WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:19.511 --> 00:00:23.381 For B2B SAS companies are struggling to realize results through SEL. 00:00:23.591 --> 00:00:28.001 The most common frustrations that we hear and our conversations are one. 00:00:28.211 --> 00:00:31.061 They're investing resources to produce SEO content. 00:00:31.061 --> 00:00:34.931 And they'd love to see that content performing well, but progress with moving 00:00:34.991 --> 00:00:38.351 up the search rankings and bringing in traffic and leads has been stagnant. 00:00:39.131 --> 00:00:42.641 And to their competitors, a dominating lemon, organic search 00:00:42.641 --> 00:00:45.401 results, and it's been hard for them to catch up and compete. 00:00:45.911 --> 00:00:47.981 They'd love to find a way to be more competitive. 00:00:48.581 --> 00:00:51.221 But they like additional bandwidth to figure out how. 00:00:52.541 --> 00:00:57.701 And this episode, I'll lay out 10 underlying principles for SAS SEO content. 00:00:58.151 --> 00:01:00.821 That will help ensure the effort you're putting into your content 00:01:00.821 --> 00:01:04.901 will be well-received by both search engines and your target audience. 00:01:05.771 --> 00:01:07.781 When strung together and followed properly. 00:01:08.171 --> 00:01:11.351 These principles increase the likelihood that you'll achieve the 00:01:11.351 --> 00:01:13.061 results that you are looking for 00:01:15.156 --> 00:01:16.056 Marc: I'm Marc Thomas. 00:01:16.266 --> 00:01:18.246 I'm the head of growth at powered by search. 00:01:18.426 --> 00:01:21.426 And today I'm going to talk you through some of the best knowledge that we 00:01:21.426 --> 00:01:23.796 have on building B2B SaaS businesses. 00:01:24.366 --> 00:01:27.336 Now, if any of this is interesting to you and you want to read more, 00:01:27.576 --> 00:01:29.046 you should go to our website. 00:01:29.376 --> 00:01:32.556 It's poweredbysearch.com and check us out there. 00:01:38.798 --> 00:01:40.538 Before diving into the principles. 00:01:40.688 --> 00:01:42.848 Keep in mind the following as we move forward. 00:01:43.748 --> 00:01:47.018 Very often when people refer to content in the SAS marketing space, they're 00:01:47.018 --> 00:01:48.728 talking specifically about blogging. 00:01:49.148 --> 00:01:53.348 But the following principles apply to all of your content from your homepage 00:01:53.378 --> 00:01:55.088 to your product or services pages. 00:01:55.448 --> 00:01:57.218 To your blog articles to. 00:01:57.732 --> 00:02:01.062 Also I search engines have become more sophisticated over the years. 00:02:01.212 --> 00:02:03.972 The fundamentals of effective SEO have changed. 00:02:04.392 --> 00:02:07.362 Namely, it's no longer sufficient to just create content with high 00:02:07.392 --> 00:02:09.042 volume of the right keywords. 00:02:09.102 --> 00:02:10.332 We call that keyword stuffing. 00:02:10.783 --> 00:02:14.263 Instead search engines are rewarding content that is of the highest 00:02:14.263 --> 00:02:16.063 relevance and quality for the user. 00:02:16.539 --> 00:02:19.689 So most of the following principles are focused on just that. 00:02:20.083 --> 00:02:20.653 Let's dive in. 00:02:23.123 --> 00:02:28.043 Number one focus your SEO keyword research on intent, not volume. 00:02:28.778 --> 00:02:33.248 When the objective of SEO is to generate revenue, not just traffic and 00:02:33.248 --> 00:02:37.718 Patriots, it works best to find and create content for terms that indicate 00:02:37.928 --> 00:02:41.468 prospects are in the research or buying phase of the buyer's journey. 00:02:42.207 --> 00:02:44.787 The benefit of focusing your content marketing efforts around 00:02:44.787 --> 00:02:46.317 keywords that show buying intent. 00:02:46.707 --> 00:02:49.377 Is that they produce more predictable results. 00:02:50.007 --> 00:02:53.517 With high volume keywords while they might bring in more traffic, the 00:02:53.517 --> 00:02:55.377 quality of that traffic will be lower. 00:02:55.837 --> 00:02:57.487 From a conversion standpoint. 00:02:57.877 --> 00:02:59.587 Your results will be less predictable to. 00:03:00.929 --> 00:03:03.809 Before content creation starts, you should ask. 00:03:04.079 --> 00:03:07.919 What are the problems, obstacles, challenges, and pain points that 00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:10.589 your customers are experiencing related to your solution. 00:03:11.267 --> 00:03:13.397 Then using these as a starting point. 00:03:13.667 --> 00:03:14.987 You can use your tool of choice. 00:03:15.017 --> 00:03:20.117 Hey, traps, SEMrush, whatever you prefer to discover keywords that have the 00:03:20.117 --> 00:03:22.457 highest potential to drive conversions. 00:03:23.183 --> 00:03:23.783 Number two. 00:03:24.293 --> 00:03:26.273 Mira your customer's problems. 00:03:26.804 --> 00:03:30.314 Most of the SAS businesses that we speak with have a deep understanding 00:03:30.344 --> 00:03:31.904 of their customer's problems. 00:03:32.294 --> 00:03:34.364 But when we look at the pages of their websites, 00:03:34.364 --> 00:03:37.454 we see that that content falls short of reflecting less. 00:03:37.838 --> 00:03:40.328 This leads to potential customers, failing to understand the 00:03:40.328 --> 00:03:41.918 problems your product solves. 00:03:42.370 --> 00:03:45.580 The reason that empathy is such a popular concept in marketing is 00:03:45.580 --> 00:03:47.680 that people want to feel understood. 00:03:48.310 --> 00:03:51.100 And one of the best ways to show that you understand and have empathy 00:03:51.100 --> 00:03:54.790 for your target audience is to clearly communicate that problems and 00:03:54.790 --> 00:03:57.070 pain points directly on your page. 00:03:57.585 --> 00:04:01.095 A few ways yet to dig up specific problems, your customers face. 00:04:01.517 --> 00:04:02.717 Interview your customers. 00:04:03.276 --> 00:04:05.466 Interview your sales or customer success team. 00:04:06.034 --> 00:04:09.304 Get customer feedback via review sites, customer support, 00:04:09.304 --> 00:04:11.074 tickets, or community hubs. 00:04:11.549 --> 00:04:15.359 Search Google for the keyword that you're targeting or problem that you're solving 00:04:15.389 --> 00:04:18.059 and look at the people also ask questions. 00:04:18.356 --> 00:04:22.016 If you can explain that problems better than they can describe them themselves, 00:04:22.286 --> 00:04:25.376 your content becomes even more compelling. 00:04:25.683 --> 00:04:26.343 Number three. 00:04:26.973 --> 00:04:29.703 Identify the impacts of not solving the problem. 00:04:30.281 --> 00:04:33.221 Raise the stakes in your customer's mind by illustrating the 00:04:33.221 --> 00:04:35.081 potential problems they may face. 00:04:35.141 --> 00:04:37.241 If the problem remains unsolved. 00:04:37.931 --> 00:04:42.551 This is another element of creating empathetic user focused content. 00:04:42.811 --> 00:04:47.881 For example, if you get a stone chip in your car's windshield, that's a problem. 00:04:48.093 --> 00:04:50.493 Now the outcome of not solving that problem is that you're 00:04:50.493 --> 00:04:53.940 going to wake up one day to a completely shattered windshield. 00:04:53.940 --> 00:04:55.440 If the chip is not fixed. 00:04:55.736 --> 00:04:58.466 The resulting impact is that you can't drive your car to get to 00:04:58.466 --> 00:05:00.236 work or wherever you need to go. 00:05:00.587 --> 00:05:04.277 By calling out what happens if your prospects don't solve that problem, you 00:05:04.277 --> 00:05:07.997 further emphasize your understanding of that pain points and help create 00:05:07.997 --> 00:05:12.647 the tension necessary to nudge them forward towards investing in a solution. 