You write high-quality content for SaaS websites, but still struggle to rank higher in Google search results? Alone, content is not the key to success. If the Google crawl cannot reach your website, or does not index your website’s content, and does not understand the purpose of your website, your growth hits a ceiling. That’s where technical SEO for SaaS plays a crucial part, which involves optimising all the pages of the SaaS website and its structure so that the search engine easily finds you, understands the website content, and ranks for it.
Technical SEO is the foundation of a SaaS website; without it, it is nothing. No matter how beautiful the design and software you have, the structure won’t stand.
SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) is a website that provides users with software services that solve their problems and are accessible via the internet. You need to pay a monthly or yearly subscription to access the software. Some companies offer a free version to help users familiarise themselves with the product or software.
Suppose you’re a beginner and don’t know about technical SEO for SaaS. In that case, I’ll guide you and provide a technical SEO strategy that makes your website SEO-friendly, enabling search engines to discover it easily. In the end, you have a clear picture of the core elements of technical SEO and how to optimise technical SEO for SaaS. You can apply this strategy to boost your online visibility, attract organic users, and increase trial sign-ups.
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What is technical SEO for Saas?
Technical SEO for Sass refers to the optimisation of technical backend aspects of a website, which ensures it is easily crawlable and understood by the Google search engine. As a result, it indexed all the pages of the SaaS website and selected them for ranking in Google SERPs.
Suppose you have recently created a great SaaS product. You have a clean site, a pricing page, a blog with lots of knowledge and even a complete documentation centre for your customers. At least, all seems fine on the surface.
Here, however, is the underdog issue: search engines do not view your site in the same light as people do. Google crawlers are box-peepers inside a building, rather than looking at the design. They examine the infrastructure, the corridors, the doors and the signs to guide them to their destination.
New roadblocks in the SaaS websites are common now:
- Crawler blocker walls that do not allow crawlers access to gated content.
- Dashboards and moving content that are not necessarily seen by search engines.
- Several subdomains (such as blog.iocalculator.com, docs.iocalculator.com, app.iocalculator.com) complicate navigation.
Without optimisation of this infrastructure, search engines may get lost or stuck. Some of your most valuable pages, such as your pricing or feature landing page, may not even appear in the search results.
Take Slack as an example. They are primarily a marketing platform (for finding businesses), a blog (for educating users), and a comprehensive documentation area (for developers). Technical SEO prevents Google from wasting Time crawling through thousands of duplicate doc pages and not crawling their high-value feature pages or pricing pages. However, when paired with a solid technical configuration, such as the use of sitemaps, canonical tags, and internal linking, Slack is sure to inform search engines of what they should focus on, which will allow it to be ranked in the search results with keywords and phrases that include team collaboration software and Slack pricing.
That is what technical SEO of SaaS is. It is a matter of ensuring that your site is so organised that search engines can:
- Search through all the key pages.
- Label them appropriately so that they can be found in search results.
- Give the visitor an uninterrupted experience that leads to customers giving in their money.
Imagine putting down clear signposts, repairing shattered doors, and ensuring that all crucial rooms in your online house are accessible to Google to stroll through. Technical SEO is the difference between a SaaS site that looks good to the end user and a site that is also search engine-friendly, which generates more organic traffic and conversions.
Why is Technical SEO crucial for a Saas website?
SaaS sites are multi-purpose and may have a combination of blogs, documentation hubs, pricing pages, feature pages, and login portals. Critical pages may be invisible or duplicated due to technical SEO issues and need to be made visible.
To discuss the reasons why this is important, it is helpful to define two basics:
Crawling: search engines use bots to explore pages on your site.
Indexing: pages found are stored in the Google database and are eligible to be listed in a search result.
SaaS-optimised sites have increased search visibility, a better user experience to reduce churn, and ultimately, increased trial sign-ups and demos.
Core Elements of Technical SEO for Saas
3.1 Crawlability & Indexing
Crawlability defines the ability of search engine bots to reach your pages on the SaaS site, including features, pricing, blog, and documentation. Indexing is necessary so that the pages can be added to the Google database and appear in the search results. Crawlers will be unable to reach a page, and it will not rank. To identify crawl problems such as hidden pages or blocked pages, SaaS companies must watch the crawl budget (the number of pages crawled by the bot) and analyse log files.
