Keyword Analysis for SaaS - A Basic in SaaS SEO

Software as a Service (SaaS) firms need Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to play the longer game. It helps them stand out from the crowd, secure the organic market share, and gain clients for life. Now keyword analysis for SaaS is one of the basics that these firms have to master. Wondering why? Well, it is the best way to win over a consumer base that relies on search engines to find and assess SaaS solutions.

Let’s dissect the topic a bit further. And also learn the specifics of the keyword research process to maximize profits.

Why is Keyword Research Important for SaaS Companies?

Keyword analysis for SaaS is a major stepping stone in the success of the companies. As a SaaS firm, the ultimate objective is to get the customers to use the service you sell. With proper keyword research in your SEO strategy, the journey gets easier. Here’s how:

Helps you spot the commercial keywords that your potential clients are looking for. This in turn helps fulfill the needs of your online audience better and win their trust in the process.
Incorporating effective keywords, valuable keywords, seed keywords, and other target keywords in your blog posts and other content creation improves website ranking and generates more traffic.
Besides understanding your audience, studying commercial intent through search terms, common questions, and monthly search volume also helps you identify new market trends. These profitable keywords when executed in various types of content can boost the lead conversation rate.
Keyword analysis for SaaS, if done properly can aid you in saving money. That’s because you get less reliant on paid marketing campaigns to create and convert leads.
With a better knowhow of the relevant topics, list of target keywords, and queries, you can make more valuable content. This will improve the overall brand image and open doors for more success.

SaaS Keyword Research Process

An effective SaaS SEO strategy starts with extensive keyword research. The more thorough the analysis, the higher the chances of you reaching the ideal customer profile. The exact method can vary from one SaaS firm to another. They revolve around finding the right terms they are searching for, and using them to have an edge over the rivals.

Here’s a step-by-step guide that comes with many guarantees:

Storm your Brain to Find A Seed List of Subjects and Words

Begin your keyword research task with intense brainstorming and a reliable keyword research strategy. Bring all the teams on one page to target the customer across the buying journey and chart key topics and industry trends. The customer segment, marketing team, content creation team, and so on.

2. Use Your Seed Term Cans to Track Search Competitors

Now it is time to use the seed term catalog to identify your competitors. Simply type the words on Google or in any of your preferred search engines. After that, note down the names that rank consistently on the search results. The ones that appear on most of the search queries are your biggest rivals.

However, please keep in mind that not all will be your direct competitors. For example, some competitor names may flash who do not sell a product identical to your firm. But due to some reason share the same audience pool with you. Hence, they may not matter to your business directly but are still very much in the same game.

Focus on your direct rivals at the beginning. Analyze their content and the list of keywords they are using. Compare them and note the words that rank them high in the search results. Do keep a tab on the terms where they are underperforming too. Also, try to identify any leaks in their content strategy. Who knows these could be your key to outrun them in the future.

3. Place the Seed Inventory Into Your Preferred Keyword Tool

There are many potent keyword research tools in the market to perfect keyword analysis for SaaS. Some are free while others are paid services with limited free deals. Find one that suits you most and get started with the research process.

Here are some top SEO tools that you consider:

Google Search Console (Free)
Google Analytics (has both premium and free versions).
Semrush (limited free offers)
Ahrefs (limited free offers)

All the above keyword analysis tools offer in-depth data-driven insights on varied aspects that come in handy. But the following merits maximum consideration:

Keyword difficulty
Search volume
Clicks per search
Estimates on the number of clicks you can get on a keyword

Some tools like Ahrefs also have a special feature ‘keyword generator tool’. This gives you access to many keyword ideas for search queries that are similar.

Here’s how you can nail the process of narrowing down the list.

Try to avoid the keywords that have a high difficulty score. This is because they will be too tough to rank.
Remove the keywords that have high volume. They won’t profit you much when it comes to gaining organic traffic to your site.
Pass the phrases that have less than 10 monthly searches.
Give importance to long-tail keywords as they have a better chance of ranking.

4. Offer a Purpose to Each Keyword

Once you have identified the most effective list of keywords, the next step is to cater to the search intent. Aka user intent, it refers to the main purpose of the user when they search a keyword in the search engine.

The search intent can be divided into 4 categories:

Informational – Users use such search queries to gather information on a subject. The terms may have low conversions but are effective in building authority in your field. These keywords start with ‘what’, ‘why’, ‘how’ etc.
Navigational – In this case, the user is searching a particular page or a site. Rather than typing the full URL, this is an easy way for them to find the page. Examples include company and product names.
Commercial- Here the user is in search of a service or product but they still haven’t made the final decision yet. In other words, they need reviews or comparisons between products. These terms have low search figures but are more likely to convert into sales. Examples include terms like ‘versus’, ‘best’, ‘compare’ etc.
Transactional – This is where a user is looking to buy. So, it needs results that will help them take immediate action. Words used here include ‘buy’, ‘for sale’, discount’, etc.

5. Select the Prized Keywords

Not all keywords need equal attention. Prioritize them as per key factors like relevance, keyword difficulty, and click possibilities.

Here is a simplified way to deal with the confusion. Ask the following questions to yourself. The answers you get are how you pick the relevant keywords for your content.

Is my SaaS firm already ranking for this particular term?
How many backlinks are needed to outrank my rival?
Is the number of user queries very high or too low?
Is the topic here to stay or will its popularity decline over time?
Can the word lead to sufficient clicks? If not is it worth targeting?
Which step of the sales funnel does the keyword cater to?

Whether a keyword adds value to your business is also an important thing to consider. Like do you want it to represent your SaaS firm? Or does it take your service or product to a profitable position?

6. Add Keywords to Content

Now that you have all types of keywords at your disposal, you need to spread them well all across your content. From the page title and page introduction to headings, body, conclusion, and CTAs. And in not just the upcoming content but in your existing ones too. Especially those that are not ranking to your liking.

Deep dive and make a calendar and assign parent topics and separate articles for each of them. However, no two content pieces on the same site should fight to rank for the same term. If that happens, it will lead to poor ranking and search performance.

Closing Thoughts

Let’s sum up with some final tips. Make sure the list of funnel keywords and competitive keywords is thorough and covers all the segments of your SaaS firm. From relevant terms to competitive analysis, targeting transactional intent to keyword gap analysis. All this is directed to your content calendar executed with high-quality content backed by reputable sources, your firm is on the right path. This funnel content will be monitored by the Sales Rep, PPC team, and marketing team justifying your millions of dollars across your target market. That’s when your business model execution will become like a piece of cake.

Keyword Analysis for SaaS boosts visibility, helps reach out right people, and drives conversions. But since SEO is not a one-time endeavor, you need to keep monitoring the market. Then upscale the content from time to time with keywords that go with the current user intent trends. This will help you maintain the top spot all the time.

FAQs

What are the major keyword research methods in SaaS SEO?

Targeting the right keywords can make your digital marketing campaign flourish. Here are a few techniques that can assist you in achieving your goals: