Driving website traffic is one of the biggest challenges facing SaaS companies today. With so much competition and noise in the market, it can be difficult for SaaS businesses to get their content seen and build a solid stream of qualified visitors to their sites. Low traffic numbers translate to lost opportunities for user acquisition, which is detrimental to growth.
The good news is there are proven strategies and best practices that SaaS companies can use to boost their website traffic substantially. The key is having an integrated online marketing plan that utilizes both free and paid acquisition channels to maximize reach and exposure.
In today’s article, I am going to share the ways I follow to increase my SaaS client’s website traffic. So, if you are interested in learning then be with me till the end!
Optimize Your Website for Search Engine
One of the most powerful ways to drive consistent traffic to your SaaS website is through organic search engine optimization (SEO). With SEO best practices, you can gain more visibility on search engines like Google. Compared to general SEO, SaaS SEO is different as it has a different target than traditional websites.
By doing SaaS SEO properly, you will not only get a traffic boost but also it will reduce CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) and increase CLV (customer lifetime value).
So, let’s find out how you can do SEO for your SaaS business.
Keyword Research and Optimization
Choosing the right keywords is crucial for ranking well and attracting qualified traffic. However, keyword research for SaaS products requires special consideration compared to traditional businesses.
SaaS companies need to target longer, more specific long-tail keywords that precisely describe their offerings. This is because potential customers conduct extensive research before committing to complex SaaS solutions. Short, generic keywords are often far too competitive to rank for.
It’s also important to incorporate relevant industry jargon and technical terminology in keywords where appropriate. For example, keywords could include specific programming languages or software platforms your product integrates with.
Understanding user search intent is key too. Someone searching for “open source project management software” is likely still researching, while “best open source project management tools” indicates a user closer to a purchase decision.
Additionally, target keywords related to customer success, support, retention, and product updates. These downstream keywords help reduce churn and increase lifetime value.
With so many SaaS competitors, keyword research must identify low competition gaps where you can rank well and be discovered. By spending time researching the right keyword targets, your SEO and content efforts will attract more qualified traffic.
Website Technical Audit
It’s also important to ensure your SaaS website has a solid technical SEO foundation. Technical errors or issues can negatively impact your ability to rank, so performing routine audits and fixes is key.
Ensure Responsiveness
Having a fast, mobile-friendly website is crucial for any SaaS business looking to boost its traffic. Technical optimizations that improve site speed and responsive design make for a seamless user experience across devices.
According to research, 85% of customers expect a consistent experience whether visiting a site via desktop or mobile. Failing to deliver on this expectation damages satisfaction and engagement. Leveraging responsive web design principles allows your site to dynamically adapt for optimal viewing on smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktops.
Ensure Faster Loading Time
You also need to pay close attention to overall site performance. Slow load times lead to high bounce rates as visitors quickly lose patience. According to the same research by invisionapp, they found that 88% of consumers don’t like to come back once they have a bad experience on a site. And slow loading time can cause that as well. The website owners not only lose customers but also have a loss of $2.6 billion in sales per year. So, it’s an important factor that needs to be taken care of.
Run audits using Google PageSpeed Insights and other tools to catch performance bottlenecks. Some solutions include compressing images, minimizing code, reducing server calls, and optimizing caching.
Regularly auditing and upgrading technical elements like broken links, duplicate content issues, alt text, and site architecture is also important. Tackling these site health factors improves SEO and prevents content gaps that frustrate visitors.
With a fast, seamless site designed responsively for any device, you remove friction from the user journey. This helps convert more high-quality traffic into customers over the long term.
Do Content Marketing
Producing regular educational content through content marketing tactics is also instrumental in driving organic growth. By consistently publishing fresh, valuable content, you attract and engage your target audience.
While creating content, consider using a framework like the Semrush marketing funnel to identify terms for each stage of the customer journey.
For the top of the funnel, prioritize informational, early-stage keywords that prospects are searching for when first researching a problem or solution. These may include broader industry terms or educational guides. Optimizing for these keywords can attract new visitors just entering the consideration stage.
The middle of the funnel should focus on keywords indicating intent to evaluate or compare solutions, like product name, feature, and benefit-driven phrases. These queries come from prospects further along in their decision process. Ranking for these can convert visitors into leads.
Finally, the bottom of the funnel should optimize conversion-focused keywords, particularly around pricing, free trials, demos, and other transactional terms. These come from prospects ready to purchase, so targeting these keywords can drive conversions from your SEO traffic.