3.2 Internal linking and site architecture
The most logical site structure is well-defined and can be easily navigated by both end users and crawlers. SaaS websites’ feature pages are usually deep layers that get buried. Internal linking, such as linking feature pages and blog posts, improves topical authority and does not place any valuable information behind closed doors. Maximum visibility is best achieved by a flat architecture (minimised clicks between the home page and main pages).
3.3 Status Codes & Crawl Health
The search engines use status codes to know how your site functions. Examples are 200 (OK) of accessible pages, 301 (redirect) of moving content, 404 (not found) of broken links, and 500 (server error) of technical failure. Pages such as pricing, trial signup, or feature overviews must always respond with a 200 status code in SaaS businesses. Frequent audits allow the identification and correction of problems before they damage rankings.
3.4 Orphan Pages
Orphan pages are pages that do not contain internal links to them, and thus are not visible to search engines. This is a typical occurrence in SaaS, often involving outdated landing pages, neglected blog upkeep, or hidden blog posts. Without being able to locate them, crawlers will not rank those pages. Periodic auditing using software such as Screaming Frog can help identify orphan pages and re-incorporate them into your site’s architecture.
3.5 XML Sitemap & Submission
An XML sitemap is more of a roadmap to search engines as it directs them to your most valuable SaaS pages. With sites that have numerous docs, blogs, and features, it is essential to update the sitemap. By submitting it to Google Search Console, crawlers will never be left without a clue where to turn. Dynamic sitemaps are beneficial when a company uses SaaS and regularly introduces new product functionality or content.
3.6 Canonical Tags
Replication of the content is a typical SaaS problem–particularly when several pages discuss similar features. The canonical tags inform search engines which version of a page is the master. For example, example.com/pricing and example.com/pricing?ref=campaign, a canonical tag would prevent duplicate indexing and retain the SEO value of example.com/pricing.
3.7 Robots Meta Tags & Robots.txt
Not all SaaS pages are supposed to be ranked in search results. Robots.txt allows crawlers access to particular parts, and robots meta tags (such as noindex) allow specific pages to be omitted in the index. You can block them and lock out areas of your site that you are not actually testing or staging, and leave your marketing pages (pricing, features, case studies) well-readable to search engines.
3.8 Duplicate Content and URL Duplication
Copies are misleading to search engines and divide the ranking authority. In the case of SaaS, this occurs when a similar landing page is being targeted to the same keyword or multiple versions of the same page are created by the session ID/URL parameter. The answer lies in merging multiple pages, canonicalization, and having a clean and descriptive URL structure.
3.9 Lack of Meta Descriptions / Header Tags
Meta descriptions, which include telling the user about content and header tags (H1, H2, H3), play an essential role in making search engines and the end user understand what you are saying. Missing or duplicate tags undermine search engine optimisation and clickthrough. The SaaS sites ensure that all pricing pages, feature pages, and blog pages have their own unique meta descriptions, which are rich in keywords and logical headings that guide readers through the content.
3.11 Core Web Vitals and Speed of Website
A sluggish SaaS website will be expensive to sign up for. Some of the ranking factors include core Web Vitals, specifically LCP (Largest Contentful Paint), CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift), and FID (First Input Delay). Speed can be tracked with tools such as PageSpeed Insights and GTmetrix. Compressing images, caching, and lessening JavaScript are some of the optimisation modes that are essential in SaaS heavy feature pages.
3.11 Mobile-First Optimisation
The majority of SaaS studies and experimentation start with mobile. You lose conversions to small screens if your signup flow or product tour does not work on small screens. Mobile-friendly, responsive design not only will make your site higher in Google but also provide an easy experience to the users. Always test pages on SaaS, such as pricing and trial signup, on mobile devices.
3.12 UX/UI Design
SEO is not only about search engines, but it is also about people. An untidy SaaS site with incoherent menus or invisible CTAs increases bounces. A clear UX/UI design, featuring intuitive navigation, readable fonts, clear CTAs, and a user-friendly sign-up process, helps the user stay active. Happy users give Google an indication that your site is worth something.
3.13 HTTPS & Security
Everything in SaaS is about trust because users do not want to share sensitive information. What is good about HTTPS is that it encrypts the connection, which secures the user and enhances search engine optimisation. Google has also used HTTPS as a ranking criterion, so insecure SaaS websites will not do well in search. Consistently implement HTTPS everywhere (including subdomains) to secure your product and your customers.
Technical SEO strategies for Saas websites
4.1 Better Crawlability and Indexing
- Incorporate interlinking between pricing, features and blog pages so that crawlers can find them easily.
