SaaS SEO 101: A Guide for SaaS Founders and CEOs to Dominate Search in 2025

Imagine this: your ideal customer is searching for a solution that your SaaS company offers—but instead of finding you, they land on your competitor’s website. Frustrating, right? This is exactly why you, as an executive, should care about SEO.

Done right, SEO ensures your content gets seen by the right people—your ideal customer persona (ICP)—exactly when they need it.

Whether you’re a seasoned founder or a CEO just starting to explore SEO, this guide is tailored for you. SEO is a highly technical topic, but we’ll strip away the jargon, focus on what really matters, and arm you with actionable insights to take your company’s online presence to the next level.

By the end of this blog, you’ll not only understand how to dominate search results but also how to turn clicks into leads and leads into loyal customers. 

Why SaaS SEO Is the Key to Scalable Growth

When B2B SaaS buyers begin their journey, they almost always start with a search engine. Whether they’re looking for solutions to a problem or comparing options, your prospects rely on Google to guide them. 

That’s where SEO comes in. 

Consider this: 84% of search traffic comes from people actively searching for solutions. These are potential customers already entering your inbound funnel. But if your website doesn’t show up on Google’s search results, these opportunities pass you by.

SEO works like a bridge between your content and your audience. It helps search algorithms understand and index your content so it surfaces at the right time. Without it, even the most compelling product or service may go unnoticed.

SEO lifts your website above the noise, and gives you visibility and authority in your niche. With the right strategies, your site attracts your ICP like moths to a flame.

The SaaS CEO’s Strategic Role in Driving SEO Success

SEO often falls under the purview of your marketing team, but as a SaaS CEO, you play a key role in setting the direction. 

Here are five areas where your involvement can make a big difference:

1. Focusing on Your Personas: A clear, well-defined ICP is foundational to any successful SEO strategy. Pressure-test your team’s understanding of your audience: What are their pain points, fears, and questions? What actions do you want them to take at each stage of the buyer’s journey? As CEO, your role is to ensure these insights are front and center in your SEO efforts.
2. Prioritizing Value Over Technical Details: Search engines rank content based on its relevance and value to the reader. Push your team to focus on answering the real questions your audience is asking. This starts with understanding their fears, aspirations, and challenges—not obsessing over competitive density or technical SEO metrics.
3. Publishing Purposefully: Don’t overthink it—turn everyday conversations, emails, or customer queries into valuable content. If someone on your team has answered a question in an email or Slack, consider turning it into a blog post. Google rewards fresh, relevant content, and if something doesn’t resonate, the algorithm will simply deprioritize it.
4. Measuring What Matters: Regularly review how your organic content is performing. Metrics like page views, time on page, form submissions, and CTA clicks are key indicators of success. These numbers tell a story: what’s working, what’s not, and where to improve.

If you're not currently tracking your content marketing efforts, download our free content marketing dashboard:

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How SaaS Leaders Can Get Started With SEO: Tactical Steps for SaaS Success

Search engine optimization (SEO) is key for a successful inbound marketing strategy, especially for B2B SaaS companies. 

The goal isn’t just to rank higher—it’s to create content that connects with your ideal customer persona (ICP) at the right time. You need to ensure you’re solving their problems and guiding them through the buyer’s journey.

Let’s go into a more tactical approach to SEO that gets results.

Step 1: Start with Seed Keywords That Resonate with Your ICP

Forget starting with tools—step into your customer’s shoes. 

What questions would they type into Google while searching for solutions? These initial "seed keywords" lay the foundation for your SEO strategy. 

Once you have these, use tools like the Semrush Keyword Magic Tool to expand your ideas into long-tail keywords. 

For example, a seed keyword like “loyalty software” can become “best loyalty software for startups” or “loyalty software reviews.”

Step 2: Prioritize Keywords Based on Intent and Competition

Avoid the trap of targeting high-volume keywords right away. Instead, look for keywords with moderate search volume and low competition, ideally with a difficulty rating below 50. 

These are more realistic for new content to rank for and typically align better with high-intent searches. Select 5-10 keywords to start, focusing on those that signal real interest in your solution.

We’ll talk more about keywords and how to prioritize them in the next section.

Step 3: Build Topic Clusters Around Pillar Content

Organize your keywords into themes, and then build pillar pages as authoritative hubs for these topics. 

