Enterprise SaaS SEO: Turning Clicks into Contracts

There are no secrets in SEO strategy for enterprise SaaS. Marketers follow a well-established playbook that is freely available and universally implemented, while at the same time, the cost for competitors to replicate successful tactics is getting ever smaller. In fact, a CMO can assume that essentially nothing they do in SEO is long-term defensible. Yikes! Every economist would tell you that this situation should result in the destruction of value, and SEO's impact should be negligible.

Yet the ROI for a well-executed SEO strategy in enterprise SaaS can be astronomical.

SEO is, in my opinion, one of the best marketing channels ever devised by mankind. The traffic is essentially free. The compounding effects are judicious. It is the pinnacle of 200 years of marketing evolution. In complete violation of what I learned in marketing 101 (that, admittedly, I got a B- in), these efforts can achieve outrageous levels of success and profitability.

How can this be?

SEO is such an incredible channel because it has close to zero marginal distribution cost. Once you create the content and build the authority, you can attract traffic from search engines for (essentially) free to as many customers as you like. Additionally, SEO is sticky. The best companies will generate more organic traffic every year from the same set of content. Yes, when competition is fierce, ranking difficulty goes up, but a well-executed content strategy can overcome that.

This is, like, a mildly interesting topic to which I could devote a newsletter edition. But the much more interesting and devilishly challenging thing to write about (and the thing I've been obsessed with for years) is that everyone knows this. What I wrote above contains obvious knowledge that would be at home within an SEO strategy 101 textbook.

The result is a meta-market: because marketers know what playbook their competition is running, they end up positioning themselves against moves their competitors will make in three years. Let's say I run the SEO efforts for a customer feedback SaaS company, similar to Qualtrics or SurveyMonkey. Since each company has a unique starting point, we'll each have relative strengths. Qualtrics is great at enterprise-level experience management. SurveyMonkey has a much stronger brand for simple surveys. My hypothetical company could have really strong content marketing for product managers. I can know, with certainty, that over the next three years both Qualtrics and SurveyMonkey will move closer to my capabilities, while I move closer to theirs: Qualtrics will improve its content, SurveyMonkey will push upmarket, etc.

In most industries, SEO competition is a knife fight—it's fast and dirty. In contrast, enterprise SaaS SEO is a chess match, cerebral and drawn out. And it's because rather than merely guessing about what their foes will do, marketers can forecast with a spooky level of certainty what is going to happen.

I've even made this into a game. When I see a SaaS company is teasing a new content initiative, I'll email their competitor and ask, “Any idea what this is?” Usually, I'll get a response like, “Haven't heard anything, but my guess is X.” They are almost always right.

They are able to do this because the playbook is known. And, luckily, I'm going to teach it to you.

The Enterprise SaaS SEO Playbook

The journey of an enterprise SaaS SEO strategy goes like this:

1. A point solution creates content solving a specific problem for a specific group of people. Over time, the content capabilities grow, expanding what type of customers they can attract.
2. Next, the company will go multi-topic. It'll start to offer content on multiple subjects that will serve either its core customer or related functions in the org it's selling to.
3. Then the company will become a thought leader, allowing an ecosystem of partners and customers to contribute content on top of what it is already offering.
4. The cycle begins again with new point solutions, typically related to its platform capabilities, for new use cases.

To grow beyond the initial customers for which its point solution works, a company can either expand horizontally (use the same content strategy to serve a new set of customers with similar problems) or vertically (create new content that serves other problems its existing customers are facing). So a SaaS company that facilitates customer feedback for product managers could expand horizontally by helping other types of professionals gather insights, or it could expand vertically by creating content on product strategy and roadmapping.

While this may sound banal, because the internet is ubiquitous, the available opportunity for enterprise SaaS SEO is in the realm of trillions of dollars in potential revenue influence.

When you think about a point solution's SEO strategy, the content's function changes based on the size of the customer and what that customer does. To continue the customer feedback example, the content would need to be designed differently for a scrappy startup than for an enterprise corporation—perhaps by focusing on the individual product manager (for the former) versus the entire product organization (for the latter).

I recognize this is hand-wavy, but think about how overheated this dynamic can make the competition. Every person at a company, every function from human resources to finance, will have multiple SaaS companies competing to solve their problems through content. Enterprise will be moving into mid-market. Related industries will try to encroach. It is, frankly, ridiculous. And no single content provider can solve all the information needs of an individual. The average employee probably reads content from dozens of different SaaS blogs to accomplish their work.

