How to Plan a B2B SaaS SEO Strategy Based on Your Growth Stage
You don’t need SEO.
At least, that’s what I’d tell early-stage companies that are still finding product-market fit.
How (and if) you invest in SEO will ultimately come down to where your company sits along in its growth journey.
In other words, I’m not trying to sell you on the idea that SEO is going to be the right channel for your business. But if you’re genuinely curious about how to invest in a long-term channel like SEO based on your growth-stage, here’s what you need to know.
Understanding traditional SEO vs. SEO for SaaS
Before we jump straight into the SEO action plan, we need to define what search-led marketing looks like for B2B SaaS companies.
The typical thought process behind SEO looks like this: Traffic → Conversion → Revenue
But your customers aren’t making impulsive decisions. No. They’re taking time to research, compare, and evaluate their options before committing to a purchase.
That’s why the traditional SEO strategies that work for retail or or other B2C businesses often miss the mark when applied to SaaS—they don’t account for complexities of the B2B buyer’s journey.
Hopefully you’re nodding your head along at this point. The big takeaway here is that your SEO strategy needs to be designed around the B2B buyer’s journey.
And to do that you need to make sure your SEO strategy is laser-focused on buyer intent—not chasing vanity metrics like clicks and impressions.
Early stage: finding product-market fit
At the early stage, your primary focus should be product development, understanding your target audience, and refining your product based on customer feedback.
SEO—while not the main priority—can help you establish some initial brand visibility, drive early traffic, and validate market demand.
Since your product is still evolving, it's important to be both scrappy and strategic with your approach to SEO—focusing on content that helps you build credibility, attract your first customers, and gain insights about your audience’s search behavior.
Here’s what you should focus on at this stage:
1. Focus on brand awareness and thought leadership
In the early stages, your product is going to be relatively unknown, and the goal is to make your potential users aware of who you are and what problem your SaaS solves. SEO can help by positioning you as a thought leader in your niche.
The best place to start is to create educational content that demonstrates your knowledge of the industry and showcases your ability to solve key problems. Focus on informational, top-of-funnel content that addresses broader topics related to your product’s value proposition.
Example content:
- "What is [Product Category]?"
- "How-to Guides"
- "Why [Specific Industry] Needs [Your Solution]"
These types of posts don’t need to generate immediate conversions but can position your brand as an expert and trusted resource in your space.
2. Target long-tail, low-competition keywords
At this stage, your resources are limited, and you’re competing with established brands. Instead of going after highly competitive commercial keywords (e.g., "best CRM software"), focus on long-tail keywords—phrases that are more specific, less competitive, and more targeted.
Why long-tail keywords matter:
- Less competition: Larger competitors may overlook these niche phrases.
- Higher intent: Users searching long-tail keywords often have more specific needs and are closer to a solution.
- Lower cost: Ranking for long-tail keywords often requires less effort in terms of backlink acquisition and content production.
Examples of long-tail keywords:
- “How to streamline feedback for remote design teams”
- “Best tools for managing proofing processes in agencies”
- “Affordable collaboration software for small businesses”
3. Build a blog to test your content and ideas
Your blog is a low-cost way to test ideas, validate your audience’s interest, and improve your SEO footprint. It’s also an opportunity to explore different pain points that your target market faces.
Types of blog posts:
- Problem-solution posts: Focus on problems that your product solves. These posts don’t need to mention your product directly but should build the case for why a solution like yours is valuable.
- Industry trends: Write about the latest developments in your industry, positioning your brand as a forward-thinking solution provider.
- How-to guides: Create actionable guides around processes or tasks that align with your product's functionality.
Example: If you’re building a SaaS tool for project management, write a guide like “How to Manage Complex Projects with a Remote Team.”
4. Answer specific user questions
In the early stages, you should focus on directly addressing user pain points. One approach is to target question-based searches that your potential customers might have. These often fall under the informational keyword category, which can help you build trust and credibility while driving early traffic.
Example questions:
- “How to collaborate on design projects remotely?”
- “What is proofing software, and how does it work?”
Bonus Tip: The easiest way to find these keywords isn’t by using a keyword research tool. Instead, I’d suggest you set up interviews with your Sales, Customer Success, and Support teams to uncover what questions your potential users actually have.
Growth stage: scaling with SEO
Once your SaaS company reaches the growth stage, you’ve validated that your product meets a market need, and your user base is growing.
Now, SEO becomes essential for driving consistent traffic, generating leads, and increasing conversions.
This is where you’ll start to focus on targeting high-intent keywords, expanding content to cover more verticals, and competing aggressively for market share.
Here’s what you should focus on at this stage:
1. Target high-intent commercial keywords
At this stage, you want to focus on keywords that capture traffic from people who are actively looking for solutions and are closer to making a purchase decision. High-intent commercial keywords can help you attract users in the consideration and decision stages of their journey.
Examples of high-intent commercial keywords:
- “Best [Product Category] for [Industry]”
- “[Competitor] alternatives”
- “[Product Category] software comparison”
- “[Your SaaS] pricing”
These keywords indicate that a user is either comparing solutions, exploring alternatives, or actively searching for pricing and feature information before making a decision.
