SaaS SEO: The Ultimate Guide for 2025

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 2.0 is officially here and many B2B SaaS companies are scrambling for solutions. 

A year ago, long-term SEO strategies were carefully planned out—but now, they’re getting a major rewrite. The game-changer? Artificial intelligence. With traffic dropping and channels evolving, sticking to the old playbook won’t cut it. SaaS SEO needs to go beyond just cranking out TOFU blogs and chasing backlinks. It’s time to rethink the strategy.

This guide offers a first-person perspective on the rapidly evolving search ecosystem of 2025 and provides practical SaaS SEO strategies based on what's been working for TripleDart’s clients. 

Drawing from our experience helping dozens of SaaS companies adapt their SEO efforts to fit the current scenario, we'll walk you through what SaaS SEO looks like today, as well as the shifts we're seeing. 

Your ‘search’ for SEO strategies for 2025 ends here.

Before we dive deep into the new SEO universe of 2025, let’s quickly consolidate some SEO basics! Let’s begin.

What is SaaS SEO?

SaaS SEO is the practice of optimizing SaaS websites to increase organic traffic, generate leads, and drive conversions from search engines. Unlike general SEO, it tailors strategies to the subscription-based model of SaaS, where retention is as important as acquisition.

Since SaaS businesses rely on recurring revenue, SEO can play a vital role in building long-term growth by consistently driving qualified traffic and improving user retention.

How is SaaS SEO Different from Traditional SEO?

For SaaS businesses, SEO must support a subscription lifecycle. This means focusing on both acquisition (getting users to try the software) and retention (keeping them engaged long-term).

SaaS SEO involves targeting keywords that align with each stage of the buyer's journey, from awareness to consideration and decision. It also focuses on creating content that helps potential customers to evaluate the solution at each phase of the buyer journey.

Why is SEO Important for SaaS Companies?

SaaS SEO can be a primary growth driver for SaaS companies. In a HubSpot survey, 57% of B2B marketers rated SEO as one of their top lead generation channels, surpassing paid ads in value over the long term.

Managing long sales cycles

SaaS sales cycles are lengthy and involve multiple stakeholders. SEO plays a key role in connecting user intent with valuable content throughout the journey. It boosts visibility for educational resources early on, guides prospects through comparisons and case studies during consideration, and supports high-intent searches with optimized landing pages at the decision stage. Post-purchase, SEO enhances user satisfaction by surfacing helpful tutorials and support content, aiding retention.

Converting users across channels

SaaS SEO complements other marketing efforts, such as PPC and email marketing, by capturing users from various touchpoints and guiding them through the funnel. It helps drive organic traffic, supports paid campaigns, and nurtures leads, ensuring a cohesive journey from awareness to conversion.

Increasing lifetime value (LTV)

When SaaS companies focus on high-value keywords related to onboarding, upgrades, and features, they attract users likely to stick around, boosting retention and LTV.

SaaS SEO vs. Paid ads

While paid ads can quickly capture leads, they’re costly and have diminishing returns over time. SEO, however, builds a lasting content foundation that keeps attracting organic traffic well beyond the end of campaigns.

SaaS SEO in 2025: Changes to the Script

Keynote from Manoj Palanikumar, Co-founder, TripleDart

The search game is changing fast, and I've had a front-row seat. After helping numerous companies with their SaaS SEO strategies, the conclusion is clear: search isn't just search engine-led anymore; it's increasingly AI-led.

Let me be clear: this isn't about throwing out your existing SaaS SEO playbook, but rather about adding new chapters to it. The SaaS companies seeing real results in 2025 are the ones that have built on their foundations while making space for this new reality.

What fascinates me is how quickly things have evolved. Just a year and a half ago, we were primarily focused on Google's algorithm. Now, we're dealing with an entire ecosystem of AI systems that interpret and contextualize content in ways we couldn't have imagined before!

Let's quickly consolidate things, shall we?

The SaaS SEO Scene, Pre-AI

Before AI took center stage, our clients’ SEO strategies were relatively straightforward. 

