B2B SaaS firms strive to improve their online presence and engage their target audience in the ever-changing digital world. A key aspect of this is aligning SEO strategies with the customer journey. By understanding user intent and optimizing content strategically, companies can create a seamless user experience that builds brand loyalty. This guide explores the importance of SEO in the B2B SaaS industry and provides valuable insights into content optimization for different customer journey stages.
To start the optimization process, it’s crucial to gather insights into the words and phrases used by search engine users. The Google Ads Keyword Planner tool is a valuable resource that suggests keywords based on user searches. By inputting up to 10 phrases related to user queries, companies can get keyword data and suggestions to inform their SEO strategy.
Once the keyword data is obtained, it can be downloaded as a spreadsheet. Let’s use Google Sheets as an example. The data needs to be cleaned up by removing unnecessary columns, focusing only on keywords and search volume. To gain a better understanding of user behavior, data from other sources like Google Search Console, Keylime, or Moz can be used to analyze impressions, clicks, and average position.
To align SEO with the customer journey, keyword tagging is recommended. This involves identifying words and phrases that correspond to specific stages of the customer journey. Excel, Google Sheets, or any other spreadsheet program can be used for keyword tagging. Creating a “Stage” tab within the spreadsheet can guide the tagging process and provide drop-down options for seamless organization.
To speed up the tagging process, filtering and sorting keywords based on common words can be helpful. Additionally, searching for a specific keyword on Google can determine its stage if it’s unclear. Removing irrelevant keywords from the list is essential to maintain relevancy and focus.
Expanding keyword tagging beyond stages, other tags like “Content Type,” lead type, industry, and company size can provide further insights. This meticulous tagging process empowers companies to strategically influence their target audience and optimize content placement within the customer journey.
To identify impactful keywords, a pivot table can be used to analyze where the most monthly searches occur. By measuring estimated monthly searches and analyzing current search impressions, clicks, and positions, companies can define a high-level strategy and prioritize keywords based on their impact and effort.
For example, let’s consider a company that offers SaaS solutions in the supply chain industry. Their recommended website pages may include the Home Page, product pages for Supply Chain Software and Warehouse Management Software, blog posts, customer stories, and helpful resources like FAQs. By aligning SEO efforts with the customer journey, companies can optimize these pages for maximum visibility and impact.
Understanding the customer journey is vital for enhancing SEO and building brand loyalty. The customer journey map provides insights into user emotions and motivations at each stage. Aligning SEO with the customer journey map helps users make informed purchase decisions and strengthens the company’s credibility.
The customer journey consists of six stages: Awareness of need, Investigate options, Committing to change, Solution selection, Validation, and Purchase. In the Awareness stage, brands should use problem-related keywords, informative blog articles, social media narratives, and instructional videos to capture interest. Events can also deepen the audience’s understanding and showcase the brand’s solutions.
During the Investigate stage, users conduct broad searches, read reviews, and define criteria for potential solutions. Marketers should optimize blog posts, create informative website pages, share empathetic social media posts, and produce videos to assist users in their research. Collaborating with partners and influencers can also feature the brand on “Best solutions for…” lists.
As users progress to the Committing to change stage, they narrow down their choices and engage in sales interactions. Content should address doubts or objections and validate the company’s credibility. Optimizing website pages, especially product pages, with SEO and SEM targeting brand and product keywords is essential. Retargeting campaigns via email and social media can further reinforce the commitment made by users.
Throughout the customer journey, messaging should be customer-centric, focusing on solving their problems without aggressively pushing for sales. Marketing strategies must align with the targeted customers and the messaging in the content.
In conclusion, the synergy between SEO and the customer journey is crucial for B2B SaaS companies to thrive online. By creating a roadmap and tagging keywords to their respective stages, companies can optimize the user experience and strategically influence their audience. Keyword analysis with tagging should guide content optimization and its placement within the customer journey. This meticulous process empowers companies to enhance their online presence, build brand loyalty, and facilitate informed purchase decisions.