2. Focus on conversion-focused content
Now that you have more data on what resonates with your customers, you can focus on conversion-focused content that aligns with commercial intent. These content types are specifically designed to drive conversions, whether that’s signing up for a free trial, booking a demo, or purchasing.
Key conversion-focused content types:
- Comparison pages: Directly compare your product to competitors.
- Alternatives pages: Target users searching for alternatives to popular products.
- Product pages: Optimize individual product or feature pages that provide in-depth information on specific offerings and guide users to take action (e.g., signing up for a demo or free trial).
- Pricing pages: Create transparent, easy-to-understand pricing pages that address common objections and highlight the benefits of each pricing tier.
3. Expand with integrations and use cases
As your SaaS product evolves, it’s likely that you’ll introduce new integrations with other tools or platforms. Integration pages are powerful for SEO because they target highly specific, niche searches, which tend to have high-intent users.
Why integration pages matter:
- They target users looking for specific software combinations.
- They demonstrate how your product fits into users' existing workflows.
- They’re a natural place to include technical SEO elements, like structured data, that help these pages rank better.
Examples of integration pages:
- “Integrate [Your SaaS] with [Popular Tool]”
- “[Your SaaS] and [Tool]: Seamless Workflow for [Specific Use Case]”
Why use case pages matter:
- They explain how your product solves specific problems for different customer segments or industries.
- They can double as sales collateral for your GTM teams
Examples of use case pages:
- “How [Your SaaS] Helps Marketing Teams Collaborate Efficiently”
- “Use [Your SaaS] for Remote Design Collaboration”
Maturity stage: SEO for long-term brand authority
At the maturity stage, your SEO efforts are centered around solidifying your brand’s authority in your niche.
You want to rank for branded keywords, create linkable assets, and build content that positions your SaaS as the go-to solution in your industry.
You’re no longer just chasing traffic but focusing on high-quality traffic that leads to conversions and maintains customer loyalty.
Here’s what you should focus on at this stage:
1. Capture branded search traffic
At this stage, people are searching for your company or product by name. This is a crucial opportunity to capture branded search traffic and convert those searching for your brand into paying customers. Optimizing for branded searches helps solidify your presence in the market and ensures competitors don’t siphon off your traffic.
Examples of branded keywords:
- “[Your SaaS] reviews”
- “[Your SaaS] pricing”
- “[Your SaaS] demo”
- “[Your SaaS] customer support”
Key actions at this stage:
- Optimize your homepage: Ensure your homepage ranks for your branded keywords, showcasing your value proposition, key features, and CTAs (e.g., "Sign up for a demo").
- Create branded review pages: Design dedicated pages that compile customer testimonials, reviews, and case studies. This content helps build trust with new users.
- Monitor and protect branded keywords: Use tools like Ahrefs or Google Search Console to track branded keywords and ensure you’re ranking first for them.
2. Develop linkable assets for authority building
One of the key strategies at the maturity stage is creating linkable assets—content that earns backlinks because it provides value that others want to reference. These assets not only help you build domain authority but also strengthen your SEO presence across a range of keyword types.
Here are a few examples:
- Industry reports: Publish data-driven reports or whitepapers that provide insights into your industry. These reports often get picked up by other websites and linked to in content about your niche.
- Statistics pages: Build dedicated pages around industry-related statistics, which are highly shareable and linkable.
- In-depth guides and ebooks: Create ultimate guides or comprehensive resources on specific topics related to your SaaS, offering real value to users and encouraging backlinks.
3. Optimize for navigational keywords
As your brand grows, users will start searching for specific navigational queries on your website. These searches often signal users who are already familiar with your brand and are close to taking action, such as signing up for a demo or learning more about specific features.
Examples of navigational keywords:
- “[Your SaaS] login”
- “[Your SaaS] API documentation”
- “[Your SaaS] features”
Key actions at this stage:
- Create dedicated pages: For each navigational query, create a highly optimized page to provide exactly what the user is searching for. Ensure these pages have clear CTAs that direct users to the next step, whether it’s signing in, signing up, or contacting sales.
- Build product documentation pages: For more technical products, ensure you have well-organized documentation that ranks for specific navigational queries like “API documentation” or “integration setup.”
- Optimize site search: Make sure your on-site search is robust and includes navigational queries, allowing users to quickly find the information they need without leaving your site.
4. Focus on content for retention and upsells
As your company matures, SEO doesn’t just drive new customer acquisition; it also plays a role in retention and upselling existing customers. This stage is about building long-term customer relationships and expanding their usage of your product.
Here are a few examples:
- Product update pages: Create content around new features or product improvements, optimized for search queries from current users.
- Customer success stories: Showcase customer success stories that demonstrate how long-term users have benefited from your product, and use them to upsell advanced features or higher-tier plans.
Not only can you publish these to your site but you can also share them with your Customer Success teams to use as collateral for customer upsell opportunities and retention campaigns.
Investing in SEO the right way
All the information in this guide should give you a general frame of reference for how you should approach SEO.
As a quick reminder:
→ If you’re an early-stage company, focus on generating demand
→ If you’re a growth stage company, focus on capturing demand
→ If you’re a mature company, focus on solidifying your brand’s authority
Need help building a sustainable growth strategy for your SaaS business? Let’s chat.