Mastering Technical SEO for SaaS: A Step-by-Step Guide

What is technical SEO?

Technical SEO is the practice of optimizing a website's underlying structure and code to improve its visibility and performance in search engine results. It focuses on making your website easy for search engines to crawl, index, and understand, ultimately leading to a better user experience.

Technical SEO is crucial for SaaS companies to improve search engine rankings, traffic, and ultimately increase conversions.

Why technical SEO matters for SaaS?

SaaS is a fiercely competitive world where every advantage counts. While on-page and off-page SEO strategies have traditionally garnered more attention, technical SEO plays a critical, yet often overlooked, role in your overall success. Here's why technical SEO should be a top priority for SaaS businesses:

Gone are the days when technical SEO existed solely in the realm of code and algorithms. Google's latest updates prioritize user experience signals like bounce rate, website speed, and mobile-friendliness. This shift reflects a fundamental truth: a well-optimized website, even behind the scenes, fosters trust and a seamless user experience – both crucial for SaaS website conversions.

Apart from this organic searches are unequivocally one of the best channels for revenue growth, especially for SaaS businesses. Unlike d2c or consumer brands, SaaS relies heavily on search results to attract users. Adding to this- the fact that 70% of people would rather learn about a company through articles rather than an advert. Evidently, organic traffic is the most efficient channel for marketing and sales when it comes to SaaS companies.

Considering the long sales cycle and the rising popularity of ABM and CRO strategies in SaaS marketing, technical seo for SaaS has various other secondary benefits as well. Here's why:

• ABM: Technical SEO keeps high-value accounts you target (ABM) engaged. Easy navigation and clear content clusters (grouped content around topics) encourage them to explore your website, increasing touchpoints and helping you understand their journey.
• CRO: Technical SEO smooths the path to conversion (CRO). Navigation guides visitors through the sales funnel, from informative content to product pages and pricing. Fast loading times and a mobile-friendly experience keep them engaged, ultimately leading to more sales – especially crucial for SaaS with longer sales cycles.

Imagine your SaaS website as a physical storefront. Would you do business with a company where the displays are cluttered, products are haphazardly scattered, and finding what you need feels like an obstacle course? A technical SEO optimization gives a SaaS website clear navigation, fast loading times, and a mobile-friendly design. It is the digital equivalent of a well-organized, inviting store.

The invisible advantage of technical SEO for SaaS companies

While the nuts and bolts of technical SEO might not be readily apparent to website visitors or even your internal teams, its impact is undeniable. Here are some key ways SaaS technical SEO efforts that empower your business:

• Visibility in a Competitive Market: With over 31,000 SaaS companies globally (and that number has doubled since 2020!), standing out from the crowd is paramount. Technical SEO helps optimize your website for search engines, increasing your visibility, search engine rankings and organic traffic.
• Boosting User Experience: SaaS technical SEO goes beyond search rankings. It focuses on optimizing website speed, navigation structure, and mobile responsiveness – all factors that directly influence user experience. Happy users are more likely to convert and become loyal customers.
• Long-Term Growth Strategy: Paid advertising can provide a quick boost, but organic traffic fueled by a strong technical foundation offers a more sustainable and scalable path to long-term growth.

Technical SEO strategies might seem intimidating, but here's the good news: you don't have to be a coding expert to reap its benefits. Many helpful resources are available online and from SEO professionals. By learning the basics of technical SEO for SaaS, you'll be empowered to make informed decisions about your website. Additionally, reputable SaaS SEO agencies can provide comprehensive audits and ongoing optimization strategies.

Investing in technical SEO is an investment in the future of your SaaS business. By prioritizing a strong technical foundation, you ensure your website is discoverable, user-friendly, and ultimately contributes to your long-term success.

What is the difference between on-page, off-page, and technical SEO for SaaS?

On-page SEO: It directly optimizes the content and structure of your webpages to be relevant and search-engine friendly. This involves crafting high-quality content with targeted keywords, optimizing title tags and descriptions, and ensuring clear internal linking.