00:05:12.814 --> 00:05:13.444 Number four. 00:05:13.834 --> 00:05:15.394 Benefits over features. 00:05:15.577 --> 00:05:18.667 We've noticed a theme where SAS companies will do a much better 00:05:18.667 --> 00:05:22.777 job of highlighting their product features and their product benefits. 00:05:22.994 --> 00:05:26.894 By clearly explaining the payoffs a customer would get when they choose your 00:05:26.894 --> 00:05:31.694 product, you make it easier for them to understand how you can solve that problem. 00:05:31.990 --> 00:05:34.930 Consider this example from our client hurdler. 00:05:35.160 --> 00:05:39.150 There's a screenshot in the accompanying blog post, a link is in the show notes. 00:05:39.508 --> 00:05:40.618 This section. 00:05:40.891 --> 00:05:45.241 On the benefits of using a mileage tracking app, which handler is. 00:05:45.241 --> 00:05:49.175 He lives just below the fold on that mileage tracker page. 00:05:49.526 --> 00:05:53.382 And anyone reading this product page can easily see what they stand to get 00:05:53.382 --> 00:05:55.302 out of investing in their solution. 00:05:55.490 --> 00:05:57.920 Consider these benefits framed up against the features. 00:05:58.134 --> 00:05:58.704 Feature. 00:05:58.989 --> 00:06:02.289 Drive details captured automatically benefits. 00:06:02.499 --> 00:06:03.309 Save time. 00:06:03.542 --> 00:06:04.052 Feature. 00:06:04.196 --> 00:06:07.076 Deductions and reimbursements captured automatically. 00:06:07.211 --> 00:06:08.711 Benefits save money. 00:06:09.068 --> 00:06:09.698 Feature. 00:06:10.148 --> 00:06:14.888 Tax reports with important details, benefits stay organized. 00:06:15.139 --> 00:06:17.509 Only after you've covered the core benefits. 00:06:17.689 --> 00:06:21.739 Should you touch on the technology functionality or design features? 00:06:22.111 --> 00:06:25.951 To continue with the hurdler example, further down the page. 00:06:25.981 --> 00:06:29.791 You'll see the following screenshot again in the show notes. 00:06:30.073 --> 00:06:31.873 Mileage tracking app features. 00:06:32.172 --> 00:06:35.502 There is absolutely a place in your content to describe 00:06:35.502 --> 00:06:36.972 the features of your product. 00:06:37.194 --> 00:06:37.674 But features. 00:06:37.674 --> 00:06:39.234 Aren't what drive people to buy. 00:06:39.714 --> 00:06:43.884 That's why we communicate benefits first and technology functionality 00:06:43.974 --> 00:06:45.714 or design features later. 00:06:45.893 --> 00:06:48.113 And sir your customer's questions. 00:06:48.323 --> 00:06:49.013 Number five. 00:06:49.336 --> 00:06:52.786 Structuring and content or a section of it with FAQ's and 00:06:52.786 --> 00:06:55.126 incorporating FAQ markup the schema. 00:06:55.156 --> 00:06:56.206 Mock-up if you're wondering. 00:06:56.467 --> 00:07:00.217 Can increase the likelihood of it appearing at the top of search 00:07:00.217 --> 00:07:02.077 results as a featured snippet. 00:07:02.311 --> 00:07:03.031 Not to mention. 00:07:03.421 --> 00:07:07.051 Answering your customer's most common questions in a helpful way 00:07:07.051 --> 00:07:10.501 to remove objections and concerns that would delay a conversion. 00:07:10.840 --> 00:07:11.440 To do this. 00:07:11.470 --> 00:07:15.520 You can use data that you've collected while seeking to understand 00:07:15.520 --> 00:07:16.930 your customer's pain points. 00:07:17.151 --> 00:07:21.741 The people also ask section in Google, as well as any frequent questions that your 00:07:21.741 --> 00:07:23.901 sales team receives about your product. 00:07:24.053 --> 00:07:26.363 This will usually include covering the basics. 00:07:26.633 --> 00:07:27.773 What does your product do? 00:07:28.073 --> 00:07:29.273 How does it work? 00:07:29.333 --> 00:07:31.733 How does it help solve a specific problem? 