SEO for Non-Marketing Founders

By the time you finish reading this email, you’ll have the practical knowledge needed to start doing SEO for your SaaS.

But before getting started, let’s see if SEO even makes sense for you. There are 2 scenarios where SEO makes most sense as an acquisition channel for SaaS founders:

1. Launch: Designing your website with SEO in mind

2. Growth: You’re able to set aside $1,000+ per month for SEO

Ranking highly on Google positions your company next to the largest players.

If the first page of Google looks something like this, you’re sitting in excellent shape:

• HubSpot

• ActiveCampaign

• [your SaaS here]

Why SEO is Powerful for SaaS Companies

💸 Passive Lead Generation

💸 Stronger Brand Positioning

💸 Reputation Building

On-Page SEO

On-page SEO is the process of optimizing individual web pages in order to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic in search engines. It’s a crucial part of any good SEO strategy.

Here are the 5 principles of on-page SEO you should follow:

1. Use keyword-rich titles and meta descriptions.

2. Optimise your images.

3. Use internal links.

4. Use external links.

5. Format your content for easy readability.

The most straightforward way to improve how trusted your website appears is to make sure you have the most basic pages that every reputable company has:

Pages Every SaaS Should Have (for SEO)

• About

• Pricing

• Integrations

• Case Studies

• [competitor] vs. [your SaaS]

• [competitor] alternatives

• [category] software

• 404 → Content Hub + Contact

Off-Page SEO

Citation Building

Citation building is the process of creating profiles and listings for your company in business directories and review sites.

While the backlinks from business directories aren’t nearly as strong as they used to be, the directories that you can list your SaaS definitely hold their weight. Software review sites in general, have very high authority and trustworthiness in Google’s eyes and in potential users’ eyes.

Software Review Sites You Should Definitely Consider

• Capterra

• SaaSGenius

• HubSpot App Marketplace

• SalesForce App Exchange

• AlternativeTo

• TrustRadius

• CrozDesk

In terms of organization and keeping your workflow tidy, I would recommend starting with Capterra and recording all the information they request in a Google Doc or Airtable for future use on other platforms. It’s also important to keep a spreadsheet of which platforms you sign up for and which ones list your pricing.

When you inevitably increase your pricing or change up your pricing tiers, you’ll be able to tackle updating all your listings in one fell swoop.

Backlink Building

If you’re looking to build backlinks to your website, there are a few things you should keep in mind. First, it’s important to focus on quality over quantity. It’s better to have a few high-quality backlinks than a large number of low-quality ones.

Second, try to get links from websites that are relevant to your niche or industry. Getting links from irrelevant websites won’t do you much good.

And finally, avoid using techniques that could get you penalized by Google or other search engines. However, it’s worth noting that the higher the risk profile, the quicker you can get SEO results. Whether you take more risks is up to you. If you want to know about some of the more risky ways to build links, hit me up on Twitter @ctwtn and DM me.

Technical SEO

Technical SEO includes any activity that makes sure your website is easy to use and understand, from both Google’s scrapers’ eyes and from a UX perspective. Page load speed is one of the primary focuses of technical SEO, but it might also involve other things that may impact Google’s ability to ‘read’ and index your website.

There are 2 areas of technical SEO you should really pay attention to:

1. Page Speed Optimization: Check for speed recommendations with GTmetrix or WebPageTest.org.

2. Schema Markup: This is structured data Google uses to classify your website. Check it out with Schemantra or Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper.

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