To win, a company's goal is to own the most powerful piece of data and/or workflow that will allow it to hold its competitors at bay in search results. For example, most customer feedback software companies try to own the term “voice of customer” or “customer experience management” because you can use that data to connect to everything else happening in the product development process, from ideation to launch. Think of how you see Qualtrics or SurveyMonkey showing up for nearly every search related to gathering customer insights. A similarly important control point exists for each function, industry, or business type.

So, in this context, let's talk about proving the value of SEO itself.

PIP this SEO

When I hear the phrase “SEO value,” I picture sad-eyed marketers wearing Patagonia vests—folks whose sole purpose in life is making sure that their keyword rankings go up and to the right in ways that turn executives' brains into goo. (Clearly, I've had great experiences with these wonderful people.)

What SEO value actually is, though, is a complex mix of critical outcomes:

• Brand awareness
• Organic traffic growth
• Lead generation
• Revenue influence
• Customer retention and expansion

While the thought of measuring all this stuff personally fills me with the desire to be boiled in canonical oil, someone has to use data to prove these outcomes. This is a lot of stuff! Frankly, no company can be great at measuring all of this. Remember—the goal of enterprise SaaS companies is to own the most important data or workflow because it means they will be the least likely to be replaced by a competitor. And, most importantly, everyone knows their competitors are also doing this.

So to win, companies have to come up with a distinct thesis on what the most important SEO metric is for their customer and how they are going to own it. To learn more, I chatted with Sarah Bird, the CEO of Moz, an SEO software company recently acquired for $201M. She argued that for early-stage companies, organic traffic growth is what matters most. “Small companies are just hoping to get anyone to their site,” she said. Here startups like Ahrefs do really well. At big companies, the thing that matters most is, she told me, “tying SEO to revenue”; Google has nailed this to the tune of a $1.5T valuation.

When Bird started Moz's content efforts, she aimed solely at the mid-market. Her point solution for these customers was technical SEO education. Bird explained why in another interview: “There was just like this revolt against black hat tactics...it was like a small early group of SEO practitioners who were championing this new ethical approach, which is what Moz was built for. And we served that, and there was some luck to it, but it just grew and that became the real default.”

Later the company went multi-topic, adding content on content marketing, local SEO, and link building.

It's helpful to think of SEO metrics as something akin to religion. There is some core belief, some manner of measurement, that is at the heart of everything marketers do. Sometimes that belief is softer and more emotionally appealing, such as Moz's that it could do SEO more ethically and transparently.

At other times that belief is more pragmatic, as with SEO software competitor Semrush. Its thesis is that keyword data is at the center of everything for mid-sized companies (like, not coincidentally, for enterprise companies). Right or wrong, this is what it has based its entire product ethos around, and its content drives home this point.

Eventually the battle becomes religious. What underlying belief about SEO measurement ends up being correct? In large enough markets, like digital marketing, there is usually room for multiple faiths. Sometimes what you are preaching lands, like Moz found with its higher ideal of ethical SEO. In other cases it's like the poor local SEO specialists who end up assigned to single-location mom-and-pop shops—there is no interest.

Perhaps the strangest artifact is that because these systems are serving similar customers and have different strengths, they have no choice but to share the market. Bird told me that Moz has over 1,000 co-customers with Semrush and Ahrefs. I tried very hard to get her to trash-talk her competitors, but well-trained media CEO that she is, she dodged my attempts and referred to other SEO software providers as “helping build a customer-centric ecosystem.” While the answer is boring, she is probably right to respond in this way. Still, she granted the interview because Moz had just launched its “Performance Metrics” suite, an important part of the SEO tech stack for proving value to executives. Its product can and will steal market share from the rest of said ecosystem.

What SEO game are you playing?

So how can you think about what SEO metrics will win for enterprise SaaS? It comes down to understanding what type of game the software companies are playing:

Execution game: Sometimes when the playbook is obvious, it comes down to who can run it better—so culture-market fit becomes important. Is the company properly constructed to reflect the needs of the market? Will it have a slight edge in recruiting content creators? In design? If you out-execute—even if you have a late start, worse technical talent, and less funding—you can still win, such as with the case of Ahrefs versus Moz.

Religious game: Many of the largest bets in SEO come from taking a non-obvious perspective early. By building a measurement strategy built around a forecast of how search will work in the future, startups can capture value. It is best when this way of measuring may be counterintuitive or even appear to be dumb. In fact, looking wrong early is often a strong signal of winning later. For example, Clearscope was a counterintuitive bet that AI could analyze top-ranking content and provide recommendations. In the beginning, no one believed in it, but now the company sits at a $100M+ valuation.