00:07:31.973 --> 00:07:32.813 Your customer has. 00:07:33.104 --> 00:07:36.254 And where can a customer learn more about a certain feature? 00:07:36.428 --> 00:07:37.178 Number six. 00:07:37.658 --> 00:07:40.778 Architect pages for topics not discrete keywords. 00:07:41.071 --> 00:07:43.201 As we alluded to earlier in the episode. 00:07:43.483 --> 00:07:46.843 In the past, building a pager on a particular keyword was 00:07:46.843 --> 00:07:51.163 sufficient enough to get a page to begin performing well in search. 00:07:52.033 --> 00:07:57.013 Nowadays modern search engine algorithms care about how relevant a pages for 00:07:57.013 --> 00:07:59.143 a topic and its related entities. 00:07:59.735 --> 00:08:03.035 And particular the following two characteristics signal 00:08:03.065 --> 00:08:04.325 relevance effectively. 00:08:04.697 --> 00:08:07.157 One covering a topic comprehensively. 00:08:08.177 --> 00:08:12.587 And to linking to different pages on your site, that all center around the topic 00:08:12.587 --> 00:08:14.537 category you're seeking to rank for. 00:08:14.686 --> 00:08:17.926 One way to achieve this is to use the hub and spoke model. 00:08:18.355 --> 00:08:19.615 We do this on our own blog. 00:08:19.915 --> 00:08:24.055 For example, for the topic of customer channel fit, we created a hub article, 00:08:24.265 --> 00:08:28.375 customer channel fit, how to identify the right B2B SAS marketing channels. 00:08:28.885 --> 00:08:33.565 And we also created spoke articles to support and link out to, for 00:08:33.565 --> 00:08:37.885 example, Google ads for SAS, LinkedIn ads for SAS, Facebook ads for SAS. 00:08:38.383 --> 00:08:39.223 Long story short. 00:08:39.613 --> 00:08:45.103 Search engines are rewarding websites that cover that topic category comprehensively. 00:08:45.426 --> 00:08:46.206 Number seven. 00:08:46.535 --> 00:08:49.205 Consolidate content and update consistently. 00:08:49.873 --> 00:08:53.983 We very often work with clients who have a number of different pieces 00:08:53.983 --> 00:08:57.223 of content on a similar topic that ended up competing with each other. 00:08:57.556 --> 00:09:01.336 These could be opportunities to take multiple pieces and combine them together 00:09:01.336 --> 00:09:03.856 in a single piece of great content. 00:09:04.366 --> 00:09:05.536 Something that's exceptional. 00:09:05.656 --> 00:09:09.586 I'm much more likely to rank than any of the individual pages on their own. 00:09:09.998 --> 00:09:13.928 Consolidation can also mean removing stale content from your website. 00:09:14.145 --> 00:09:18.465 In many cases, it's better to delete it all together, to help keep both 00:09:18.465 --> 00:09:22.335 users and search engines focused on the content that does perform. 00:09:22.702 --> 00:09:26.092 Lastly content needs to be consistently updated. 00:09:26.610 --> 00:09:30.060 The nature of the SEO game is that if you have content that's ranking for 00:09:30.060 --> 00:09:34.410 high value keywords in your niche, your competitors will inevitably be trying 00:09:34.410 --> 00:09:36.330 to create content to outrank you. 00:09:36.330 --> 00:09:36.600 There. 00:09:36.950 --> 00:09:40.580 By regularly updating yours, you can stay ahead of the competition. 00:09:40.909 --> 00:09:41.629 Number eight. 00:09:41.828 --> 00:09:43.748 Create content for authority. 00:09:43.748 --> 00:09:45.188 Uh, not for word count. 00:09:45.503 --> 00:09:49.673 Continuing the thread of how search engine algorithms have evolved word 00:09:49.673 --> 00:09:54.113 count and keyword density have also become less relevant over time. 00:09:54.449 --> 00:09:58.949 Rather writing for the user and going for quality have become the gold standard 00:09:58.949 --> 00:10:00.989 for gaining authority in your topic. 00:10:01.361 --> 00:10:04.661 The key ways to increase the authority of your content include. 