How to Get Your SaaS Website to the Top of Google's First Page

Poppy Malise
May 11, 2022

We get it, you want to get your SaaS product to market faster and boost MRR. But if your website isn’t showing or ranking high on Google, it’s not going to happen.  

Well, surprise, surprise—our SaaS SEO expert from LIVID is here to offer valuable information for all the SaaS companies around the world.

In fact, in this article, we’ll walk you through the exact same steps we took to get our SaaS SEO agency landing page to rank on the first page of Google within just 3 months!

TL;DR

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1. Improve On-Page SEO

On-page SEO is one of the fastest ways to improve your Google Search ranking. By making small tweaks to your website, you’ll make a massive impact on your Google ranking.

Google’s guide on how Search works mentions that they consider many factors, such as keywords, the quality of the content, the expertise of sources, as well as your language and location when determining which sites should rank high on Google. 

Based on these points, we’ve compiled five of the fastest on-page SEO strategies to improve your Google ranking now.

Update Your Metadata

Let’s start by looking at the keywords you’re using on your metadata. 

Metadata, which includes title tag and page description, is essential to SaaS SEO because it’s what appears on the Search Engine Result Pages (SERP), and it’s your first opportunity to persuade potential customers to click on your website.

Google is smart, but they still use old-school techniques, like looking for specific keywords to understand your website. To improve your Google Search ranking, include target keywords in your meta title and description as well as in the introduction of your content.

This all makes sense intuitively. Imagine that you just published an article about how to better manage a project. Wouldn’t you want to target the keyword “project management software” in your title and meta description to attract clicks and guide their buying decision?

However, simply adding your target keywords isn’t going to get your SaaS to rank higher on Google. You also need to make sure that the quality of your content is excellent.

Create Valuable Content

Google has changed its algorithm over the years, but one thing remains true: they prioritize long-form content that is well-written, on-brand, relevant to the search intent, chock-full of valuable insight, and engaging. 

Not only will this help you rank in Google Search, but it will also help keep people on your website longer, reduce bounce rate, satisfy user queries, increase the chances that they’ll convert and shorten your SaaS sales cycle.

Obviously, there are times when long-form content doesn’t make sense (i.e. landing pages), but you should still aim to write at least 1,500 words for your blog posts.

Refresh Your Content

Back in 2011, Google made a great analogy: “Search results, like warm cookies right out of the oven or cool refreshing fruit on a hot summer’s day, are best when they’re fresh.”

If you want your SaaS company to rank high on Google, you should aim to keep your website fresh by publishing new blog posts, adding new pages regularly and retouching old content. This will show Google that your website is active, which signals that your content is also relevant and up to date.

Plus, publishing new pieces of content and retouching old ones will give you more opportunities to include target keywords, review and add new internal linking, and update information that is no longer accurate.

Build Internal Linking

Linking to other pages in your website shows Google two things. 

First, it tells Google that your website is active and full of relevant content. Second, it helps Google understand your website better by showing the relationship between different pages on your site. 

The best practice to do this, heck, even Google agrees, is to use relevant keyword-rich anchor text to link to other pages on your website. Creating an internal link using keyword-rich anchor text will not only help Google, it will also help guide users to other relevant content on your website.

Doing a little bit of housekeeping on your website will go a long way in helping your SaaS company rank higher on Google and increase organic traffic.

Review Your Keyword Usage

Lastly, review your content to make sure that you mention your target keywords 2 – 4 times on any given page. This isn’t about keyword stuffing or anything like that. It’s a way to tell Google, “Hey, this page is about this search query and we’re providing great insight for your users who are searching.”

To make it fun and easier to understand, here’s a little game for you: can you guess how many times we tell the search engine that this page is about how to rank higher on Google?

In total, we mention our target keywords four times throughout this article. Did you guess correctly? If so, congratulations! 

2. Create High-Quality Content Based on The Search Intent

In addition to creating high-quality content, you also need to make sure that your content matches the search intent. 

What do we mean by this?

Well, think about it this way: people use Google to find solutions to their problems. They’re not just randomly typing in queries without a purpose. 

That’s why you need to make sure that your content is answering the questions that people are asking. 

For example, let’s say you want to change the oil in your car quickly because it’s almost time to pick up your kids from school and you have some brand-new motor oil in your garage.

You head to Google and search for “faster oil change.”

You take a look at the search results and can’t help but notice that the first website provides the perfect information.

Our SEO strategy agency did some research and discovered that every month, there are 1,900 people searching for this keyword. If these people also click the link from Tomkadleckia, Google will give a significant rankings boost to that specific website. That’s why they rank high on Google.

As marketers, we were taught to master the sales funnel or the linear journey from brand awareness to purchase. However, according to Google’s research, this funnel model is outdated. They actually found that most customer journeys don’t resemble a funnel at all.

This is because in today’s digital marketing world, consumers choose to engage with brands that are relevant, helpful and personal. Your audience demands information. That means your SaaS company needs to create content that people can count on by predicting their search intent and anticipating their needs in order to rank in Google Search.

In fact, Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines (a guide Google uses to improve the user experience) are OBSESSED with Search Intent. 

Our SaaS SEO agency recognizes that there are only three basic keyword intents, but the number of possibilities for searches is infinite. So bear in mind that some keywords might be classified under more than one category.

  • Awareness: Users often use these keywords when seeking knowledge, looking for answers to their queries and researching products.
  • Consideration: Users often use these keywords when trying to find information before making a purchase decision.
  • Commercial: Users often use these keywords when they’re already in the buying mindset. 