Think of a pillar page as a guide or catalog that links to more detailed subtopics. For instance, a SaaS company offering CRM software might have a pillar page on “How to Choose the Right CRM,” interlinked with blogs about integrations, pricing comparisons, and use cases.

Step 4: Create Valuable, User-Friendly Content

Focus on creating content that genuinely helps your audience. 

Answer their most pressing questions and provide actionable insights. Use your target keywords naturally in the URL, titles, headings, and metadata, but prioritize clarity and usefulness over keyword stuffing. 

Adding elements like videos or downloadable resources can boost engagement and SEO performance.

If you need topics to write about, here are some ideas:

• Five easy topics to start building relevant content
• 3 types of content for your SaaS content marketing plan
• 10 steps to help your organic traffic grow exponentially

Step 5: Interlink Strategically to Build Authority

Internal links are the backbone of an effective SEO strategy. 

Link your subtopics back to your pillar pages and vice versa to create a web of contextually relevant content. This not only helps search engines understand the structure of your site but also guides your readers through a seamless journey.

Step 6: Test, Publish, and Optimize

Before hitting publish, test your content with a small audience. 

Ask if they find it valuable enough to share. If the feedback is positive, go live and promote the content through your channels. Monitor performance metrics like time on page, bounce rates, and form submissions, and use this data to refine your approach over time.

If you do the above, don't cut corners (don't try to start with high-volume keywords, they come later), and create actually good content, Google will start rewarding you with high search rankings. This is the only trick that sometimes works.

Rember, authenticity and consistency are key—Google rewards SEO-driven content that genuinely addresses the needs of your audience.

Building a Strong SaaS SEO Keyword Strategy

A strong SEO strategy begins with the right keywords—those that align with your ICP’s (Ideal Customer Persona’s) intent and guide them through their buyer’s journey. 

Here’s how to approach keyword strategy for your SaaS business:

How To Pick Keywords for Content Aligned With Buyer Intent

When you're just starting with SEO, start by targeting lower-volume search phrases that are relevant to your ICP.

These niche keywords, even with as few as 10-20 monthly searches, often attract prospects further along in their decision-making process.

Here’s why this works:

• High-intent focus: Small-volume keywords are more likely to signal actionable interest (e.g., “best CRM for startups”).
• Realistic competition: Competing for broad, high-volume keywords like “CRM software” can waste time and resources. Instead, prioritize keywords tied to specific problems your solution addresses.

To measure your progress over time, track the number of keywords you're ranking for (and what position you're in). By doing this, you can find strong keywords that point to what your company does and signifies a prospect is shopping around online. 

3 Types Of Keywords Every SaaS Company Should Track

Publishing candid, creative and helpful content is a great start for your SEO. Next, sprinkle in powerful keywords throughout your content to ensure it aligns with your business strategy and your prospects can easily find it online.

There are three types of keywords you should focus on: branded, non-branded and high-intent keywords.

1. Branded Keywords: These include your company name, product name, or unique offerings (e.g., “Kalungi SEO services”). Tracking branded keywords shows how your brand awareness evolves and ensures you appear above competitors when prospects search for you directly.
2. Non-Branded Keywords: These focus on solutions or benefits you provide without referencing your brand. For example, an accounts payable automation software might target “AP automation best practices” or “optical character recognition tools.” These keywords help expand your reach to new audiences searching for solutions in your space.
3. High-Intent Keywords: These signal purchase-readiness (e.g., “AP automation software options” or “compare CRM tools for startups”). They align with prospects actively comparing solutions and help you attract buyers further along in their journey.

How To Brainstorm Content Around Keywords

When you're planning content around the keywords you want to rank for, don't worry about the technical analysis or SEO data. Instead, consider what your audience is looking for.

Ask yourself: 

• “What do our prospects ask us in sales conversations?"
• "When we talk with customers who are using our product, what are they using it for?"
• "Why is our product important to them?”

For example, some of our best performing blogs have the highest amount of entrances, representing the first time someone came to our website through a piece of content. Many of these are utility topics that answer a specific, practical question. For instance, the blog “What questions to ask when I hire a CMO?” is a very popular blog that provides a specific answer to a specific question.