- Monitoring whether the sitemap (XML) meets all specified requirements is done through Google Search Console, which requires submitting your sitemap and making regular updates to the sitemap as new documents/features are introduced.
- Check the crawl errors inside Search Engine frequently (404s, blocked pages, etc.).
Bonus Tip: If you want to understand the crawling of your SaaS site by Googlebot, use log file analysis tools (such as Screaming Frog or JetOctopus) to view the crawllog in its entirety.
4.2 Fix Status Codes
- Change the old SaaS landing pages with 301 redirects.
- Design a 404 of your own, including links to features/ demo/ pricing.
- Uptime tools are used to monitor 5xx server errors to prevent downtime problems.
Pro Tip: The 404 page has a search bar to enable visitors to locate the appropriate SaaS feature or doc within minutes.
4.3 Resolve Orphan Pages
- Addition of old landing pages or docs to navigation menus.
- Connect them on cornerstone pages, such as Features or Pricing, so they are not downplayed.
Pro Tip: Site audits (using tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Screaming Frog) can be used to automatically identify orphan pages.
4.4 Optimise XML Sitemaps
- Create dynamic sitemaps that are automatically updated with any new documentation or product additions.
- Add and update them to the Search Engine using Search Console after significant updates.
Pro Tip: Blogs, docs, and features have separate sitemaps, which are easier to handle.
4.5 Canonical Tags to your advantage
- Use canonical tags to deal with SaaS landing pages that have been duplicated (e.g., variations on prices).
- Avoid cannibalism of content by indicating which page Google is required to rank.
Pro Tip: You should always have a self-referencing canonical on all SaaS pages – this prevents indexing errors.
4.6 Meta Tags, Robots, and Robots.txt
- Mark staging sites, test environments and internal dashboards with no index.
- Provide indexing of public marketing pages, including case studies, features, and pricing.
Pro Tip: Always do not block your JavaScript or CSS files in robots, or Google will misunderstand your SaaS design.
4.7 Deal with Duplicated Content and URL Duplication
- Control URL parameters (filters, session IDs) within Search console.
- Canonicalise or perform redirects on duplicate landing pages and FAQ.
Pro Tip: Provide canonical tags in your documentation hub. SaaS documentations are usually copied over to different URLs.
4.8 Add Special Meta Descriptions and Headers
- Create page-specific, user-centred, keyword-based meta descriptions.
- Use H1 as primary specialisation (e.g. SaaS Pricing Plans) and H2S/H3S as benefits and features.
Pro Tip: Meta descriptions should not exceed 155 characters and should have a CTA (ex, Start your free trial today).
4.9 Optimisation of Speed/Core Web Vitals
- CSS/JS minification, image compression and global speed, through CDN.
- Test key pages (product demos and pricing) with PageSpeed Insights regularly.
Pro Tip: Images and videos on the demo pages of SaaS load slowly, so you should not need to negotiate between speed and design.
4.10 Mobile-First Best Practices
- Mobile product tests, follow-ups and Price tables.
- The dashboard and signup process on your SaaS should be fully responsive.
Pro Tip: The Mobile-Friendliness Test uses the SERanking tool, which allows you to check all issues before they affect your ranking, and is provided by Google.
4.11 Enhance UX/UI for SEO
- Test with heatmaps to optimise CTA positions on pricing/signup pages.
- Make the navigation clean and easy to use, and minimise the friction during the sign-up process.
Pro Tip: A/B Test sign-up forms– cutting one field, in some cases, increases conversion rates and signals to the SEO engine.
4.12 Read HTTPS and track security
- Permanently redirect all traffic – HTTP – HTTPS to make it safe.
- Your SaaS websites lose ranking and confidence when you do not replace the SSL certificates regularly.
Pro Tip: Use HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security) when adding additional security and SEO trust indicators.
Conclusion
In this Article, I explain technical SEO for a SaaS website, as SaaS websites often contain multiple pages that can cause duplicate content, URL issues, orphan pages, and missing meta tags. The main problem is crawling and indexing if the Google bot does not find your website. Submit your XML site map to Google Search Console so that Google sends a crawl to your website, which then crawls and indexes it. Firstly, audit the website using Ahrefs or the Semrush tool, which identifies technical issues. By following this guide, you can easily solve technical SEO issues for a SaaS website. Additionally, apply these strategies to address duplicate content and crawl issues.