. High engagement can often attract attention from bloggers, journalists, and industry leaders, who may then link back to your content in their work. 

You're not just chasing higher search engine rankings by elevating your off-page SEO through a strategic backlink-building approach. You're building a fortress of credibility and authority around your SaaS business, and that's something search algorithms will recognise and reward. 

9: Creating Great User Experience  

Google cares about user experience when it comes to SEO, and so should you. With social search on the rise, Google is working hard to answer the questions a searcher expects to see when they type in a search query. Consider user experience as part of your B2B SEO, like ease of use and a positive experience.  

According to Search Engine Journal, the best way to do this is to tell or show the how, what, why, or when of a user's question.  

Search engines consider how quickly your page loads as an indicator of its quality and user-friendliness. And so do visitors. Think about it: how often have you left a site because it takes ages to load?  

Topic clusters: A great way to organise your site’s content and enhance the user experience is by using the Topic Cluster methodology – we listed it up in step 4.

Nail this effectively, and you are on your way to creating content loved by users and search engines. It’s good practice to write in smaller chunks and use bullet points or lists where possible. 

You should also read your content once it’s on your site. Doing this gives you the user's perspective.  Ask the questions - Is your content answering the question? Is it pointing to other questions a user hadn’t thought to ask but needed to know? How can you make it better for users and search engines?  

Moblie optimisation: over half of all internet searches are made via mobile, and this figure has risen consistently over the years.

Moreover, 60% of smartphone users have contacted a business directly using the ‘call feature’ on Google. And 57% of people won’t recommend a business if it has a badly designed website that causes a poor mobile user experience.  

Images: use images where possible, and make sure image files are compressed and alt tags are used.