00:10:05.015 --> 00:10:08.525 One producing content by an individual contributor, Oprah and 00:10:08.555 --> 00:10:10.385 with subject matter expertise. 00:10:11.105 --> 00:10:13.985 So content that is well-researched and created for me. 00:10:14.015 --> 00:10:15.545 Well-known industry source. 00:10:15.815 --> 00:10:17.585 Is seen as higher quality. 00:10:17.735 --> 00:10:20.345 Any piece that appears to be haphazardly put together. 00:10:21.125 --> 00:10:25.115 This is especially true in regulated industries, such as medical or 00:10:25.115 --> 00:10:29.315 legal and formal education, where credentials are an important 00:10:29.315 --> 00:10:32.345 signal of subject matter expertise. 00:10:33.095 --> 00:10:33.785 Number two. 00:10:34.445 --> 00:10:39.095 And in backlinks from reputable and trustworthy websites, backlinks 00:10:39.095 --> 00:10:42.875 from other industry experts or trusted sources will increase the 00:10:42.875 --> 00:10:45.035 trustworthiness of your website. 00:10:45.845 --> 00:10:50.765 Backlinks from irrelevant or spammy sources will have a negative impact. 00:10:52.175 --> 00:10:52.865 Number three. 00:10:53.765 --> 00:10:57.065 Creating content that is definitively authoritative. 00:10:58.415 --> 00:11:02.345 If you produce content that isn't more comprehensive than competing pieces. 00:11:02.915 --> 00:11:05.615 Search engines will likely favor it over everything else 00:11:05.615 --> 00:11:06.785 that it finds on the topic. 00:11:07.985 --> 00:11:08.735 But remember. 00:11:09.275 --> 00:11:12.095 This doesn't necessarily translate to word count. 00:11:13.025 --> 00:11:18.575 Or authoritative content simply just needs to be the best at explaining. 00:11:19.775 --> 00:11:20.975 And number nine. 00:11:21.965 --> 00:11:24.125 Don't forget user experience. 00:11:25.505 --> 00:11:29.585 Uh, Google tracks metrics like time on page bounce rate and other user 00:11:29.585 --> 00:11:33.125 performance stats that tell them how people are acting on your sites pages. 00:11:33.897 --> 00:11:38.307 So if you're sending someone to a page with poor user experience, or 00:11:38.307 --> 00:11:41.547 if you use that needs to visit 10 pages on your site before they find 00:11:41.547 --> 00:11:45.657 what they're looking for, Hey, can be detrimental to SEO performance. 00:11:46.797 --> 00:11:51.507 Uh, such following user experience, best practices has become important. 00:11:51.927 --> 00:11:53.667 Both when it comes to your site's design. 00:11:53.937 --> 00:11:55.977 On the type of content that you create. 00:11:57.927 --> 00:11:59.877 When your website has good UX. 00:12:00.267 --> 00:12:02.607 The metrics, the Google tracks will improve. 00:12:03.507 --> 00:12:05.607 People will spend more time on your pages. 00:12:05.757 --> 00:12:10.587 Bounce rates will go down and conversion rates are also likely to increase. 00:12:12.057 --> 00:12:13.077 Do you find out more? 00:12:13.107 --> 00:12:16.047 We have an article on our website on SAS website. 00:12:16.047 --> 00:12:17.067 Best practices. 00:12:17.247 --> 00:12:19.047 Where you can lend our entire framework. 00:12:19.167 --> 00:12:23.007 We call it the authority architecture for setting up your website with 00:12:23.157 --> 00:12:24.987 the user experience in mind. 00:12:26.214 --> 00:12:30.114 There are a number of different channels through which SAS content marketing 00:12:30.114 --> 00:12:33.684 can be used for lead generation and content often works best when it's 00:12:33.684 --> 00:12:35.394 created with a channel in mind. 00:12:36.204 --> 00:12:39.384 For example, if you're planning to drive traffic to a piece of content through 00:12:39.384 --> 00:12:44.064 paid social media or community promotion, you might choose to create thought 00:12:44.064 --> 00:12:49.314 leadership pieces, in-depth stories or expert interviews, unique, interesting 00:12:49.434 --> 00:12:51.744 content that causes readers to share. 