Off-page SEO: focuses on building your website's authority and credibility through external factors. This can involve acquiring backlinks from relevant websites, generating positive brand mentions online, and actively engaging with your audience on social media.

Technical SEO: the core focus of this guide, deals with the underlying technical aspects of your website. It ensures search engines can easily crawl, index, and understand your site. This includes optimizing website structure and code for speed and mobile-friendliness, creating and submitting a sitemap, implementing structured data, and maintaining website security. By optimizing these technical aspects, you create a solid foundation for your overall SEO strategy.

I like to think of SEO as a live play or musical-

On-page SEO is the captivating script and the stellar performance of the actors. Off-page SEO is the buzz in the audience and the rave reviews. But without the dedicated work of the lighting and sound crew (technical SEO), the entire performance can fall flat. Technical SEO ensures your website runs smoothly, is easily accessible to search engines, and delivers a flawless user experience – all crucial for achieving top rankings and attracting leads.

Breaking down technical SEO

SaaS technical SEO might sound intimidating, but it boils down to ensuring your website functions smoothly for both search engines and users. Here's a breakdown of the key pillars:

1. Crawlability: The foundation of technical SEO. It ensures search engine bots can effortlessly discover and navigate all your website's pages. This involves factors like sitemaps, robots.txt, and a well-structured internal linking architecture.
2. Indexability: Once search engines crawl your website, they need to understand your content to determine its relevance for search queries. Indexability focuses on making your content eligible for inclusion in search results pages. This involves optimizing for mobile-friendliness, implementing structured data markup, and avoiding duplicate content issues.
3. Renderability: This aspect goes beyond just search engines. It ensures your website renders correctly on all devices, including desktops, tablets, and smartphones. This involves optimizing code, images, and other resources for smooth rendering across different browsers.
4. Rankability: While not a standalone factor, technical SEO efforts influence your website's ranking potential. By addressing crawlability, indexability, and renderability, you create a website that search engines can easily access, understand, and value. This ultimately contributes to a better ranking in search engine results pages.

Complete checklist for technical SEO audits for SaaS

In this SaaS technical SEO guide we've created a simple checklist that helps you cover all the basics and helps you get the ball rolling. You can conduct a technical SEO audit for your company website keeping these pointers in mind:

1. Crawlability

Let's start with one of the most important tech seo elements- crawlers. Imagine Google crawlers as busy researchers, constantly scouring the internet for information. Crawling is the first step in search engine ranking. Before Google can analyze and rank your website, it needs to find and access your pages – that's where crawlers come in. Google crawlers have three main tasks:

1. Fetching Data: Crawlers retrieve data (content, code) from websites.
2. Following Links: They discover new pages by following links within website code and sitemaps.
3. Scheduling Visits: Crawlers determine the frequency of revisiting your website based on various factors.

While these crawlers or search bots are efficient, they can be "lazy" – they prioritize websites that are easy to navigate and understand. To improve your SaaS website's crawlability, you must provide clear directions for these crawlers. Here's how:

A. XML Sitemap and HTML Sitemaps:

Think of sitemaps as maps for your website. Just like a geographical map helps you find locations and understand their layout, sitemaps helps search bots or search engines discover and understand your website's pages.

• XML Sitemap: An XML sitemap is a technical file specifically designed for search engines. It lists all the important pages on your website and provides additional information like the last update time and priority of each page. This helps search engines efficiently crawl and index your content.
• HTML Sitemap: An HTML sitemap is a user-friendly version of the sitemap displayed as a webpage. It allows visitors to easily navigate your website structure and find the content they're looking for.

Pro Tip: One of the best technical SEO strategies is to create XML and HTML sitemaps. This caters to both- search engines and users, ensuring smooth crawling and navigation.

B. Site Structure and Crawl Budget:

Like we've mentioned before, Google search engine crawlers are lazy. Given that it has a lot of websites to visit, it gravitates to more efficiently in well-organized SaaS websites and good website architecture. This means a clear and logical website architecture helps the crawler find and index your content faster. Here's why:

• Flat Structure: Strive for a flat website structure where most web pages are accessible within a few clicks from the homepage. This allows the crawler to navigate your website effortlessly, maximizing its efficiency.
• Logical Organization: Organize your website content logically, grouping related pages together. This not only helps the crawler understand your website's content but also improves user experience by making it easier for visitors to find what they're looking for.

