The Essential Guide to SaaS Marketing: Mastering SaaS SEO & Demand Generation

The Essential Guide to SaaS Marketing: Mastering SaaS SEO & Demand Generation

Written by

Al Sefati

Published on

March 28, 2024

SaaS companies have a unique business model, allowing customers to enjoy an entire digital ecosystem without the need for cumbersome software or hardware management. While the SaaS model can be advantageous, it also comes with some potential drawbacks. There are a number of marketing challenges, in particular.

In order to market an SaaS business effectively, it’s important to take a broad, holistic approach, encompassing not just SaaS SEO but also demand generation marketing and account based marketing (ABM).

SaaS marketing also requires a thoughtful and data-driven approach to content marketing, email marketing, PPC, and other disciplines.

Clarity Digital is a leading SaaS agency, offering a breadth of expertise in SaaS and demand generation marketing. In our latest blog post, we provide a comprehensive look at this complex field.

The Essential Guide to SaaS Marketing: Mastering SaaS SEO and Demand Generation

The software industry is always evolving. In recent years, one of the most substantial changes has been the advent of the Software as a Service (SaaS) model.

The SaaS model is all about delivering ongoing access to software via the Internet, without the need for customers to purchase physical products or to download specific apps. Basically, it’s a way to provide customers with subscription-based access to up-to-date software solutions, saving customers from the headaches of complex software or hardware management.

While SaaS options have found popularity among consumers, it’s not quite right to say that these products sell themselves. Rather, in an increasingly competitive landscape, it’s more and more important for companies to invest in SaaS marketing.

Given the unique nature of this business model, SaaS marketing differs a bit from traditional marketing. At Clarity Digital, we are proud to be a leading SaaS agency, and to speak authoritatively about the particular contours of SaaS marketing.

What is SaaS Marketing?

To be clear, when we talk about SaaS marketing, we’re simply talking about strategies to boost awareness of, and trust in, SaaS product offerings. SaaS marketing can provide a higher profile for SaaS startups, and it can establish growth-stage companies as leaders in their field. For more established businesses, SaaS marketing can be a powerful way to increase market share or to retain a loyal customer base.

A comprehensive approach to SaaS marketing, including SaaS SEO, can yield a number of benefits. Among them are sustained growth, more effective customer acquisition, and higher rates of client retention.

Key Elements of SaaS Marketing Strategies

No two companies are exactly the same, and neither are their marketing needs. With that said, SaaS marketing strategies usually encompass a broad range of approaches and disciplines. These include:

SaaS SEO

SaaS businesses need a comprehensive strategy to promote visibility across search engine results pages, ensuring their products are easily found by target consumers. SEO is important for Saas, because the customer journey can be quite complicated and it is not as linear as a B2C marketing, let’s stay e-commerce, so the customers often consume different type of content at different stages of that journey and SEO is the most effective way to provide customers with that content at different stages.

A comprehensive approach to SaaS SEO must involve technical aspects, including optimizing page performance and UX, as well as wide-ranging keywords and topic research to understand the complexity of the customer journey. Off-page SEO efforts, such as PR, link building, online reviews, and reputation management are equally important.

Saas Content Marketing

Content is vital in Saas marketing and as stated earlier, due to its nature, customers consume different type of content in their journey of becoming customer. Hence it’s also necessary to engage and educate customers with valuable content such as blog posts, E-books, product brochures, datasheets, videos, , and podcacsts and webinars can all help attract and develop a target audience. Content is also a hallmark of effective SaaS SEO.

Saas Email Marketing

Through carefully segmented email marketing campaigns, SaaS companies can deliver the right content to the right target audience, and also email marketing and email automations can help nurture customers through various stages of their consumer journey. Effective email marketing targeting the decision makers and decision influencers can help with lead generation, grow website traffic and boost sales.

Social Media Marketing for Saas

SaaS customers are typically tech-savvy with active social accounts. By employing targeted social media strategies, you can effectively reach them, increase product awareness, and utilize advertising to generate leads and schedule demos.

Paid Search (PPC) Advertising for Saas

While organic search reach is important, it needs to be augmented with paid ads, including PPC campaigns on search networks and on social media platforms. PPC ads are great for lower funnel search audience who are more likely to become clients, so including paid search in Saas marketing strategy is vital. An SaaS agency can provide guidance on how to bid and budget effectively, making your PPC efforts maximally effective.