Commercial intent keywords for SaaS SEO marketing are a bit more challenging to spot. The distinction between commercial and awareness intent is somewhat blurry. When researching search intent for normal products, usually the SERP shows paid results or shopping results, shopping carousels and reviews, but there is no such thing for software products. The good rule of thumb when creating SaaS SEO strategy is to use long-tail keywords to target commercial intent and use more generic keywords for awareness.

3. Optimize for an Improved Click-Through Rate (CTR)

Now that you know how to create high-quality content that is based on search intent, it’s time to talk about optimizing your page for improved CTR so that you can get your website to rank in Google Search. 

A high CTR sends a signal to Google that your page is what their users are looking for. When this happens, Google’s algorithm will boost your page’s ranking to make it easier for visitors to find. 

There are a few things you can do to optimize your content for improved CTR:

  • Use attractive and eye-catching titles 
  • Provide emotional value in your meta title
  • Use a URL that’s short and straight to the point
  • Create a compelling meta description
  • Use an emoji in your meta title to grab attention

You can use a free tool like HigherVisibility to optimize your SERP snippets for higher click-through rates.

4. Reduce Bounce Rate

When people land on a page and quickly bounce back to Google’s Search Result, this signals to Google that that particular page wasn’t helpful or relevant to their search. 

This could happen because the expectation that your audience has when they read your metadata doesn’t match up with the actual content on the page.

If this happens often, it will result in a high bounce rate which will, in turn, negatively affect your website ranking.

Needless to say, creating engaging, valuable and helpful content that is in line with the search intent is one of the many key ways to reducing your bounce rate. You’re giving them exactly what they need and there is no reason to bounce back.

Aside from that, there are some other things you can do to reduce the bounce rate and get your website ranked in Google Search. One of the best ways to do this is by adding internal links to your content. 

Internal links are links that point from one page to another page on your website. 

For example, right now you are reading an article from our SaaS SEO series. But perhaps you don’t want to read the whole series. We can place an internal link to our SaaS SEO agency landing page just like that so you can get in touch directly with an expert. See what we did there?

When you add internal links, you’re not only helping people find more information about the topic they’re interested in, you’re also helping Google understand your website’s structure. This, in turn, can help improve your search ranking. 

Another way to reduce bounce rate is by using a call-to-action (CTA) button. 

A CTA button is a button that encourages people to take action, such as signing up for a free trial or downloading a white paper. 

By adding a CTA button to your website, you can increase the number of people who take action and stay engaged with your content. 

Next, you should take a look at your SaaS “above the fold” content or the section of your page that’s visible without having to scroll down. Make sure that this section contains high-quality, relevant copywriting about your product or service or a clear article title. 

Lastly, because humans are visual creatures, it’s important to use images, GIFs and videos on your page. Not only do they help break up the text, they can also be very helpful in explaining complex topics in a simple way.

5. Build Backlinks to Your Website

When it comes to SEO strategy between publishing content and getting backlinks, we love to use the analogy of throwing a party. 

On-page SEO, keyword research, search intent research, and creating valuable content are like decorating the house, creating a damn good mixtape and preparing delicious food. Building backlinks is similar to sending out invites to your guests. 

Think of it this way: if you send out party invitations and everyone comes to your place but there’s no food or music and your house is dirty, no one is going to enjoy your party. Everyone will leave quickly and your party will turn out to be a flop. 

The same goes for your website—if you build backlinks without having a proper SEO strategy for your SaaS company, you’re not going to see the results that you want. 

You may gain a higher position, but you’ll probably see low conversion. Remember, people need you to hold their hands and guide them through their customer journey. Focusing solely on backlinks is not going to cut it. You need to properly prepare for the party first.

Of course, backlinks are still important and will always be valuable, but they should not be used as a shortcut to improve your Google Search ranking. Instead, make every effort to improve your on-site SEO and produce valuable and relevant content before worrying about backlinks.

If you have taken care of your homework, you can then put more effort into getting backlinks. This effort will absolutely get your website to rank higher on Google. Here is a bit of an ethical SEO strategy for SaaS startups to get quality backlinks.

  • Email outreach to bloggers and website owners related to your SaaS product
  • Participate in online and offline discussions related to your industry
  • Submit insightful articles to popular publications or websites
  • Comment on blogs and forums related to your industry 
  • Guest blog on authoritative websites related to your SaaS product 
  • Create valuable tools or resources and offer them to your network for free

6. Set Up a Proper Site Architecture

Getting lost sucks. No one wants to feel like they’re in the wrong place, especially when they’re trying to find something important. 

The same goes for your customers. They don’t want to get lost or confused when trying to find information about your SaaS product. For this reason, you’ll want to have a well-organized and easy-to-navigate website architecture.

During this Google Webmaster Central office-hours hangout, John Mueller explained that when a website lacks proper site structure, it can result in crawlability issues and make it difficult for Google to appropriately understand and rank your website in Google Search. All of this can lead to your website not ranking as high as it could in the search results. 

Designing a proper website structure helps you improve your user experience marketing. Even when you have the best content out there and if your audience can’t find it, then it doesn’t really matter, does it?

Drive High MRR by Meeting Your Customers Right Where They are Searching

SaaS SEO is not a one-time effort, it’s an ongoing process. Just like how you need to continue watering a plant to get it to grow and bear fruit, the same goes for your website ranking. It takes time, dedication and consistency to see results.

But if you follow the steps we’ve laid out in this article, you will see an improvement in your website ranking over time.

Remember, the SEO goal for your SaaS startup is not to achieve overnight success but to create long-term, sustainable growth for your business.

Aren’t we the SaaS SEO agency you’ve always dreamed of? Let’s make that dream a reality.

Let’s connect.

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