“SDR versus BDR”, another popular blog on our site, was written because clients found the two different goals to be confusing. Nobody had answered the simple question on how to compare the two. When we published a blog that directly answered this question, it performed well almost immediately.

To answer the right questions and provide value to your customers, consider the following methods of gathering information:

• Brainstorming: Start a brainstorm session with the people in your team who have high levels of customer interaction, know how your product is used, and why your service is important to your customers. Leverage this brainstorm session to really understand what the people who are using and buying your product are looking for. 

• Asking Sales: Consider the questions customers are asking your sales team during demos, emails, and other interactions. When they’re on a sales call, you can ask them to include extra questions that help you understand your customer and why they're seeking a solution to their problem.

• Asking Customer Success: After your customer success team solves a problem for a customer or provides technical support, let them ask, "Why is this important for you? What is not working for you when our product is not doing what it is supposed to do?". When you ask your customers or ICP questions, you get to the core of a great content opportunity. 

IMPORTANT: Leverage Forms and Lead Magnets to Capture High-Intent Contacts

Once your content ranks, use forms and lead magnets to capture contact information and measure value. Tailor resources to your ICP’s buyer journey:

1. Awareness Stage: Create content around pain points, challenges, and opportunities. For example, blogs or videos answering questions like “How do I improve my CRM strategy?” help attract prospects just starting their search.
2. Consideration Stage: Offer gated resources like ROI calculators, comparison guides, or whitepapers to show credibility and remove decision-making barriers. These assets help prospects answer, “Why you?” and establish trust.
3. Decision Stage: Provide incentives like free trials or discounts to help prospects take the final step. Alternatively, use guarantees or performance commitments to address hesitations.

At Kalungi, we gain contacts by creating lead magnets, or gated content that is so valuable that readers will give you their contact information through forms to download a resource. Examples of these resources Kalungi offers includes items such as:

• A quick cheat sheet.
• A competitor pricing comparison.
• Budget templates.
• Funnel or ROI calculators.
• Interview guides for hiring marketing team member.
• High-production content like webinars and whitepapers.

The goal is to create assets that your audience needs daily to make decisions and build a strong company. Since you may already have many of these resources prepared, simply build customer-focused versions and share the knowledge to create strong lead magnets. 

If you're helping people make decisions by educating them with information and data they cannot find elsewhere, they will value you and your knowledge. 

Need Help Creating Lead Magnets? 

CEOs are busy. 

If you don't have time to build lead magnets yourself, there are great websites available to help you. For instance, OutGrow is a SaaS company that sells lead magnets. By simply inputting a couple of data points, questions about your solution or things your customers are looking for, the software will turn it into resources like quizzes, ROI calculators, assessments, etc.

When You’re Competing Against Ads: Strategies to Rank Higher in Search Results

Valuable keywords are often dominated by paid ads at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs). While this can make organic ranking more challenging, it’s not impossible to compete effectively. 

Here’s how you can approach this:

1. Understand the Competition: Paid ads dominate high-value keywords for a reason—companies are willing to pay because these keywords drive conversions. Tools like Google Ads Keyword Planner or Semrush can help you identify which terms have heavy ad competition, so you can assess their strategic value for your organic strategy.
2. Leverage Organic Advantage: If you can rank organically for competitive, ad-heavy keywords, you can save significantly on acquisition costs while still reaching high-intent searchers. While this requires time and effort, the long-term ROI is worth it.
3. Prioritize Low-Competition Keywords: Instead of directly competing with ads for highly competitive terms, focus on ranking for long-tail keywords that have lower ad competition. These keywords often reflect specific buyer intent (e.g., “best CRM for small B2B teams”) and are less likely to be crowded with ads.
4. Optimize for Rich SERP Features: SERP features like featured snippets, “People Also Ask” sections, and video results often appear above ads. Create content that answers common questions, includes concise summaries, and is structured for easy scanning to improve your chances of earning these prime positions.
5. Deliver Consistently Valuable Content: Ultimately, organic success comes from creating content that resonates with your audience. Provide in-depth, actionable answers to their questions and build a reputation as a trusted resource.

While ads can dominate SERPs, a strategic focus on organic ranking—combined with targeting less competitive, high-intent keywords—can help your SaaS business attract valuable traffic without breaking the bank. Over time, this approach builds credibility, authority, and cost-effective results.