Google's search engine crawlers prioritize user experience. A simple and well-organized SaaS website structure is one way to ensure a positive experience for both users and search engines. Here's another factor to consider: crawl budget.

A crawl budget is a concept that describes the number of pages search engines are willing and able to crawl on your website during a given timeframe. Since Google does not have unlimited space, it makes sure to utilize this space effectively using the concept of crawl budget. Crawl budget is not a fixed limit, but rather a dynamic concept influenced by various factors. Gary Illyes from Google's Search Relations explains this in length. Some key factors affecting the crawl budget include:

• Website Size: Larger websites with many pages naturally have a higher crawl budget compared to smaller websites.
• Content Updates: Websites with frequently updated content are likely to be crawled more often.
• Technical Issues: The site's performance in terms of crawling errors, slow loading times, and broken links can negatively impact your crawl budget.
• Website Quality: Crawl budget is influenced by how much time people spend on a website or how many backlinks it has generated. These are indicators that the particular SaaS website is providing value and hence crawlers would benefit by spending more time on it. As we know Google (and other search engines) prioritize high-quality websites with valuable content.

C.Breadcrumbs:

Remember the classic story of Hansel and Gretel? Those breadcrumbs they cleverly scattered on their journey through the forest served a crucial purpose – finding their way back home.

In the digital world, breadcrumbs play a similar role for your website visitors. They act as a navigational aid, helping users understand their location within your website structure and navigate back to previous sections effortlessly. This translates to several key benefits for your SaaS website:

• Reduced Clutter: Breadcrumbs provide an alternative to bulky navigation menus, especially for websites with deep content structures. This keeps your website interface clean and user-friendly.
• Increased Traffic to Key Pages: Effective breadcrumbs can encourage users to revisit important sections of your website. Think of it as a subtle nudge towards your high-value content or product pages.
• Improved User Experience: Clear navigation is crucial for a positive user experience. Breadcrumbs eliminate confusion and frustration, leading to lower bounce rates and potentially higher engagement. Search engines, too, favor websites with a clear user experience, which can indirectly contribute to better search rankings.

There are two main types of breadcrumbs commonly used by a SaaS company:

• Path-Based Breadcrumbs: These breadcrumbs reflect the actual hierarchy of your website's URL structure. Asana (insert screenshot here) is a great example of this type. Path-based breadcrumbs are ideal for SaaS websites with a clear and straightforward content structure.
  

• Attribute-Based Breadcrumbs: This type of breadcrumb categorizes pages based on specific attributes, such as product categories or topics. This approach is particularly beneficial for enterprise SaaS solutions where websites are catering to multiple industries or offering diverse use cases. Think of Amazon's breadcrumbs that categorize products within departments.

Here are some key pointers to ensure your breadcrumbs are user-friendly and provide optimal value:

• Placement: Position your breadcrumbs at the top of the page, typically below the main navigation bar, for maximum visibility.
• Clarity: Use clear and concise language, ideally single words, to represent each level within the hierarchy.
• Conciseness: Keep your breadcrumbs short and avoid overwhelming users with overly detailed information.
• Hierarchy: Maintain a clear hierarchical structure that accurately reflects your website's content organization.
• Separators: Use consistent one-word separators (like arrows, forward slashes, or greater than symbols) to visually distinguish breadcrumbs.

D.Pagination:

Imagine a massive library with endless rows of bookshelves, all crammed with information. Pagination acts as the library's filing system for your website's content, ensuring users can easily find and access the information they need.

Strictly in terms of technical SEO issues, pagination refers to the process of dividing long content lists (like blog posts, product listings, or search results) into smaller, more manageable pages. Here's how effective pagination benefits your SaaS website:

• Improved User Experience: Endless scrolling can be tiresome and leads to users giving up before they find what they're looking for. Pagination breaks down information into digestible chunks. This makes it easier for users to navigate and find specific content.
• Faster Loading Times: Large pages with extensive content can take longer to load, leading to frustration and higher bounce rates. Pagination helps distribute content, resulting in faster loading times and a smoother user experience.