Market game: Rand Fishkin, founder of SparkToro and former CEO of Moz, describes the market game as searching for “blue ocean opportunities.” In a recent interview he described it as follows: “It's our way of saying there's no market yet, but we believe there will be one. Usually when you're positioned there, everybody's trying to figure out why are you here. When we first got into social audience intelligence, because we believe that in the future, marketing is going to be largely about finding and reaching the right people through the right channels. If it's going to be largely about audience targeting, a really incredible data set is necessary...I think 5 years later we're largely right.” Great companies are those that are built with decades in mind—even a time period of five years is too short. In SEO, when the playbook is obvious, there is a big advantage that comes from running it before anyone else.

At its core, the SEO metrics universe is paradoxical: common playbooks that should herald predictable commoditization instead yield unpredictable successes. This might be unsettling for the traditional marketer, but it's a fascinating phenomenon for the astute CMO.

Where does this leave us? First, it's essential to recognize that the uniqueness of SEO strategy isn't rooted in what metrics companies track but in how they interpret and act on them. In a world where everyone has access to the same data, the differentiator becomes the vision, culture, and adaptability of the company itself. It's not just about measuring SEO; it's about selling a belief, a future perspective on search that entices and resonates.

Moz and Semrush demonstrate that while companies might operate in the same space, their beliefs about SEO measurement can diverge significantly. Sometimes it's a ethical touch to a traditional process; other times it's a hard-hitting conviction about what truly matters. Companies that grasp and leverage their unique “why” for SEO are those that flourish in the ocean of copycat metrics.

Lastly, for the keen enterprise SaaS marketer, the key to proving SEO value isn't just about knowing the playbook; it's about discerning which metrics truly understand the game they're playing. At DataDab, we've helped dozens of companies navigate this complex landscape, finding their unique SEO religion and turning it into tangible business impact. The playbook may be known, but the winners are those who execute it with unmatched precision and adaptability.

Q1: How long does it typically take to see results from SEO efforts in enterprise SaaS?

A: SEO is a long-term strategy. Expect to see initial traction in 3-6 months, with significant results typically appearing after 6-12 months of consistent effort. However, the compounding effects of SEO mean that the real payoff often comes after 18-24 months.

Q2: What's the most important SEO metric for enterprise SaaS companies?

A: While it varies by company stage, the most universally important metric is organic traffic that leads to qualified leads or demos. This directly ties SEO efforts to revenue potential, which is crucial for proving value to executives.

Q3: How can we compete with established players who dominate search results?

A: Focus on niches where you can establish topical authority. Create in-depth, original content that serves specific user intents better than competitors. Over time, expand your content footprint while maintaining quality and relevance.

Q4: Should we prioritize technical SEO or content creation?

A: Both are crucial, but for most enterprise SaaS companies, content creation should take precedence. A solid technical foundation is necessary, but it's high-quality, relevant content that will set you apart and drive meaningful organic traffic.

Q5: How do we align our SEO strategy with our overall marketing and sales funnel?

A: Map your content to each stage of the buyer's journey. Create awareness content for top-of-funnel, detailed comparisons and case studies for middle-of-funnel, and product-specific content for bottom-of-funnel. Ensure seamless handoffs between these stages in your content strategy.

Q6: What role does link building play in enterprise SaaS SEO?

A: Link building remains important, but the focus should be on quality over quantity. Prioritize earning links through creating linkable assets like original research, tools, or thought leadership content. Partner with other companies in your ecosystem for mutual link opportunities.

Q7: How can we prove the ROI of our SEO efforts to skeptical executives?

A: Focus on tying SEO metrics to business outcomes. Show the journey from organic traffic to leads to closed deals. Use multi-touch attribution models to demonstrate SEO's influence throughout the sales cycle. Compare the cost of organic lead acquisition to paid channels for context.

Q8: Should we create separate content for each of our product features?

A: Instead of creating content for every feature, focus on the core problems your products solve. Create comprehensive resources around these problem areas, naturally incorporating relevant features. This approach aligns better with how prospects search and provides more value.

Q9: How often should we be updating our existing content?

A: Implement a quarterly content audit process. Prioritize updating your highest-traffic and most strategically important pages every 3-6 months. For rapidly changing topics, you may need to update more frequently. Less crucial content can be reviewed annually.

Q10: What's the best way to measure SEO success against competitors?

A: Use a combination of metrics to gauge relative SEO performance. Track your share of voice for important keyword clusters, compare domain authority and backlink profiles, and monitor your content's SERP coverage compared to competitors. Tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs can help with competitive intelligence.