The Seven Benefits of SEO for SaaS Growth

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the bread and butter of any SaaS company's growth strategy. It's a vital part of any marketing plan for generating visibility and boosting those oh-so sweet search engine rankings. Delicious!

But what’s so great about rankings? Ultimately, this leads to more web traffic, more leads, more customer acquisition, and ultimately more business. And the best part? When implemented properly, a smart SEO model can be a cost-effective way to drive organic growth without having to front the cost of a large marketing campaign. 

It's a long-term marketing strategy — sure, but all good things in life take time. SEO allows SaaS companies to sustainably generate organic traffic and build their visibility and reputation on Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs). That way, they can remain competitive in the industry longer.

In this blog, we cover the benefits that come with embracing the power of SEO, and how it can help you achieve a higher growth rate, without breaking the piggy bank.

Increased Visibility in Search Engines

Let's start off with something super important for all SaaS businesses: Visibility! Let's be real, who doesn't want to get noticed? When it comes to Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), a high ranking is what separates the top dogs from the strays. I mean, you definitely don't wanna be buried on the 10th page of results, right? That’s how you win a free subscription to irrelevancy.

So, the solution is simple: you need a killer SEO strategy to drive SaaS growth. Strategies that help you stand out. Strategies like Keyword Optimization.

Keyword Optimization is when SaaS marketers target keywords that are related to their business niche. That way, when search engines crawl the internet, their websites will show up with those hot keywords front and center. 

There are lots of different ways to target keywords. So if you're hungry for more tips on how to optimize keywords across the funnel, check out Optimizing Across the Funnel: SaaS Keywords and Strategies. [LINK]

Increased Organic Traffic

More visibility means more Organic Traffic. It's a classic "cause-and-effect" relationship.” Organic Traffic refers to visitors who find your site through natural search engine results without you having to pay for ads. It’s the ultimate free SaaS solution. So when someone searches for a term or keyword related to your business and your website shows up, that's organic traffic. 

This applies to both on-page optimization and social media content. So if you're not sharing links on social media, you’re missing out on some serious conversions.

Now, let's get to the juicy stuff. What makes Organic Traffic so great? Well, having Organic Traffic means that Google is telling your audience that your brand is the "best result" for them (and you’re not even paying them to say that). Who needs to pay their way to the top when you’re driving growth rate through Organic Traffic?

Unlike with Paid Traffic, you don’t have to blow your whole budget just to get your results in front of a large number of customers. And plus, people generally trust Organic Search Results more than ones influenced by advertising dollars.

Increased Brand Awareness

By optimizing SEO, SaaS companies can rank higher and increase the visibility of their brand. And when you’re more visible to the world, people start remembering your name. After all, which brand is more memorable? The brand that shows up first on Google? Or some brand no one has even heard about?

When it comes to SaaS growth, having a high brand awareness isn't just beneficial — it's essential! When consumers are familiar with a brand, they are more likely to click on it when they see it pop up in their searches. It garners trust and loyalty, leading to repeat purchases, positive reviews, and recommendations. Plus in the SaaS industry, brands with high awareness don’t have to dish out as much cash on advertising and promotion. And let's not forget about the power of Backlinks - once everyone knows your name, other brands will be clamoring to link back to your site and boost your SEO even further. You can read more about Backlinks in Unlocking the Secrets to SEO for SaaS Brands. [Link]

Increased brand awareness has a two-pronged effect. Not only will your marketing be more efficient, but top-rated employees will also be more likely to want to work for your company. 

Increased Brand Authority

Want to know the secret to becoming the top dog in the online SaaS market? It’s all about how your target audience perceives you. By optimizing your SEO throughout your marketing channels, you'll not only build credibility and trust with potential customers, but you'll also streamline lead generation and establish your brand authority. Talk about having a competitive advantage!

If you want to see the advantages of being a leader in your industry, just take a look at the numbers. You'll see important metrics like Cost Per Click (CPC), Click Through Rate (CTR), and Conversion Rate (CVR) increase significantly because your perception makes you more attractive as a SaaS business partner.

You can read more about how to track conversion metrics in Measuring SEO and Analyzing Your Performance. [LINK]

Increased Referral Traffic

When you increase traffic and visibility to your website, you'll also see more people coming to your site from other websites. This is called Referral Traffic. Companies are more likely to link to websites that are already popular online. It's like a snowball effect. 

Remember when we talked about Backlinks? Referral links and backlinks are very similar, and are often used interchangeably.

Referral traffic is important for any SaaS company because it can bring in new customers and help target the right people to your website. It can come from social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, or other blogs and directories.

Improved Lead Generation & Its Benefits

Let's talk about why Lead Generation is so important for a higher SaaS growth rate. Basically, a Lead is someone who has shown interest in what a company is offering, whether it's a SaaS product or a service. By generating leads, businesses can start building relationships with potential customers and work towards turning them into paying customers. And that’s what it's all about, right?

But here's the thing — without lead generation, a business may struggle to attract new customers and their growth potential could be severely limited. It's crucial to use effective lead generation strategies and build a pipeline of potential customers. And guess what? SEO is one of the most powerful tools to help do just that! By optimizing content and using smart keyword research, businesses can get their website in front of people who are already searching for products or services like theirs.

Improved Conversion Rates and ROI

If you want to see SEO growth with your customer base, you need to focus on Conversion Optimization. As far as ROI and profitability are concerned, these are the exact SaaS growth metrics you’ll want to pay attention to. They’re like the secret sauce for improving your visitor-to-customer ratio and driving revenue growth.

Now, there are two kinds of conversions you need to know about: Macro and Micro. Macro Conversions are the big ones, like when someone makes a purchase or signs up for a service. Micro Conversions are a lot smaller, but equally as mighty. Micro Conversions, like adding an item to a cart or subscribing to a newsletter, can add up to make a huge difference in your ROI.

Marketers need to use the right tools to track and evaluate your conversions over time. That's where Google Analytics, Google Data Studio, Ahrefs, and SEMrush come in handy. With the right data and insights, you can tweak your content, technical settings, and marketing strategies to boost both types of conversions.

Conclusion

All in all, SEO is critical for any SaaS company wanting to increase their revenue growth rate. By optimizing their website and marketing efforts, SaaS companies can increase their visibility, generate organic traffic, build brand awareness and authority, and improve lead generation and conversion rates. These benefits not only drive business growth but also provide a cost-effective way to achieve it without breaking the bank. With the right tools and strategies, SaaS companies can sustainably generate organic traffic and build their reputation on search engine result pages, allowing them to remain competitive in the industry for the long haul.