Webinars & Podcasts

SaaS companies need to demonstrate that they are respected authorities within their field, which means participating in industry webinars and podcasts. Through webinars and podcasts, Saas companies can position themselves as thought leaders, better communicate their products and services, and maintain and grow their relevant community. Hosting a podcasts and webinar series can also be effective, when feasible.

Saas Product Free Demos

One of the biggest obstacles that SaaS customers face is the concern that the software will be too difficult or cumbersome to use. Demonstrating utility and ease of use is important and can be done through live demo days as well as pre-recorded free demos.

Account Based Marketing (ABM)

Account Based Marketing represents a focused approach, targeting key accounts with personalized campaigns. This can be especially important in the B2B space, which is where most SaaS companies operate.

The Pillars of SaaS SEO

Having covered some of the primary elements of SaaS elements, let’s not take a closer look at a few of the essentials. First is SaaS SEO.

What is SaaS SEO, exactly? Basically, it’s all about optimizing a SaaS company’s website  to improve its visibility in online searches, and to attract relevant search traffic. There are plenty of SaaS SEO steps that can be taken in-house, but ultimately, the demands of search optimization may call for a professional SaaS agency.

When thinking about the essential components of SaaS SEO, there are four main categories to consider. These include keyword research, on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and technical SEO.

  • Keyword Research: The SaaS customer journey can be fairly complicated, making it essential to do rigorous keyword research in order to identify the terms and phrases consumers use at different stages of awareness. Access to advanced keyword research tools is crucial. Note that these keywords can also be useful for guiding content marketing efforts, providing some ideas for topics.
  • On-page SEO: It’s important to make sure that the SaaS website itself is optimized for maximum search engine visibility. Part of this is taking that keyword research and working it into the content. Another major aspect of on-page SEO is ensuring a site navigation structure that makes sense, and that guides users through their journey.
  • Off-page SEO: Off-page SEO signals tell the search algorithms that your website is relevant and authoritative. There are a number of ways to generate these signals, including backlinks, directory listings, even an up-to-date Google Business Profile. Online reviews also matter a lot here.
  • Technical SEO: There are also some technical aspects of SaaS to consider, ensuring your site is optimized on the back end to gain search engine favor. Metadata matters a lot here and provides another avenue for using keywords. Site performance and loading times can also impact your rankings.

SEO is a major aspect of promoting your SaaS company, but of course, it’s only one piece of a broader puzzle. Crucially, you’ll need to ensure your SaaS marketing efforts work holistically with your other marketing tactics.

What is Demand Generation Marketing?

Another way to think about SaaS marketing is in terms of demand generation. When we talk about demand generation marketing, exactly what are we talking about?

To define it most simply, demand generation marketing is exactly that… a set of marketing strategies designed to generate demand, interest, and enthusiasm for a particular product or service. The key is, demand generation avoids direct selling. It’s more about building buzz, developing a positive reputation, and re-engaging existing customers.

The goal of demand generation marketing is to keep your SaaS brand top-of-mind, even when customers are not currently in a buying cycle. Given the complexity of the SaaS customer lifecycle, this is a particularly important consideration.

There are a number of strategies that can prove helpful in demand generation marketing. Some of the essentials include content marketing and SaaS SEO, both of which we’ve mentioned already. Beyond these disciplines, things like webinars and free trials can help increase a product’s appeal, even to customers who may not be ready to make a purchase right away. Crucially, demand generation marketing happens in a feedback loop. It’s important to take into consideration analytics and customer survey data, fine-tuning your approach to demand generation marketing so that you’re addressing real customer questions and pain points. This type of big data work is an area where a professional SaaS agency can prove invaluable.

Why Choose Clarity Digital as Your SaaS

Why Choose Clarity Digital as Your SaaS Marketing Partner?

As you consider SaaS marketing partners, make sure Clarity Digital is at the top of your list.

We have decades of experience in website development, content creation, and SEO. Much of that experience involves work in the SaaS field. In fact, our SaaS marketing and SaaS SEO credentials include successful and ongoing work with brands like ForcePoint, MeridianLink, Gocious, and GetMyAuto.

Our proven track record in SaaS marketing, account based marketing (ABM), and demand generation marketing have helped us position these brands for sustainable growth. We’d love to create a comprehensive SaaS marketing strategy for your brand, with special emphasis on SEO and demand generation. We can also leverage our capabilities for data analysis to ensure a custom-tailored approach that’s just right for your SaaS brand. To discuss SaaS marketing needs with us, reach out to Clarity Digital today. And for ongoing updates, make sure you subscribe to the Clarity Digital blog.