00:12:52.075 --> 00:12:56.395 Whereas, if you're creating content for SEO, you might write list articles, 00:12:56.425 --> 00:13:01.495 competitor comparison pieces, or in depth, how to posts, formats that search 00:13:01.495 --> 00:13:04.135 engines tend to reward in search results. 00:13:04.533 --> 00:13:08.763 To get a hint of what user experience your piece should provide type your target, 00:13:08.763 --> 00:13:11.463 keyword or keywords into a search engine. 00:13:11.493 --> 00:13:12.213 Say Google. 00:13:12.499 --> 00:13:16.129 And look at the format of articles and pages that show up. 00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:19.530 Top ranked links are there because Google thinks that 00:13:19.530 --> 00:13:21.390 they provide a good experience. 00:13:21.600 --> 00:13:24.870 Therefore it's generally a good bat to structure your content 00:13:24.900 --> 00:13:27.180 similarly to what shows up. 00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:28.170 And the final one, 00:13:28.638 --> 00:13:29.208 number 10. 00:13:29.482 --> 00:13:32.632 Conversion rate optimization and capturing the lead. 00:13:32.881 --> 00:13:36.391 Now if the objective of your content is to generate leads and revenue 00:13:36.391 --> 00:13:40.681 for your business, it's useful to follow CRO best practices as well 00:13:40.681 --> 00:13:42.631 as conversion rate optimization. 00:13:42.835 --> 00:13:46.465 Some of the CRO best practices include making a compelling, 00:13:46.495 --> 00:13:48.055 relevant offer to the user. 00:13:48.204 --> 00:13:50.454 Displaying a clear call to action. 00:13:50.655 --> 00:13:53.865 Testing user behavior to optimize for conversions. 00:13:54.975 --> 00:13:58.305 Consider an example from our client tightened GPS. 00:13:58.893 --> 00:14:02.853 Here they efficiently make a clear call to action, communicate 00:14:02.853 --> 00:14:04.353 the benefits of their service. 00:14:04.443 --> 00:14:08.883 And as we covered in our article on SAS landing page, best practices, they make 00:14:08.883 --> 00:14:12.693 it easy for that prospects to understand the next action they should take. 00:14:13.053 --> 00:14:16.953 And by the way, that's referring to a screenshot, which is in 00:14:16.953 --> 00:14:18.363 the accompany in blog post. 00:14:18.783 --> 00:14:20.073 The link is in the show notes. 00:14:20.831 --> 00:14:21.791 As Paul is altogether. 00:14:22.434 --> 00:14:27.024 The opportunities to acquire new customers through SAS content marketing are here. 00:14:27.624 --> 00:14:29.994 And we've seen how valuable they can be when you approach 00:14:29.994 --> 00:14:31.734 SEO with the right strategy. 00:14:32.424 --> 00:14:35.814 So, if you're working hard to learn how you can improve your efforts 00:14:35.814 --> 00:14:37.254 to bring in leads through search. 00:14:37.794 --> 00:14:41.094 We hope this episode will help you get to where you want to go. 00:14:41.758 --> 00:14:42.568 I'll see you next time. 00:14:46.442 --> 00:14:48.932 Marc: now, if you enjoyed that today and you want to do something 00:14:48.932 --> 00:14:52.082 about your B2B SaaS marketing, you should get in touch with us. 00:14:52.682 --> 00:14:56.432 You can do that by going to poweredbysearch.com and checking 00:14:56.432 --> 00:14:57.842 out our assessment page. 00:14:58.742 --> 00:15:02.012 Or you can browse the case studies and blogs that we have on the site. 00:15:02.942 --> 00:15:06.122 Now if you're not ready to do that, definitely say hi anyway, 00:15:06.632 --> 00:15:07.922 you can ping me on Twitter. 00:15:08.312 --> 00:15:11.372 I'm @iammarcthomas that's Marc with a C. 00:15:12.182 --> 00:15:15.932 Or you can ping our founder and CEO, @devbasu and connect with us there. 00:15:17.012 --> 00:15:19.742 Looking forward to seeing you again for another episode.