The foundation of effective content marketing and SEO for SaaS is optimizing content for keywords aligned to each stage of the buyer’s journey. Continually track keyword performance and refine strategies based on the latest search results and competitor analyses. Ongoing optimization improves rankings and attracts more qualified traffic over time.
It’s also key to create valuable, informative content focused on topics your audience cares about, and promote that content regularly across social media, email, influencers, and other channels. Consistent, high-quality content marketed effectively through multiple channels will boost engagement and drive more website traffic over time.
Do Paid Marketing or PPC
While organic channels are great for long-term gains, paid digital marketing can provide a faster influx of site traffic. Pay-per-click (PPC) ads and paid social are two of the most effective paid channels for SaaS lead generation.
Google Ads
Google Ads should be a core component of your SaaS paid marketing mix. This allows you to show text, image, and video ads on Google alongside organic results for searches related to your products. Targeted paid search ads can drive higher-intent visitors to your site. Focus on optimizing ads for product and service-related keywords.
Facebook and Instagram Ads
Given Facebook and Instagram’s massive user base, their ads platform offers immense potential for top-of-funnel SaaS lead generation. You can create video views and conversion campaigns targeted to your buyer personas’ interests and demographics. Highly visual creative and offers tend to work best.
LinkedIn Ads
For a B2B audience, LinkedIn ads allow you to reach decision-makers and generate leads through their self-serve ads platform. You can target based on member interests, job titles, and other attributes. Sponsored content, customized audiences, and lead gen forms are all options.
Retargeting Campaigns
Retargeting involves serving ads to visitors who have already been to your website to draw them back. This technique helps you reconnect with prospects who weren’t ready to convert on their first visit. Programmatic display ads and social retargeting are common approaches.
Do Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is an extremely effective yet underutilized strategy for SaaS brands looking to drive more traffic and leads. By collaborating with industry experts and thought leaders, you can tap into their authority, reputation, and audience reach in a credible way.
According to a recent study, 89% of marketers say influencer marketing provides ROI comparable or better than other marketing techniques. And influencer content receives 60% higher engagement rates on average compared to brand-created content.
When identifying potential influencer partners, look for individuals who create high-quality content related to your product’s use cases, integrations, or target customers. Prioritize subject matter experts, analysts, journalists, founders, and technology reviewers who can provide credible third-party validation.
Micro-influencers are also worth exploring, as they have highly targeted niche followers that are more affordable to work with compared to celebrities with millions of broad followers. A micro-influencer in your industry with 20,000 engaged followers can be very impactful.
Some effective ways to collaborate with influencers include:
- Sponsoring content and providing review access
- Co-creating content like webinars, guides, or videos
- Promoting their content through your social channels
- Securing quotes, testimonials, or guest articles
- Compensating appropriately for their time and audience reach
The key is developing relationships with influencers over time through outreach and engagement. By integrating influencer marketing into your overall content strategy, you can leverage their credibility to boost brand awareness, drive qualified website traffic, increase lead generation, and ultimately grow revenue.
Paid or Organic Traffic – Which One is Ideal for SaaS?
For SaaS businesses, the ideal traffic mix involves both organic and paid strategies working together. Relying solely on organic traffic can limit potential growth due to SEO’s long-term trajectory. At the same time, only paid advertising is simply not sustainable and cost-efficient.
Hence, adopt a healthy blend of organic and paid strategies. SEO establishes a solid long-term foundation of relevant organic traffic, while paid ads help scale things up and achieve short-term results. SaaS platforms should dedicate considerable focus to content marketing and search optimization to keep growing organically. You can always accelerate traffic acquisition through smart paid campaigns as needed.
Test different paid channels and continuously optimize landing pages, ad copies, keywords, etc. to maximize ROI. If specific paid channels fail to generate conversions, shift budgets towards better performing ones. Carefully track marketing analytics to identify your best traffic sources and double down on those.
Through the right mix of organic and paid strategies, SaaS businesses can drive continuous growth in high-intent website traffic to boost lead generation and sales. Ranking high in search results and having a strong content marketing foundation pays long-term dividends. Simultaneously, paid ads help scale and control traffic acquisition. Test and refine to find the ideal organic/paid mix for sustainable scalable growth.
Conclusion
Boosting website traffic takes work, but implementing SEO best practices, content marketing, paid ads, influencer partnerships, and more can deliver tremendous results. By increasing your site traffic, you will be able to generate more high-quality leads and customers for your SaaS business.
Be sure to take an integrated approach across both free and paid acquisition channels. Develop evergreen content to build up organic search rankings for the long haul. Then supplement with paid ads and influencers to accelerate growth and exposure. Over time, you will be able to build significant traffic, leads, and revenue through online marketing done right.