There are two primary approaches to pagination:

• Limit-Offset Pagination: This method uses two parameters: "limit" defines the number of items displayed per page, and "offset" specifies the starting point for each subsequent page. Asana (used as an example for breadcrumbs) often uses this approach.
• Next/Previous Pagination: This simpler method uses "next" and "previous" buttons or links to navigate between pages. This is a popular choice for websites with a clear linear flow of content.

Here are some key considerations for implementing pagination on your SaaS website:

• Ideal Page Length: While there's no one-size-fits-all solution, a good rule of thumb is to aim for 10-25 items per page. This balances user experience with efficient content display.
• Clear Navigation: Make it easy for users to navigate between pages. Use clear and concise labels for "next," "previous," or page numbers. Consider including a "jump to page" option for longer content lists.
• Visible Pagination: Position your pagination controls prominently, typically at the bottom of each page, to ensure easy user discovery.
• Informative "No Results" Page: For search results pages or filtered content, create a user-friendly "no results" page that suggests alternative search terms or guides users back to the main content section.

E. URL Structure:

Just like a well-organized city with clear street addresses, a well-structured URL system helps users and search engines effortlessly navigate through a SaaS website. A well-defined URL structure offers several advantages for your SaaS website:

• Enhanced User Experience: Clear and descriptive URLs are easy for users to understand and remember. They provide a glimpse into the content of the page before even clicking on it, which can improve user experience and satisfaction.
• Improved SEO: Search engines consider URLs when ranking websites. Descriptive URLs that incorporate relevant keywords can positively impact your search ranking and organic traffic.
• Organization and Maintainability: A structured URL system reflects the hierarchy and organization of your website content. This makes it easier to manage and maintain your website over time, especially as your content grows.

Here are some key elements for creating user-friendly and SEO-optimized URLs:

• Keywords: Incorporate relevant keywords that accurately describe the content of the page. However, avoid keyword stuffing and prioritize readability.
• Clarity and Conciseness: Keep your URLs clear, concise, and easy to understand. Use hyphens to separate words and avoid special characters or underscores (unless absolutely necessary).
• Category Structure: Reflect your website's content hierarchy in the URL structure. For example, a URL like "/products/marketing-automation/omnisend" clearly indicates a page about Omnisend, a marketing automation tool, located within the "products" category.
• Static URLs: Avoid using dynamic URLs with parameters (e.g., "/product.php?id=123"). Static URLs are cleaner and more search engine friendly.

Examples for SaaS Websites:

Here are some practical examples of well-structured URLs for SaaS websites:

• Descriptive and Keyword-Rich: "/project-management-software/asana-alternatives"
• Category Structure: "/pricing/enterprise-plans"
• Simple and Clear: "/blog/5-growth-hacking-tips-for-saas-startups"

2. Indexibility

Now coming to second pillar of technical SEO checklist- indexability. Its a factor based on how search consoles like Google index web pages on their search engine results. Once a webpage is crawled, the search engine processes the information and determines the key topics on the web page to determine what search queries and results to index it under. Here's how to increase indexability:

A. Robot.txt Tester

A robot.txt file acts as a guide for search engine crawlers, similar to a "crew-only" sign on specific areas of your store. It instructs these crawlers (often called robots or spiders) on which pages they can access and index, and which ones they should stay out of.

Here's why understanding robot.txt files is crucial for your SaaS website:

• Intuitive Misconception: As a business owner, you naturally want every page on your website to be seen and indexed by search engines. However, from a technical SEO standpoint, selective crawling can be beneficial.
• The Crawl Budget Dilemma: Search engines allocate a specific crawl budget for each website, limiting the number of pages they crawl and index within a timeframe. By strategically using your robot.txt file, you can ensure important content gets crawled and indexed efficiently.

