SaaS SEO Agency: How to Choose the Best One in 2024

Have you already decided that you want to hire a SaaS PPC agency to help your business? Then you are on the right track. Because reliable and competent marketing experts can make a big difference when growing your business.

But if you just want to focus on improving your ranking on the search engine page results you should probably looking for a SaaS SEO agency.

But, do you know what SaaS SEO agency you should hire?

If not, don’t worry!

In this article, we can help you with making the right decision.

When you have to choose a SaaS SEO agency for your company there are many different aspects you need to consider. Therefore, we have created a list of some of the most fundamental factors to keep in mind when deciding on the right experts for your firm.

1 – The specificity of SaaS SEO vs. traditional SEO

1.1 You need to know your customers

At first, this might sound obvious and quite simple. However, the reality is that many businesses do not get this part right. They simply do not know enough about their ideal customers, in order to serve them most productively.

When getting to know your customers, you have to dig deeper than just the typical demographics including gender, age, education, etc.

You need to take a more creative approach to know your ideal customers. This will allow you to understand their needs and problems. In that way, you will have the opportunity to provide the right solution and engage your customers with content that promotes your software most effectively.

1.2 You need to understand the “buying journey”

Once you have a clear picture and understanding of your ideal customers, the next step is to define your content strategy and goals.

With the right content approach, you will be able to engage potential customers. As soon as prospects are exposed to your business, they become a part of your “buying journey”. If you manage this journey correctly, you will be able to gain their attention and turn them into returning consumers.

The B2B buying journey consists of four stages, which are as follows:

Awareness
Consideration
Decision
Retention

Awareness

These are top-of-the-funnel, potential customers that have only just made contact with your firm. In order to capture their attention, you need to build interest, brand awareness, and educate your visitors about how your software can help solve their pain points.

Consideration

Now your visitors are actively considering buying your offers. Make sure your content topics can help potential buyers to compare and assess your software. You also want to point out specific problems that potential customers are encountering, which you can help resolve.

Conversion

At this stage, you need your content to clearly describe particular value propositions of your service and point out comprehensive product descriptions. This should all help to turn potential customers into paying buyers.

Retention

Retaining is a key element for all SaaS companies in order to be profitable. Your content efforts at this stage needs to inform your customers about popular industry trends and how your other services or packages can be beneficial to them.

1.3 Keyword Research for SaaS Companies

When your ideal customer and content strategy is all clear, your next step should be to find the right keywords for your company.

But how do you find the most valuable keywords to focus on?

It all comes down to doing comprehensive keyword research. Because, when you know your ideal keywords you can start to form your core content. It can even help to optimize your paid advertising as well and improve your conversions.

Three main aspects are important to accomplish solid keyword research:

Use different tools: Various keyword databases will most likely provide you with different keywords. Therefore, you should make sure to utilize different tools to guarantee you include all niche opportunities and topics.
Divide your keywords into clusters: It is most likely that your SaaS services will be relevant to different businesses in multiple industries. Therefore, you should divide your keywords into separate clusters. We also recommend that you separate keywords with marketing intent from the keywords with informational intent.
Do not overlook low search volume keywords: You will see that some keywords will show a low search volume. However, that does not mean they are useless. Because when you connect relevant searches on the same subject, you have the opportunity to create leads that will stay with you for a long period of time.

2 – Questions to ask a SaaS SEO Agency

When hiring an SEO agency for your company there are a number of questions you could ask to help you make the right decision. These will be outlined below.

2.1 Look at the SEO agency’s past performance

You want to make sure that the agency you are hiring has been able to deliver solid and valuable results in the past. You should also check if the agency has worked with similar businesses like yours, and that the results are comparable to the once you want for your business.

2.2 Get case studies, client references, and online reviews

Past customers of a specific B2B business will ALWAYS tell you the truth about a company.

So look for previous resources like case studies, online reviews, and client references when deciding on a new SEO agency.

2.3 Ask past or current clients about their experience

A piece of good advice – get in touch with some of the SEO agency’s clients.

By doing so, you will be able to understand how their experience with the agency has been. A reliable and qualified SEO agency should have no dilemma with putting you in touch with some of their customers.

2.4 See if a they have experience with your industry

In relation to the above point, you need to find out if your considered SEO agency has experience with your industry. The better the SEO agency knows and understands your industry, the easier it is to work with.

2.5 Make sure your SaaS SEO agency uses white hat SEO practices

White hat SEO methods are techniques that work with Google’s algorithm in order to improve your site’s ranking in the search results list. These SEO tactics cover utilizing effective keywords, producing quality content, and linking internally on your website.

By using white hat SEO techniques, you will naturally rank higher in Google’s search results. Additionally, another benefit of using white hat SEO practices is that when Google’s algorithm changes, your website will change and adjust with it.