When SaaS businesses came to us for SEO services, their goals were to rank for keywords, build domain authority, and create content that captured leads. The focus was more on finding high-volume and low-competition keywords, building backlinks, and fixing technical issues for better search visibility. 

2024: The Year of Changing Tides

The abovementioned objectives still held true, but AI tools and AI-enhanced search engines turned things upside down.

Zero-click searches shot up. According to Bain & Company, 80% of users began to rely on zero-click results at least 40% of the time. This completely changed the way we interact with search engines.

We also saw a big shift in user behavior. More and more people bypassed Google entirely for complex queries and research, turning to LLMs. 

SaaS companies responded to these changes in different ways. Some shifted budgets to paid channels, while others doubled down on their existing approach. The more forward-thinking ones started adapting to this new reality of AI + SEO.

Summarizing this trend, HubSpot's CMO Kipp Bodnar’s opening notes in their State of Marketing Report were, "On the brink of a major shift in marketing, it’s time to go all in on AI."

SaaS SEO Strategy in 2025: More Complexities, More Opportunities

In 2025, AI has evolved from just influencing SEO to reshaping it. The old practices still matter, and they can give results. But they are no longer enough on their own if you want to be quoted in LLMs.

The shift in consumer behavior is real. For the first time since 2015, Google's market share dropped below 90% in late 2024. Meanwhile, ChatGPT surged past 300 million weekly active users by December—up from 200 million in just four months. The way people search is changing, and the numbers prove it.

Some key factors have become increasingly important:

• Authenticity and unique value now matter more than ever. Generating generic content at scale has become easier, so you need to offer something truly distinctive. 
• Bottom-of-funnel (BOFU) topics and long-tail keywords have become critical. The real opportunity lies in targeting specific, high-intent searches where users need nuanced answers. 
• Brand authority now plays a bigger role in ranking. As AI systems evaluate content quality, they increasingly factor in the overall reputation of the source. 

Hence, when clients come to TripleDart now, their SEO priorities have expanded to include:

1. Creating AI-optimized content
2. Building comprehensive topic authority
3. Addressing the intent behind queries
4. Developing unique content that provides value

At TripleDart, we’ve evolved our approach accordingly. We still cover the essentials—keyword research, technical SEO, link building—the usual suspects. But we’ve also leveled up. We now audit content through an AI lens, build tools to understand how AI interprets our clients’ content, and focus on an entity-based strategy that drives real topical authority.

Looking ahead at the next 3-4 years, I expect we'll see:

1. New content formats designed specifically for LLMs

2. The growing importance of original research and first-party data

3. Search fragmenting across specialized AI platforms 

The fundamentals of providing value haven't changed, but how that value is discovered and consumed certainly has. SaaS businesses that adapt to this more complex landscape will find tremendous growth opportunities in 2025.
‍~ Manoj Palanikumar

In the next segment, let’s look at what will it take to win SaaS SEO in 2025.

What it'll Take to Win SaaS SEO in 2025

There are two parts to this section. 

We’ll first look at what SaaS SEO lifecycles will look like in 2025, with everything from keyword research to link-building strategies. These are the basics–the ‘hygiene steps’ you have to take to make sure your SaaS SEO is a well-oiled machine.

In the second part of this section, we’ll look at SaaS SEO strategies in 2025 that will truly help your business beat the crowd and win in SEO. These are tactics that we’ve seen firsthand.

Let’s get down to it, shall we?

Part 1: The 8 Steps of a SaaS SEO Lifecycle in 2025

In this section, we’ll explore the foundational elements of a successful SaaS SEO strategy in this new reality. 

By following these eight steps, you can build an SEO ecosystem that thrives in traditional search as well as AI-powered discovery channels.

Step 1: Product Understanding

Charting an SEO strategy without a thorough understanding of your product is like trying to make a burger without the bun. 

You need to understand its functionalities, technical aspects, and design elements to set the stage for a holistic SaaS SEO strategy in 2025. Here is how to implement this in practice.

