You burned through half your funding on paid ads. Now what?
The first few months were a blur. You built something incredible — something you know solves a real problem. You launched, ran some Google Ads, spent way too much on LinkedIn, and maybe even tried a few cold emails. Some of it worked. Most of it didn’t.
And now? Your customer acquisition costs are eating you alive. You need something sustainable. Something that keeps bringing in customers without lighting cash on fire.
So, you turn to SEO.
But here’s the problem:
You don’t have years to wait for results.
You’re competing with giants who have entire content teams and million-dollar budgets.
Every SEO “expert” is telling you to “write valuable content” but no one’s explaining how to make it stand out.
You’re not sure whether to build landing pages, start a blog, or create a hundred comparison pages.
And, worst of all, the few keywords you can rank for won’t bring in the right buyers.
So, you’re stuck.
Do you double down on content? Pivot to something else? Keep running ads until you can’t afford to anymore?
This is the SEO problem every SaaS startup faces.
And in this guide, we’re breaking down exactly how to make SEO work when you don’t have unlimited time or budget.
How to find out if SaaS SEO is a viable growth channel
Before you sink time and money into SEO, make sure your audience actually searches for what you offer.
Just because you think your product is game-changing doesn’t mean people are Googling for it.
Run a quick keyword test to check if SEO is worth it for your SaaS startup.
1. Pick your core product keyword
If someone needed your product, what would they type into Google?
Examples:
- A time tracking tool? → Try best time tracking software
- A no-code website builder? → Try easiest website builder for beginners
- A freelancer invoicing tool? → Try how to send an invoice as a beginner
2. Plug the keyword into Google (or a keyword tool)
You don’t need fancy tools to do this — Google is the best free keyword research tool.
- Go incognito (to remove personalised search bias).
- Type your keyword into Google.
- Analyse the first page of results.
3. Evaluate the competition
Look at who’s ranking and what’s ranking:
If direct competitors are ranking on page one → SEO is worth exploring.
If the results are flooded with giant listicles and directories → SEO will be tougher.
Let’s say you’re targeting best crm software and see page one filled with articles from Forbes, PCMag, Capterra, and G2.
That means Google prefers aggregators and affiliates, not individual SaaS company pages.
Translation? You’ll struggle to rank. (But you might still win with long-tail, niche keywords.)
If there are no relevant results at all?
- Either nobody is searching for this (which is a red flag), or there’s an untapped SEO opportunity.
- Test variations: Try phrasing your keyword differently and see if better results show up.
SEO needs validation, just like your product.
Before investing heavily in SEO, make sure people actually search for what you offer.
🚀 If competitors rank for your target keywords? Go for it.
⚠️ If search results are full of directories and listicles? Find a niche angle.
❌ If no one is searching for it? Rethink whether SEO is even the right channel for your startup.
Do this 10-minute test now. It could save you months of wasted effort chasing the wrong strategy.
How to lay an SEO foundation
Even if you don’t plan to blog regularly, having a blog section helps:
- Google crawl and index your site faster.
- Show users that your site is active.
- Give you a head start when you do decide to invest in content.
What to publish if you’re not ready for blogging:
1. A “Why We Built This” Post
Explains the problem you’re solving and how your SaaS is different.
Great for brand storytelling and early SEO traction.
2. A Simple “How-To” Post
Example: If you’re a time tracking app, write: “How to Track Your Work Hours Without Interrupting Your Workflow.”
Focus on one specific pain point.
3. An Alternatives Page (easy SEO win 🚀)
Example: “Best Harvest Alternatives for Time Tracking.”
Comparison content ranks fast and converts well. I’ll dig into it more in the next section.
📌 Side note: even one high-quality blog post can generate traffic and compound over time.
How to create an SEO SaaS Startup strategy
Once you’ve validated search demand, it’s time to build a SaaS SEO strategy that works — without waiting 12 months for results.
Too many SaaS startups waste time writing low-impact blog posts that don’t drive signups.
Instead, start with high-intent pages — pages that bring in visitors who are ready to convert.
This is how you make SEO work fast, even as a SaaS startup with limited resources.
These are the four high-intent pages you need first:
1. Product pages (optimised for search)
Your product pages shouldn’t just be feature lists — they should be SEO-optimised landing pages designed to rank for the keywords people actually search for.
Example:
- Instead of a generic CRM Features page, create dedicated feature pages like ‘CRM with Automated Follow-Ups’ or ‘AI-Powered CRM for Sales Teams.’
Action step:
- List out your product’s core features.
