Mastering Off-Page SEO for SaaS: A Complete Guide + Checklist

Do you know that there are over 38000+ SaaS companies globally? 

If your SaaS company is one of them, how can you expect to dominate in search results? Having an online digital presence just won’t cut it, you’ll need more than that: SEO, more specifically, Off-page SEO for SaaS. Since most SaaS brands have different markets and customer journeys, it is crucial to have a well-crafted SaaS off-page seo checklist that improves your visibility in search results.

Let’s learn about why SaaS SEO is important, its benefits, and a SaaS off-page seo guide to create one for your brand.

How SaaS SEO differ from traditional SEO?

Before answering that, let’s discuss what SaaS SEO is all about. It is defined as the optimisation of a SaaS brand’s website to improve online visibility and search rankings on Google. It involves utilising multiple strategies, such as link building for SaaS, content creation, keyword research, etc. 

But how does it differ from regular SEO? Well, the difference lies in their objective and strategic focus. Traditional SEO is more focused on improving general visibility, immediate lead generation and driving organic traffic to a site. It involves optimizing content, such as blog posts, guides, to rank for broader keywords and enhance visibility in the SERPs. 

In contrast, SaaS SEO is focused on generating qualified leads and increasing conversions. The process involves attracting the right target audience, guiding them through a sales funnel and converting them into loyal customers. Since SaaS is a subscription business model, your prime focus must be on how to retain customers and attract newer ones. 

This becomes even more relevant when comparing IaaS vs PaaS vs SaaS models, where each offers different levels of infrastructure, platform, or service to the end-user. While IaaS and PaaS also rely on visibility and targeted SEO, SaaS brands especially benefit from customer-focused off-page SEO to build long-term trust and retention.

This is why you must invest in a long-term SaaS backlink strategy, rather than a one-time approach. You must create content and touchpoints at every stage of the customer journey that educate customers and showcase your authority.

The goal of link building for SaaS isn’t about getting the initial conversions. It’s about implementing the right strategy that ensures organic traffic to your SaaS website keeps increasing, even when paid strategies slow down.

Why Off-page SEO for SaaS Matters

SaaS or software-as-a-service is a business model that offers users a solution that repeatedly addresses their specific business problem repeatedly. Even though that’s the case, customers need to find you online first. And that’s where you need SEO, as it allows users to discover your brand. However, this isn’t the only reason why off-page tactics for SaaS growth matter. 

With over 30000+ SaaS brands out there, the digital landscape is a competitive field where every brand must have strong credibility, reputation and robust services to stand out. Various off-page strategies, such as link building for SaaS, digital PR signals search engines, and positively impact online rankings, domain authority, visibility, and trust.

Here we list out some points that tell why SaaS off-page optimization matters for brands in the long run:

• Increased Brand Authority: Link building for SaaS, one of the crucial off-page SEO strategies, offers quality backlinks that enable search engines to position your brand as a relevant, trusted source within your industry. This enhances brand authority, which is something users look for.

• Minimal reliance on paid strategies: Paid ad strategies produce faster results however, they stop when your budget runs out. With SEO, you get consistent results, such as web traffic, which is considered cost-effective.

• Wider Reach and Lead Generation: SaaS off-page optimization gives your brand a wider reach and exposure to a broader audience. Getting brand mentions for SaaS on industry blogs, directories, and social media platforms helps with the lead generation process.

• Longer sales cycles: Most SaaS brands offer recurring services on a pay-per-use basis. By investing in SEO strategies, brands get consistent online visibility and engagement that helps gain new customers over time.

In other words, incorporating link building for SaaS companies, if done right, is considered one of the more cost-effective strategies to build brand awareness, authority and consistent business growth. 

Perks of having a SaaS off page seo checklist

The primary objective of a SaaS off page seo checklist is improving a website’s search engine rankings and overall authority. This is made possible by focusing on off-page SEO activities conducted outside the website. Take any SaaS off page seo guide, they are meant to enhance organic traffic and boost your brand’s domain authority. 

Having a well-planned off-page SEO checklist helps avoid various SaaS seo mistakes, and it also comes with its perks, some of which are as follows: 

• Efficient workflow: An SEO checklist makes the whole process efficient by allocating resources, breaking down complex SaaS off page seo best practices into modular steps and helps keep track of the optimization efforts.

• Comprehensive coverage: A SaaS off page seo checklist consists of a wide range of activities, such as b2b vs b2c link building, brand mentions, digital PR and more. Therefore, it addresses all optimization activities across all areas without missing out on any crucial opportunities.

• Consistency: As off-page SEO consists of several activities, a dedicated checklist ensures that the optimization efforts are consistent across all areas of your website and that it meet the quality standards.

Off-page SEO for SaaS: The Ultimate Checklist

An SaaS SEO checklist usually consists of the following components:

• Keyword Research
• On-page SEO
• Off-page SEO
• Technical SEO
• Performance tracking

Each component has its own set of activities. Off-page SEO involves activities that are done outside a brand’s website to increase search engine rankings, visibility, authority, and trust. Let’s discuss the various SaaS off-page SEO best practices involved in off-page SEO. 

Discover Link Building Opportunities

One of the important activities in a SaaS off-page seo guide is finding new link-building opportunities. With the right set of tools, such as Ahrefs, Semrush, Buzzumo, etc, the task is easier. Performing an audit using the tools helps find out authoritative sources relevant in the SaaS industry. 

The point is to choose websites with high domain ratings as they carry more weight and value when it comes to boosting your site’s authority. It is also vital to monitor any broken links and reclaim them if any.

Earn Backlinks From Reputed Sources

Link building is one of the most important activities in the SaaS off-page seo guide. You can earn backlinks naturally by investing in tactics such as guest blogging, directory submissions, creating linkable assets such as infographics, how-to guides, etc. 

For example, guest posting on respected sites within the SaaS industry helps generate backlinks that point to your site. These activities contribute to your online digital presence and act as a vote of confidence for search engines. When generating backlinks, always try to obtain them naturally and aim for quality over quantity.

Partner with influencers

An essential part of link building for SaaS companies is building robust relationships with prominent influencers. Collaborating with them helps increase reach and target newer audiences. Leveraging both your and the influencer’s social media platforms also helps enhance your brand presence and allows user engagement.

Engage in Online Communities

Social media platforms aren’t the only way to generate backlinks. Actively engaging in online communities, forums, and Q&A sessions is a viable off-page SaaS backlink strategy. Engaging with your target audience and sharing valuable information directly enhances your brand presence, builds trust and authority. As people are more likely to choose brands they trust, the chances of them becoming loyal customers are high.

Focus on PR & Outreach strategies

Investing in PR strategies is another way to build credibility and awareness. This involves getting your brand and services featured in media or publications relevant to your industry. Being a SaaS brand, if you have an upcoming product release, you can secure interviews, actively engage in press releases to cover the launch.

Getting featured in media platforms isn’t easy, but you can start with traditional media. Always try to highlight your brand & product features, or give valuable opinions on the current trends in the SaaS industry.

Winding Up

Compared to on-page SEO that involves optimizing elements internally, off-page SEO strategies involve working on the outside to build trust, authority, to increase brand presence. With a well-planned strategic off page SEO along with on-page, keyword research, and technical SEO, it is possible to enhance your SaaS brand and make it visible to potential customers. Following the guide and the strategies described in this blog, you can kickstart your off-page SaaS SEO campaign.

However, if you are looking for expert search engine optimization services in this area, let GTECH Information Technology assist you. We are capable of enhancing your online brand presence and driving long-term growth with result-oriented marketing strategies. Contact us today to formulate the best SaaS SEO strategy.