2.6 Check to see if the SEO agency has tools

All good SEO agencies should use a wide range of tools to maximize their performance and ROI. Therefore, it is always a good idea to check if the agency is applying excellent SEO tools.

These should include keyword research tools such as BuzzSumo or SEMrush.

Other relevant tools involve marketing tools that will help you learn about your audience, manage online reviews, and personalize your content.

2.7 How do you go about link building?

Link building is vital for any efficient SEO strategy. Trust and authority is a top ranking factor. So you should also ask how the agency handles link building.

As mentioned earlier, you want the agency to take a white hat approach when it comes to link building. This is done by creating excellent content that can draw in natural links.

2.8 What are the penalties for terminating the contract?

There can be numerous reasons why you might want to terminate the contract with your SEO agency before it’s over.

Find out what the penalties would be if you have to terminate a contract. If this seems too costly, you may want to reconsider if the agency is right for you.

3 – Agency pricing

The pricing structure is also a relevant aspect to consider when deciding on an agency for your company. Below you will find a list of the 6 most common price structures.

3.1 Fixed Fee

A fixed fee price structure is the most simple. Here you will pay the SEO agency a fixed price that both parties have agreed to before running the advertising campaign.

3.2 Pay for Performance

With this price structure, the SEO agency is paid according to the outcomes they deliver.

This is normally not an attractive price model for any SEO agency, as good results often take time to generate. You will not necessarily gain excellent outcomes straight away.

Moreover, there are also several market factors that can impact any SEO marketing campaign. Factors, which the agency cannot control. However, this doesn’t mean that the agency is not doing excellent work and shouldn’t be paid.

3.3 Hourly Price Consulting

This price structure also includes the SEO agency to charge an agreed amount, but it is charged on an hourly basis.

Utilizing an hourly rate pricing structure can sometimes threaten the efficiency of the ad campaign. That is not ideal! Because the campaign performance should depend on the agency’s efficiency and not on the time they spend on a campaign.

3.4 Project-based Price

The project-based price model is similar to the fixed-fee model. Because with a project-based price structure you define a flat fee for a project. However, this time, the price is based on an estimated amount of work and time required to complete it.

The project-based pricing model is commonly used because it’s simple and well defined.

3.5 Profit sharing

This price structure includes a form of partnership where the agency is paid according to the results they deliver. More specifically, the SEO agency is paid a percentage of sales they generate for a client.

So basically, the agency makes money when your subscription business makes money.

3.6 Monthly Retainer

With the monthly retainer price structure, the SEO agency will set up a monthly fee for predefined SEO maintenance work. This pricing agreement normally includes a defined set of tasks that are delivered every month. Any jobs that are done outside the monthly retainer contract are normally billed using the hourly rate-pricing model.

If you want to know more about what other SEO agencies, SaaS SEO consultants, and freelancers

charge for their SEO service, you can find out more from this comprehensive SEO pricing survey.

4 – Mistakes to avoid when choosing a SaaS agency

The above points should all be able to guide you in the right direction when it comes to determining an SEO agency. Though, it is also worth mentioning a few mistakes to look out for when you have to pick SEO experts to grow your business.

4.1 Google should not be used as your filter

So you need to find the best SEO agency close to you, what better way than to use Google? Just type in “best SEO agency + your area” and your area’s best agency should be at the top of the Google search page, right?

Unfortunately no – it is not that simple!

While it seems obvious that the best experts in SEO should be able to rank highest in Google, that is rarely the case. Because qualified SEO agencies do not spend their time optimizing their own SEO to gain new customers. They already have a big customer base.

However, the SEO agencies that do not have numerous clients are using most of their energy trying to get new customers. They do that by putting a lot of effort into ranking highest in the search result pages.

4.2 Do not trust “Top SEO” lists

Try to type in “best SEO companies” or “best SEO consultants” on Google. Then you will be shown different websites that aggregate SEO agencies on the market. But be aware that these are not the best SEO agencies.

Because the SEO agencies on those lists are paying to be there. They are clearly not reliable.

However, you will be able to find a few websites such as where you can’t pay to be listed. Such sites can be a valuable source for you.

4.3 Do not accept a cheap SEO agency

In regards to SEO, you most often get what you pay for.

Consequently, it is important that you don’t choose a cheap SEO agency. Because these agencies will under deliver in terms of qualified outcomes for your business. They will most likely use cheap solutions like copy-and-paste approaches.

Instead, you should decide on a realistic SEO budget and stick to it. That will give you the results to help grow your SaaS business.

Conclusion

It is obvious that there are many aspects to consider when deciding on a SaaS SEO agency. However, if you make sure to have defined your goals and objectives before you start the search for your SEO agency will be so much easier.

If you’d like to learn more about how we help B2B SaaS companies grow their MRR through SEO and PPC, contact us online or send us an email today at info@getuplead.com to speak with someone on our team.