Key SEO Metrics for SaaS CEOs: What to Track and Why It Matters

SEO metrics give you a clear picture of how your keywords and content are performing. You don’t need to be an SEO expert to use these insights; you just need to know which metrics matter most. 

Here’s a breakdown of what to focus on:

1. Keyword Volume

Keyword volume shows how often a term is searched in a month. 

For example, a keyword with a volume of 10 means it’s searched about 10 times monthly.

• Start small: Focus on low-volume (10–20 searches/month) keywords that are easier to rank for and highly relevant to your ICP.
• Expand over time: Once your SEO strategy gains traction, target higher-volume keywords to grow your reach.

While keyword volume provides a starting point, don’t let it dictate your entire strategy. High-value content can still outperform competitive terms by building authority over time.

2. Visibility Index

The visibility index indicates the percentage of total search traffic for a keyword that your site captures. Think of it as your share of the search pie.

• Track over time: Compare your visibility to competitors for high-value keywords.
• Expect fluctuations: New content may see a temporary boost in rankings, but consistent, high-quality content earns long-term rewards.

Understanding your visibility helps you adjust your content strategy and identify opportunities to outrank competitors.

3. SERP Features

Google’s SERP features, like featured snippets, AI Overviews, or “People Also Ask” boxes, appear above standard search results and are highly coveted.

• Optimize for snippets: Create concise answers to common questions and structure content with clear headings and bullet points.
• Think beyond rankings: Earning a SERP feature can significantly increase visibility, even for competitive keywords.

By focusing on SERP features, you can position your content as a trusted resource while bypassing traditional ranking competition.

4. Ranking Keywords

Ranking keywords are a direct measure of your content’s performance. To track them:

• Identify 10–20 high-intent keywords relevant to your ICP.
• Monitor their positions weekly or monthly to see how many rank in the top 3, top 10, or top 20.

Tracking rankings helps you gauge the authority of your site and identify areas for improvement.

5. Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) and Customers: The True ROI

Organic MQLs are the ultimate SEO outcome to monitor because they show how your company's content marketing is nurturing your prospects.

An even better outcome to measure are customers. Over the last two years, 360 of our blogs have led to seven new customers (shown by HubSpot traffic metrics and lead tracking). Most of this activity came within the last seven or eight months, indicating that our organic search results are starting to attract MQLs that turn into customers. 

Calculate the LTV of your customers and you can determine how much revenue your organic content has delivered. The customer acquisition cost isn't complete when you only look at the cost of doing organic, but it's cool when the majority of your website's traffic is from organic, high-quality keywords, you can lower your CAC more and more.

As a SaaS CEO, you don’t need to dive deep into technical SEO. 

Focus on these key metrics to ensure your content strategy is aligned with business goals, driving the right traffic, and converting leads into long-term customers.

SaaS SEO Best Practices: Dos and Don’ts for 2025

Mastering SEO involves knowing what works and what doesn’t. Here’s a clear breakdown of essential best practices to follow—and common pitfalls to avoid:

The Dos: Proven Strategies for Success

• Focus on User Experience (UX):

A great user experience is at the core of successful SEO. Ensure your website is:

• Easy to navigate.
• Packed with useful, relevant information.
• Fast-loading and mobile-friendly.

Websites like HubSpot set the bar with clean designs, intuitive navigation, and engaging content. They create a win-win: happy users who return and share content, and higher rankings from search engines.

• Conduct Comprehensive Keyword Research: 

Effective keyword research helps you align content with your audience’s needs. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, or Semrush to identify keywords that are:

• Relevant to your ICP.
• High-value but low-competition.

With strong keyword insights, you can create targeted content that outranks competitors and delivers meaningful traffic.

• Optimize Your On-Page Content: 

Think of on-page optimization as fine-tuning your site for both search engines and users. Include:

• Primary keywords in page titles, headings, and meta descriptions.
• Clear, concise, and engaging body content.
• Logical page organization and clean layouts.

Avoid keyword stuffing, and instead, focus on creating high-value, easy-to-read content.

• Build High-Quality Backlinks: 

Backlinks signal authority to search engines, but only if they come from reputable sources. Strategies include:

• Publishing shareable, insightful content.
• Guest blogging on relevant industry sites.
• Engaging in online communities and forums to showcase expertise.

