Technical SEO for SaaS Companies: Strategy and Checklist

Ever wondered how SaaS companies keep their online presence thriving? Let us tell you a secret… it’s all because of the magic of search engine optimisation (SEO).

While SEO keeps evolving, many SaaS businesses are missing out on a crucial piece of the puzzle –technical SEO. 

Don’t worry, though! 

Our blog has got you covered with an easy-to-follow technical SEO audit checklist. We’ll walk you through the essential factors, tips for improving your site’s performance, and the best tools to make it happen. 

In this article:

What is technical SEO?

Why is technical SEO important?

What is the difference between technical SEO and SEO?

What are the best tools for technical SEO for SaaS?

What is the ultimate technical SEO checklist?

What is technical SEO?

Alright, so now that we’re diving into the world of SEO, let’s unpack what technical SEO is all about.

In simple terms, technical SEO involves fine-tuning your website to meet the standards and preferences of search engines with the goal of earning organic rankings and traffic. 

Imagine Google as the teacher and your websites as the student. What can you do to become the teacher’s pet? If your website is correctly optimised by following the best practice technical SEO tactics then you will receive preferential treatment on search result pages (SERPS). 

Technical SEO revolves around three main tasks that search engines undertake:

1. Crawling: Picture little bots scouring through your web pages. You can guide what they find and where they go using a robots.txt file.
2. Rendering: Ever wondered how the code behind web pages turns into the exact format you see in your browser? That’s rendering in action, making sure everything looks and works as it should.
3. Indexing: Once a page is crawled and rendered, its info gets stored for future reference. Managing what gets indexed is crucial, as it heavily influences your site’s performance in search results.

You might still be thinking, why do I need technical SEO? 

Well, picture this: you’ve worked hard on making an awesome product and killer content, but then your site isn’t properly optimised, so potential customers never stumble upon it in an organic search.

For SaaS companies swimming in a sea of competition, high rankings on those SERPs are like gold dust. After all, research shows that a whopping 90% of searchers stick to the first page of results. Can’t afford to miss out on that prime real estate, right?

Why is technical SEO important?

With so many SaaS companies out there, how can you make sure people find your site on Google? That’s where technical SEO for SaaS comes in. It’s a step-by-step process, with the following key benefits:

1. Better Search Rankings
2. Website Protection
3. Improved User Experience
4. More Leads from Your Target Audience

SaaS technical SEO is like the backstage crew of your website, ensuring everything runs smoothly without any hiccups. You want to ensure that your site is easy for both users and search engines to navigate. By getting technical SEO right, you’re laying down the red carpet for organic traffic to flow in, and ultimately, turning those visitors into loyal customers.

What is the difference between technical SEO and SEO?

Think of technical SEO as a vital ingredient in the SEO recipe for SaaS companies.

Everyone likes food so let’s imagine SEO as a delicious cake, with technical SEO being one of its essential slices.

Now, SEO itself is built upon four sturdy pillars: on-page SEO, off-page SEO, technical SEO, and content.

On-page SEO is all about optimising your website’s pages and content to shine both in the eyes of search engines and your visitors. This includes jazzing up elements like title tags, meta descriptions, and URLs.

Off-page SEO, on the other hand, takes the action outside your website. Strategies like building backlinks, guest posting, and engaging on social media will boost your search rankings from the outside in.

Then there’s content, the heart and soul of SEO. From webpages to blogs, guides, videos, and more, content is what speaks directly to your audience’s needs and interests, all while strategically aligning with your target keywords.

What are the best tools for technical SEO for Saas?

Before you start tackling technical SEO, it’s essential to gather the right tools. 

Luckily, there are plenty of platforms available to help with technical SEO tasks, and many of them won’t cost you a penny. 

As a SaaS SEO agency, we’ve put together a list of top tools that we recommend and use ourselves when providing SaaS SEO services.

1. Screaming Frog: This tool acts like a detective for your website, uncovering common SEO problems such as broken links, messy page titles, confusing redirects, and duplicate content. Plus, there are free versions available!
2. Semrush: Think of Semrush as your go-to SEO multitool. It covers everything from keyword research and rank tracking to link building and content optimization. Semrush’s technical SEO audits delve into issues like how easily your site can be crawled, how fast your pages load, and any tricky internal linking problems.
3. Ahrefs: Another powerful SEO tool, Ahrefs is like your trusty sidekick for on-page, off-page, and technical SEO tasks. Its technical SEO audits leave no stone unturned, checking for performance issues, HTML tag mix-ups, content quality concerns, and more. It also gives you helpful advice on how to fix any problems it finds.
4. Google Search Console: If you want to know how Google sees your pages, Google Search Console is the way to go. It provides detailed information about how your site is crawled, indexed, and served in Google’s search results. You’ll also get alerts about any issues on your site and can let Google know when you’ve fixed them.
5. Free Google Tools: Google offers some handy tools of its own. PageSpeed Insights gives you quick assessments of your site’s speed and offers tips for improvement. The Rich Results Testing Tool helps you see if your pages are eligible for those eye-catching rich results that make your listings stand out in search results.

Getting to Grips with Technical SEO for SaaS

Let’s break it down from the beginning – the era of search engines.