Take a clothing brand to illustrate this concept:

• Every Page Matters, But Not Equally: You have dedicated pages showcasing different shirt colors, sizes, and prints. While essential for user experience, you wouldn't want search engines to crawl and index each variation as a separate page. This would unnecessarily deplete your crawl budget and potentially dilute the value of your core product pages.

This is where your robot.txt file comes in. Here's how it helps:

• Prioritize Important Pages: By specifying which pages are most valuable (like product pages, category pages, and blog posts), you guide search engines to crawl and index these first. This ensures your core content gets the attention it deserves within your crawl budget.
• Focus on User Experience: Indexing every variation can create duplicate content issues, confusing search engines and potentially harming your ranking potential. A well-managed robot.txt file prevents indexing of unnecessary pages while still allowing users to access them seamlessly.

While creating a robot.txt file is relatively straightforward, ensuring it functions as intended is crucial. This is where a robot.txt tester comes in.

• Testing and Avoiding Mistakes: These online tools help you test your robot.txt file's configuration, identifying any potential errors that might prevent search engines from accessing important pages.
• Proactive Approach: By using a robot.txt tester regularly, you can catch and fix any issues before they impact your crawl efficiency or search engine visibility.

B. Monitor Duplicate Content (Cannibalization):

Duplicate content presents a challenge for search engines and website visitors. It's essential to provide detailed information about each product, having identical descriptions for slightly different variations (like size or color) creates confusion for shoppers searching for specific features. Similarly, duplicate content on your website can confuse search engines trying to understand the unique value proposition of each page. Here's a breakdown of duplicate content and its close cousin, keyword cannibalization, along with their impact on your SaaS website:

• Duplicate Content: Duplicate content refers to substantial blocks of identical or near-identical content appearing on multiple URLs within your website, or even across different websites. This can arise from various factors like product variations with similar descriptions, copied content from other sources, or archived versions of pages.
  Search engines prioritize unique and valuable content. When they encounter duplicate content, they become unsure of which version to index and rank. This can lead to a situation where neither version of the content performs well, diluting your overall SEO efforts.
• Keyword Cannibalization : This occurs when multiple pages on your website compete for the same keywords or search terms. While seemingly related to duplicate content, there's a subtle difference. Duplicate content involves identical text, while cannibalization involves pages targeting the same keywords with very similar (but not necessarily identical) content.

Here are some strategies to address duplicate content and keyword cannibalization on your SaaS website:

• Content Consolidation: Identify and merge duplicate content strategically, ensuring all relevant information resides on a single, well-optimized page.
• Canonical Tags: Utilize canonical tags to inform search engines which version of a duplicate page is the preferred one for indexing.
• Content Refreshment: Update and refresh existing content to maintain its relevance and value, reducing the need for duplicate variations.
• Keyword Research and Planning: Conduct thorough keyword research to identify relevant keywords for each page on your website. This helps avoid multiple pages targeting the same keywords and fosters a clear content hierarchy.

Internal Linking Strategy: Implement a strategic internal linking structure to connect relevant pages on your website. This helps search engines understand the relationships between different content pieces and prevents keyword cannibalization.

C. Redirects (Broken Internal Links, Error Pages, Redirect Chains)

Here's a breakdown of redirects and the crucial role they play in your SaaS website's SEO:

The Power of Redirects:

• Redirecting for Optimal User Experience: Redirects seamlessly direct users from an old URL to a new, updated location. This prevents broken links and ensures users land on the intended page, even if the original URL has changed.
• Maintaining Search Engine Visibility: Redirects properly inform search engines about URL changes, ensuring your website's link equity (ranking power) is transferred to the new location. This prevents a drop in search ranking for valuable content that has moved to a new URL.

