SaaS SEO Checklist

Your SEO work should start by examining your current performance, no matter where you stand. Get a clear understanding of the most important metrics and strategies deployed.

Remember the following rule: You can’t manage what you can’t measure. So start out by making sure you understand your starting situation inside out.

After assessing your starting position, start defining what you want to achieve with your SEO strategy. Defining macro goals means that you set your 1-4 most important targets that you want your website to hit over a longer-term horizon (6-12 month or beyond).

Establishing macro goals is crucial for steering your SEO efforts toward long-term success. Begin by setting milestone goals that will serve as benchmarks for evaluating your progress over time. Focus on several critical metrics:

• Traffic: Set specific targets for both Total Traffic and New User Traffic to ensure you’re not only retaining your existing audience but also continuously attracting new visitors to your site. This helps in expanding your reach and driving overall growth.

• Keywords on Page 1: Identify key keywords that are crucial for your business and aim to secure Page 1 rankings for them. Achieving and maintaining top positions in search results is essential for maximizing visibility and organic traffic.

• Domain Rating: Set a goal to consistently improve your Domain Rating by building high-quality backlinks and strengthening your site’s authority. A higher domain rating is indicative of a strong online presence and a higher likelihood of ranking well across various keywords.

• Conversions: Finally, establish targets for Conversions, whether they are measured in terms of leads generated or sales completed. This metric is a direct indicator of how effectively your SEO efforts are translating into tangible business results.

To ensure consistent progress and maintain momentum in your SEO strategy, it’s vital to set micro goals that break down your macro objectives into manageable, short-term targets.

Focus particularly on New User Traffic and Conversions, as these metrics directly correlate with expanding your customer base and driving revenue.

• New User Traffic: Aim for a 5%-10% monthly increase in new visitors to your website. This steady growth rate is both ambitious and achievable, fostering continual improvement without overwhelming your resources. Utilize a simple spreadsheet to track these figures month-over-month, allowing you to visualize trends, identify patterns, and adjust strategies as needed.
  
  

• Conversions: Parallel to traffic goals, set specific monthly targets for conversions, whether they manifest as lead captures, product purchases, or service sign-ups. Monitor the conversion rate to ensure that as traffic increases, the quality and engagement level of your visitors remain high.

By meticulously tracking these monthly goals in a spreadsheet, you create a feedback loop that informs your ongoing SEO tactics, enabling timely adjustments and fostering a data-driven approach to achieving your overarching business objectives.

Deliverable goals define output-related targets. These are goals that require actions instead of just focusing on the end result. Practically, we are speaking about how much content you need to produce and how many link mentions you need to build to take active steps towards SEO success.

• Blog Posts Created Per Month: Set a goal to produce and publish between 1 to 4 high-quality blog posts each month. This range ensures that your content strategy remains active and fresh, providing regular opportunities to target new keywords, engage your audience, and demonstrate thought leadership in your industry. Regular content updates also signal to search engines that your site is active and relevant, which can positively impact your rankings.
  
  

• Backlinks Built Per Month via Guest Posting: Establish a monthly target of acquiring at least 3 to 4 high-quality backlinks through guest posting on authoritative websites. Guest posting not only helps in building valuable backlinks that enhance your site’s domain authority, but it also increases your brand’s visibility across a broader audience. Aim for backlinks from reputable sites within your niche to ensure they provide maximum SEO value and contribute positively to your overall link profile.

Setting and consistently hitting these benchmarks will keep your content and link-building efforts on track, leading to sustained improvements in your SEO performance over time.

To effectively implement your SEO strategy, assign clear responsibilities within your team:

• Content Creation: Appoint a team member to manage the creation and publishing of 1 to 4 blog posts per month. This person will handle topic research, content development, and scheduling to ensure consistency.
  
  

• Link-Building: Designate an individual to oversee acquiring 3 to 4 high-quality backlinks per month. They will identify guest posting opportunities, manage outreach, and track backlink effectiveness.
  
  

• KPI Tracking: Assign someone to monitor and report on key performance indicators (KPIs). This role involves reviewing traffic, conversions, and other metrics, and providing regular updates to the team.
  
  Clear responsibility ensures each goal is met effectively and aligns with your overall SEO objectives.