- Run them through Google Autocomplete and “People Also Ask” to find how people actually search for them.
- Build dedicated pages for your most valuable keywords.
2. Comparison pages (e.g. Asana vs Monday.com)
When people search competitor A vs. competitor B keywords, they’re actively evaluating which one to choose.
These pages convert like crazy because they attract high-intent buyers.
Example:
- If you’re a Notion alternative, you should have a page called “Notion vs Evernote: Which One is Best for Teams?”
- If you’re competing with Slack, write a page like ‘Slack vs Discord: Which is Better for Remote Teams?’
Action step:
- Identify your top 3-5 competitors.
- Google your <competitor> vs. and see what autocomplete suggests.
- Create detailed comparison pages that clearly explain:
- What’s similar
- What’s different
- Who should use your product vs. the competitor
🔥 Bonus tip: If you don’t see a lot of real companies ranking for X vs. Y searches, it means SEO aggregators (like Capterra and G2) are winning the traffic.
That’s a huge opportunity — because Google prefers real product pages over review sites.
3. Use case pages
Most SaaS startups only target broad keywords like time tracking software — which are brutally competitive. A faster way to rank is to target niche, industry-specific searches.
Example:
- Instead of just ‘Project Management Software’, create niche pages like:
- ‘Project Management for Remote Teams’
- ‘Project Management for Architects’
- ‘Project Management for Freelancers’
Action step:
- Brainstorm 3-5 customer segments who use your product.
- Search <product type> for <industry> in Google and see what ranking pages look like.
- If you see forum posts or weak content ranking, that’s a low-competition opportunity — go after it.
4. Integration pages (e.g., 'Toggl + Slack')
If your product integrates with other software, this is one of the easiest SEO wins you’ll ever get.
People actively Google integrations because they want to know if your product works with what they already use.
Example:
- If you have a Slack integration, create a page called ‘How to Connect <Your Product> with Slack.’
- If you work with HubSpot, write a post like ‘The Best HubSpot CRM Integrations for Sales Teams.’
Action step:
- List every product you integrate with.
- Search Google for <Integration> + <Your Product> and see what shows up.
- If there’s no existing content, write it — Google loves ranking integration guides.
🔥 Bonus: Many software companies link to integration partners from their own docs and help centers.
If you create an integration page, you can ask them to link to it — instant backlinks.
How to repurpose what you're already creating
SEO shouldn’t be extra work.
You’re already creating content — maybe it’s videos, LinkedIn posts, webinars, or customer FAQs.
Instead of starting from scratch, turn what you already have into SEO-driven assets.
This isn’t about doing more work. It’s about doing smarter work.
Here’s how:
Turn your videos into SEO blog posts
1️⃣ Transcribe the video using a tool like Otter.ai or Descript.
2️⃣ Break it into sections with SEO-friendly subheadings (look at “People Also Ask” for ideas).
3️⃣ Optimise for search → Find long-tail keywords related to the video’s topic.
4️⃣ Embed the video in the post → Google loves mixed-media content.
5️⃣ Add a CTA → If people landed here from Google, give them a next step (signup, free trial, download, etc.).
🔥 Example:
- Video: ‘How to Automate Your Calendar with Zapier.’
- Blog Post: ‘How to Automate Scheduling with Zapier + <Your SaaS>.’
- SEO win: Now you’re ranking for people actively searching how to automate their calendar.
📌 Extra tip: Add timestamps and a summary to make it more scannable for both users and Google.
Turn LinkedIn posts into SEO content
If you’ve been sharing industry insights, customer success stories, or product breakdowns on LinkedIn, you already have high-quality content — but LinkedIn posts disappear fast.
This is how you turn LinkedIn content to blog posts:
1️⃣ Find your best-performing LinkedIn posts.
- Look at engagement → Which posts got the most comments, shares, or DMs?
2️⃣ Expand them into full articles.
- A LinkedIn post on ‘Why Most CRMs Fail’ → becomes ‘The 5 Biggest CRM Mistakes (And How to Fix Them).’
3️⃣ Optimise with keywords.
- See what related terms people search for and work them into the post.
4️⃣ Internal link to relevant product pages.
Every post should lead back to your SaaS product in a natural way.
Use what you’ve already created and make sure it’s rankable, searchable, and conversion-focused.
🚀 If you’re already making videos, turn them into high-ranking blog posts.
🚀 If you’re already posting on LinkedIn, turn your best posts into SEO-driven articles.
🚀 If you’re already doing webinars, turn them into evergreen FAQ pages & landing pages.
Thanks for reading.
Until next time, peace!