301 vs. 302 redirects:

Here's a closer look at the difference between these two crucial redirects:

• 301 (Moved Permanently): This is the go-to choice for permanent URL changes. When you implement a 301 redirect, you're essentially telling search engines and users that the old URL has been permanently discontinued, and the new location is the authoritative source for the content.some text
  • Example: Let's say you've rebranded your SaaS product and your pricing page has moved from "/pricing" to "/new-pricing-plans." A 301 redirect ensures users and search engines are directed to the updated "/new-pricing-plans" page, while preserving the link equity of the original pricing page.
• 302 (Found): This status code indicates a temporary URL change. Use a 302 redirect for situations where the content might move back to the original location at some point.some text
  • Example: Perhaps you're running maintenance on a specific product page on your website. A 302 redirect can temporarily direct users to an alternative page with relevant information while the original page is being updated. Once maintenance is complete, the content can be moved back to its original URL.

Additional Considerations:

Remember, while 301 redirects are generally preferred for SEO purposes, there might be situations where a 302 redirect is more appropriate. Always consider the specific context and the long-term plan for your website content before choosing the right redirect type.

D. HTTP Errors

HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is the foundation of communication between web browsers and servers. HTTP error codes are specific messages sent by the server to the browser, indicating an issue with the request. These error codes help developers identify and troubleshoot problems, but for users, they often translate into frustrating error pages.

Impact on Users and technical SEO for SaaS companies:

• Lost Leads: Encountering HTTP errors can be jarring for users. They might see cryptic error codes like "404 Not Found" or "500 Internal Server Error," leaving them confused and unable to access the intended content. This can lead to a negative user experience and potentially lost leads for your SaaS business.
• Search Engine Visibility Concerns: Search engines prioritize websites that offer a smooth user experience. Frequent HTTP errors can signal to search engines that your website is unstable or unreliable, potentially impacting your search ranking and organic traffic.

Common HTTP Errors and Solutions:

Here's a closer look at some common HTTP errors and how to address them:

• 404 Not Found: This indicates the requested page cannot be found on the server. This can happen due to broken links, typos in URLs, or pages that have been permanently removed.some text
  • Solutions: Regularly review your website for broken links and implement proper redirects (301 redirects) for permanently removed pages. Additionally, consider creating a user-friendly custom 404 page that offers alternative content suggestions or helps users navigate back to the homepage.
• 401 Unauthorized: This error signifies a lack of authorization to access the requested resource. This might be due to restricted content requiring login credentials or incorrect login attempts.some text
  • Solutions: Ensure proper authentication mechanisms are in place for restricted areas of your website. Provide clear instructions for users to log in or obtain necessary access.
• 403 Forbidden: This error code indicates that the user is authorized but forbidden from accessing the specific resource. This might be due to permission issues or server-side restrictions.some text
  • Solutions: Review user permissions and ensure they align with intended access levels. Address any server-side configuration issues that might be causing the restriction.
• 500 Internal Server Error: This is a generic error message indicating a problem on the server-side. This could be caused by various issues like server overload, script errors, or database connection problems.some text
  • Solutions: Utilize website monitoring tools and error logs to pinpoint the exact cause of the 500 error. Address the underlying issue promptly, such as fixing script errors or upgrading server capacity.

Preventing HTTP Errors:

• Proactive Maintenance: Regular website maintenance and code reviews can help identify and fix potential issues before they manifest as HTTP errors.
• Testing and Monitoring: Utilize website testing tools and monitoring services to proactively detect broken links and potential server issues.
• User-Friendly Error Pages: Even with preventative measures, HTTP errors can sometimes occur. Create informative custom error pages that apologize for the inconvenience, offer troubleshooting suggestions, and guide users back to your website's main sections.

E.Mobile-friendliness

Search engines prioritize mobile-friendly websites in search results. A website that looks and functions flawlessly on smartphones and tablets is crucial for SEO success.

• Seamless User Experience: Your SaaS website should offer a smooth and intuitive experience regardless of the device used. Responsive design ensures your website adapts to different screen sizes, keeping users happy and engaged.
• Accessibility for All: Mobile friendliness isn't just about smartphones. Optimizing for various devices ensures your website is accessible to a wider audience, maximizing your potential reach.