Focus on quality over quantity—one link from a trusted site is worth more than dozens from low-authority sources.

• Monitor and Analyze Performance: 

Use tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, or HubSpot to track critical metrics, such as:

1. Traffic and user behavior.
2. Conversion rates from organic content.
3. Ranking improvements over time.

And remember, SEO is an ongoing process, and it's important to regularly review your analytics and adjust your strategy accordingly. Identify areas for improvement, set new goals, and continually optimize your website for better search engine visibility. Don’t change your strategy too often though, you need to give SEO optimizations time to see if they’re working. 

The Don’ts: Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Don’t Overuse Keywords:

Search engines are smarter than you think. They can easily detect when you're trying to stuff your website with keywords in an attempt to improve your ranking. This is known as keyword stuffing, and it's a big no-no in the world of SEO. Search engines may even penalize your website for it, pushing it further down the search engine results pages.

Your website is meant to be read by humans, not robots. Overusing keywords can make your content sound forced and unnatural, which is a major turnoff for users and could cause higher bounce rates on your page. Your website should provide value to your audience, and if you're just stuffing it with keywords, you're not delivering on that promise.

In short, using too many keywords can actually backfire and hurt your SEO efforts. It's important to strike a balance and use them in a natural and relevant way. Everything in moderation - including keywords!

• Don’t Ignore Mobile Optimization: 

Ignoring mobile optimization for SEO is like only brushing the front part of your hair. Sure, you might be comfortable, but you're only presentable to a certain number of people. In today's digital age, more and more people are accessing websites on their mobile devices. 

If your website isn't optimized for mobile, you'll miss out on a lot of potential traffic and engagement. Not to mention, Google has made it clear that mobile optimization is a key factor in their search algorithm. 

In order to ensure your website is optimized for mobile devices, check on these items: 

• Use a responsive design: A responsive design means that your website will automatically adjust to fit the screen size of the device it's being viewed on. Talk to your developer if you don’t know how to implement this yourself. 
• Compress images: Large images can slow down your website and make it difficult to load on mobile devices. Compress your images to reduce their file size and improve load times.
• Simplify navigation: Mobile devices have smaller screens, so it's important to simplify your website's navigation to make it easier for users to find what they're looking for.
• Use larger fonts: Small fonts can be difficult to read on mobile devices. Use larger fonts to ensure that your content is easily readable on any device.
• Test, test, test: Testing your website on various mobile devices is key to ensuring that it looks and functions properly. Use tools like Google's Mobile-Friendly Test to identify any issues and make necessary adjustments.

• Don’t Overlook Social Media:

While social media doesn’t directly impact rankings, it drives traffic and backlinks. Create shareable content with:

• Eye-catching visuals.
• Engaging headlines.
• Witty captions that resonate with your audience.

The result? Increased visibility and engagement.

• Don’t Forget Local SEO (If Relevant): 

If your SaaS business operates locally, optimize for local search by:

• Claiming your Google My Business listing.
• Including location-specific keywords.
• Building backlinks from local directories and websites.

These steps ensure you’re top of mind (and search results) for local customers.

By following these tips and putting in a little effort, you can improve your online presence and become the local business everyone is talking about.

B2B SaaS Founders and Executives Should Care About SEO

Content may be king, but the technical elements of SEO often determine whether your kingdom thrives or falters. Before diving into content creation, ensure your website is technically sound:

• Fix broken links.
• Optimize metadata.
• Add alt tags to images so search engine crawlers can properly index your site.

Visibility is your foundation—if your site isn’t indexed or accessible, even the best content won’t reach its audience.

Once your site is technically ready, shift your focus to content that answers your audience’s questions, solves their problems, and sparks their interest. SEO is simply the bridge that connects great content to the right readers at the right time.

SEO isn’t a one-and-done task—it’s a long-term investment that requires continuous effort, analysis, and adjustment. With persistence and the right guidance, you can achieve exceptional results and position your SaaS company as a leader in your industry.

Partner with Kalungi: Your Expert Guide to Dominating SaaS SEO in 2025

Ready to take your SaaS SEO to the next level? Contact us today for a consultation and let Kalungi guide you toward sustainable growth in 2025 and beyond.