Every single day, people are firing off over 8.5 billion searches – and guess what? That’s just on Google! Now, think about the potential there: snagging one of those top search result spots means your website could be reaching a ton of potential customers. More eyeballs on your site means more visibility for your brand, which is key for building up a solid reputation.

But that’s not all. 

More website traffic = more high-quality leads = boosts your subscriptions, sales, and ultimately, your profit margins. The beauty of it all? Once you’ve got your SEO strategy up and running, it’s like a customer magnet – bringing in customers without you having to splurge on those pricey ad campaigns. Talk about saving your marketing budget!

Let’s see how this actually happens through our ultimate SEO checklist:

1. SEO Site Audit
2. Competitor Research
3. Keyword Research
4. Technical SEO
5. Content Optimization
6. Content Creation
7. Content Promotion and Link Building
8. Analysis and Reporting
9. Image Optimisation 
10. Speed Optimisation
11. Sitemaps and Crawl Budget 
12. Metadata Analysis 
13. Website Architecture Review 
14. Backlink Analysis 
15. Core Web Vitals 

• SEO Site Audit

Before you kick off or tweak any existing SEO campaigns, you have to do an SEO audit. Think of it as your site’s health check-up. It helps you spot any issues that could be dragging down your site’s ranking. If search engines struggle to crawl and index your pages, you’re missing out on that extra organic traffic – and that means missing your sales targets too.

• SEO Competitor Research

Once you’ve got the lowdown on your own site, it’s time to suss out the competition through some good ol’ SEO competitor research. This is where you will dig deep and find out what’s working for your rivals. By looking at your competitors’ insights, you’ll easily see what’s working and what isn’t so you can adapt your own approach. 

• Keyword Research

Now, onto the nitty-gritty of keyword research. This is all about understanding what your audience is typing into that search bar. Keyword research helps you identify the highest tip search on what people often ask – but also which queries are gonna be a bit of a slog to rank for. 

• Technical SEO

Next up, we’ve got technical SEO. As we previously mentioned, this is where you roll up your sleeves and get into the guts of your website – tweaking things like loading speed, security, and linking structures. 

• Content Optimisation

Now, let’s talk about sprucing up your existing content. Think of it as giving your content a fresh coat of paint – based on all that keyword research you’ve done. Trim the fat, beef up the good stuff, and watch your site’s performance soar.

• Content Creation

Ah, content creation – the bread and butter of any solid SEO strategy. This is where you show off your expertise, churn out killer content, and establish yourself as the go-to in your niche. From blog posts to videos, it’s all about providing value and education for your audience.

• Content Promotion and Link Building

But hold up, we’re not done yet! Once you’ve got that killer content, you gotta get it out there. That means promoting it far and wide through social media and snagging those all-important backlinks. It’s like spreading the word about the biggest new thing – because hey, your content deserves the spotlight!

• Analysis and Reporting

This is where you keep your finger on the pulse of your SEO strategy, tracking your performance and making tweaks as needed. With the right tools in your pocket, you’ll be able to tweak your approach and keep that SEO train moving. 

• Image Optimisation

Visual content is critical for high-performing content – but when done incorrectly, it can be more of a hassle than a help. Optimise image alt attributes, resize files, and implement sitemaps and plugins to ensure your images add value to your site and your overall SaaS SEO strategy.

• Speed Optimisation 

Slow page speed is the kiss of death when it comes to technical SEO. Compress files, optimise code, and eliminate redirects to ensure your visitors have a positive experience and your site ranks higher.

• Metadata Analysis 

Meta tags tell visitors and search engines what your content is about. Using the right metadata will get you more traffic and higher visibility, including title tags, alt attribution, robot tags, and more.

• Sitemaps and Crawl Budget 

Crawl errors lead to less of the content you want out in the world being indexed. That means it can’t be found. Implement sitemaps to ensure your important pages are always crawled, indexed, and ranked appropriately to improve your SaaS SEO performance.

• Website Architecture Review

The way your website is structured is every bit as important as the information that’s on it. Look at your site’s architecture and, if needed, restructure it to ensure better organic search results. What you’re looking for is a clear and easy to navigate structure, with related pages nested together.

• Backlink Analysis 

Backlinks improve your website’s authority, and they are vital to your SEO performance. Dive into your backlink profile to better understand referring domains and ensure your backlinks come from high-quality, reputable sites.

• Core Web Vitals 

Last but not least, we’ve got core web vitals. This consists of three pillars: largest contentful paint (LCP), first input delay (FID), and cumulative layout shift (CLS). These are the technical SEO factors that Google measures to determine how effective your site is at maintaining user experience. Good CWVs usually mean your site runs faster, adapts across different devices, and offers an intuitive experience, so check them regularly.

Need help with technical SEO for your SaaS company?

If all this technical SEO jargon is making your head spin or you don’t have the resources in-house to dedicate to SEO, we’re here to help. Our SEO experts are well versed in every aspect of SEO — and specialise in website discoverability, site speed, backlinking and SEO content .

When you partner with Surge Digital Growth, you get a comprehensive SEO strategy that’s tailored to your revenue goals, target audience, and marketing funnel. Explore the technical SEO services we provide here or book a discovery call to see how we can help.