3. Renderability Checklist

Here's how renderability impacts SaaS technical SEO:

A. Load Time

Imagine a visitor eager to explore your SaaS offering, only to be met with a sluggish website that takes ages to load. In today's fast-paced world, slow loading times can be a deal-breaker. Let's delve deeper into the importance of website speed:

• Analyzing Performance: Utilize website speed testing tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to analyze your website's loading speed on various devices (desktop, mobile, tablet). These tools provide valuable insights into performance bottlenecks and areas for improvement.
• The User Experience Factor: Slow loading times lead to frustration and a high bounce rate (visitors leaving your website without exploring further). This can negatively impact lead generation and conversions for your SaaS business.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Search engines prioritize websites that offer a fast and smooth user experience. Slow loading times can significantly hurt your SEO ranking, making it harder for potential customers to find your website.

Strategies for Speed Optimization:

Here are some key strategies to improve your website's loading speed:

• Image Optimization: Images are often the biggest culprits behind slow loading times. Compress images without sacrificing quality, and consider using next-generation image formats like WebP.
• Minification: Minify your website's code (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) by removing unnecessary characters and whitespace. This reduces file size and improves loading speed.
• Browser Caching: Enable browser caching to store frequently accessed website resources (like images and scripts) locally on user devices. This reduces the need to download these resources repeatedly, leading to faster page loads on subsequent visits.
• Content Delivery Networks (CDNs): Consider using a CDN to deliver website content from geographically distributed servers. This can significantly improve loading times for users located far away from your main server.

B. Page Size

Think of your website's pages as suitcases – you wouldn't want to overload them before a trip. Similarly, large page sizes can significantly slow down your website's loading speed. Here's why page size matters:

• Understanding the Impact: Large page sizes take longer to download and render, leading to a sluggish user experience. This can negatively impact user engagement and conversion rates.
• The Culprits of Bulk: Several factors can contribute to large page sizes, such as unoptimized images, excessive code, and bulky third-party scripts.

Strategies for Size Optimization:

Here are some key strategies to keep your website's page size lean:

• Image Optimization ( Revisited ): As mentioned earlier, image optimization is crucial for both loading speed and page size reduction.
• Code Review and Minification: Regularly review your website's code and remove unnecessary elements like comments and extra whitespace. Minify your code to further reduce file size.
• Third-Party Script Assessment: Carefully evaluate third-party scripts and widgets you use on your website. Consider lazy loading these scripts (loading them only when needed) to improve initial page load speed.

C. Page Depth

Imagine a library with a labyrinthine layout, making it difficult to find specific books. Similarly, a website with a deeply nested page structure can be challenging for both users and search engines to navigate. Here's why page depth matters:

• Ideal Structure: A flat website structure with most pages accessible within a few clicks from the homepage is preferred. This ensures a smooth user experience and allows search engines to efficiently crawl and index your content.
• The Downside of Depth: Deeply nested pages can be harder for search engines to find and crawl. This can hinder your website's SEO performance and make it difficult for potential customers to discover your valuable content.

Strategies for a Flatter Structure:

Here are some strategies to create a flatter website structure:

• Content Organization: Organize your website's content logically and hierarchically. Group related content under clear categories and subcategories.
• Navigation Optimization: Ensure your website's navigation menu is user-friendly and intuitive. It should allow users to easily find the information they need within a few clicks.

D. Visual Taxonomy

Simply incorporating visuals isn't enough. To truly unlock their potential, you need to optimize your visual taxonomy – a system for organizing and labeling your visual content in a way that benefits both users and search engines.

Here's a deeper dive into the importance of visual taxonomy and strategies for optimizing it:

• Enhanced User Experience: Descriptive file names, alt text descriptions, and proper image organization all contribute to a more user-friendly experience. Users can easily understand the context of images and find relevant content visually.
• Accessibility for All: Proper alt text descriptions are crucial for visually impaired users who rely on screen readers to understand the content of images.
• Improved SEO Performance: Search engines use image file names and alt text descriptions to understand the content and context of your images. Optimized visuals can contribute to better search ranking for relevant keywords.

Strategies for Visual Taxonomy Optimization:

• Descriptive File Names: Move beyond generic names like "image001.jpg." Instead, use descriptive file names that accurately reflect the content of the image. For example, "product-landing-page-hero-image.jpg" clearly describes the image's purpose and location.
• Alt Text Descriptions: Write clear and concise alt text descriptions for all your images. These descriptions should explain the content of the image and incorporate relevant keywords naturally. However, avoid keyword stuffing.
• Image Organization: Organize your images logically within your website's file structure. Use folders that reflect the content of the images for better management and searchability.
• Image Size and Compression: As discussed earlier, image size plays a crucial role in website loading speed. Utilize image optimization tools to compress images without sacrificing quality.

Rankability

the last section of this SaaS technical SEO guide talks about rankability. having a more rankable website helps gain visibility in the SERP results. it will help you beat your competitors and appear higher on the search results for relevant keywords. Here's how SaaS companies can rank higher.

A.Internal and External Linking

internal and external links help you establish topical authority and create trust. With internal links you can create content marketing strategy that covers different primary and secondary keywords related to your product. Say you have a productivity tool for businesses. You can address different topics like "how to increase your team's productivity" or "best productivity tools" or "productivity tips for marketing teams" and link these topics to each other.

This will prompt Google search engines to infer that your website is resourceful for anyone studying the subject and help you rank higher. Not, only this, it will also help increase engagement time on your website, leading to better experience and higher ranking:

• Analyzing Your Internal Linking Structure: Utilizing website analytics tools, analyze how pages on your website are linked to each other. Ideally, relevant pages should be interconnected strategically to create a user-friendly and informative browsing experience.
• Strategic Link Placement: Don't just sprinkle links across your website randomly. Place links within the context of your content, using relevant anchor text (the clickable text of the link) that accurately reflects the content of the linked page. This helps search engines understand the relationships between different pages on your website.

Think of backlinks as votes of confidence from other websites. High-quality backlinks from relevant websites in your industry can significantly improve your website's authority and ranking potential in search results. Here's what matters:

• Backlink Quality Over Quantity: Not all backlinks are created equal. Focus on acquiring backlinks from reputable websites with high domain authority (a metric that indicates a website's overall ranking power). Backlinks from spammy websites can actually harm your SEO efforts.
• Earning Backlinks Organically: The best backlinks are earned naturally through creating high-quality content that other website owners find valuable and informative enough to link to.
• Strategies for Building Backlinks: There are various strategies for building high-quality backlinks, such as guest blogging on relevant industry websites, creating link-worthy content like infographics or research reports, and participating in online communities.

B.Backlink Quality

As mentioned earlier, the quality of your backlinks is far more important than the sheer quantity. Here's why backlink quality matters:

• Search Engine Trust Signals: Search engines consider backlinks as a signal of trust and authority. Links from reputable websites with relevant content indicate that your website offers valuable information, potentially boosting your ranking potential.
• Avoiding Spammy Backlinks: Backlinks from low-quality or spammy websites can actually harm your SEO efforts. Search engines might penalize your website if it's associated with spammy links.
• Maintaining a Healthy Backlink Profile: Regularly monitor your website's backlink profile using backlink analysis tools. Identify and disavow (request removal of) any low-quality or spammy backlinks to maintain a clean and trustworthy online presence.

C.Content Clusters

As mentioned earlier, organizing your website's content into clusters around specific topics signals topical authority and relevance to search engines. Let's explore the benefits:

• Thematic Content Organization: Grouping related content (blog posts, landing pages, articles) under relevant topic clusters creates a more user-friendly and informative browsing experience. Users can easily find the information they need without getting lost in a maze of unrelated content.
• Establishing Topical Authority: By creating in-depth and informative content around a particular topic, you demonstrate expertise and authority in that domain. This can improve your website's ranking for relevant keywords and search queries.
• URL Structure and Content Clusters: Consider structuring your website's URLs in a way that reflects your content clusters. This helps search engines understand the hierarchy and thematic relationships between different pages on your website.

To summarize:

Technical SEO is crucial for SaaS companies to improve search engine rankings, traffic, and user experience. Conducting regular technical SEO audits and making data-driven improvements can improve website performance and drive more traffic to the website.