Identify Unique Selling Propositions (USPs)

With competitors just a click away, you need to pinpoint exactly why customers should choose you. Start here:

• Analyze competitors – What do they offer, and how do they position themselves?
• Listen to your customers – Happy users often highlight unexpected reasons they picked you.
• Write down differentiators in plain English – Avoid jargon and keep it as straightforward as you can

Connect Features to Real Problems

Make your product’s value crystal clear by:

• Talking to users about their biggest frustrations
• Mapping each feature to a real problem it solves
• Quantifying benefits where possible (e.g., “cuts reporting time by 60%” is stronger than “saves time”)

Remember, features alone don’t sell; connecting them to customer pain points does!

Plug-In Features Into Your SEO Content

When your SaaS SEO content naturally highlights your product’s unique strengths, it attracts high-intent visitors who are likely more ready to convert. Here’s how to do it right:

• Find search terms tied to the problems your features solve (more on this in the next step!)
• Create dedicated pages for key features that match problem-solution searches
• Build comparison content that subtly showcases your competitive edge

Step 2: ICP and Keyword Research

In 2025, the customer is searching in both engines and LLMs. That’s why nailing your ICP and keyword strategy is crucial.

Craft Customer Personas That Actually Help

Ditch those generic buyer personas collecting dust in your shared drive. Customer journeys are more complex in 2025, and this means your personas need to be hyper-specific. Detailed enough that you can almost hear your customers talking!

A document management SaaS client completely revamped their SEO efforts and content after we discovered their true buyer wasn't the IT director (as they'd assumed) but the operations manager who was drowning in compliance paperwork. 

One of the most holistic ways of researching your ICP is through a framework called JTBD (Jobs-to-be-Done).

JTBD Framework: Understanding Search Behind the Search

The Jobs-to-be-Done framework focuses on the tasks your customers are trying to complete, not just the keywords they use.

This helps you cut through content saturation by focusing on the specific jobs your customers need to be done. It's like being able to read between the lines of their search queries to understand their true goals.

Here's why JTBD works so well for SaaS SEO:

• It reveals exactly what tasks your audience is trying to accomplish
• It helps you discover untapped long-tail opportunities
• It focuses your content on solutions rather than just information

Establishing Metrics That Matter 

‍

Mine Analytics for Gold

Your SaaS website analytics hold tons of usable audience insights—you just need to know where to look. Lean on real user behavior to ensure your content strategy isn’t built on assumptions.

• Identify traffic patterns – Which topics are getting the most attention?
• Analyze engagement metrics – What content formats resonate the most?
• Use heat maps – See how users interact with your pages
• Study conversion paths – Which pages are turning visitors into leads?

Looking into these can take your analytics from numbers to insights.

Match Keywords to Your Customer's Language

Personas are the best friends of keyword strategies. 

Your keyword strategy should align with how your ICP talks and searches rather than how your industry does. High-intent traffic comes from quality over quantity—100 ideal visitors are always better than 10,000 unqualified ones!

Here’s what can make a difference:

• Use customer terminology, not insider jargon
• Research how they phrase their questions. What do they ask AI and search engines?
• Match their knowledge level – Are they experts or first-time buyers?

Building Your Target Keyword Universe

This is one of the most crucial steps in your SaaS SEO journey. 

Here's a proven process:

1. Start with seed keywords related to your product
2. Use research tools to uncover related terms
3. Add industry-specific terminology for niche searches
4. Include problem-solution keyword pairs (e.g., “slow inventory tracking” → “automated inventory management”)
5. Don't forget comparison keywords (e.g., “your product vs. competitor”)
6. Organize by search intent (awareness, consideration, decision)

A structured approach to creating your target keyword pool is like having a map for your journey rather than just sailing in the seemingly correct direction!

Learn from Your Competitors (Without Copying Them!)

With increased competition and AI reshaping search, understanding what's working for other SaaS businesses similar to yours helps you spot gaps and opportunities they've missed. 

A little peep into your competitors' keyword strategy can reveal amazing insights.

Use the Right Keyword Research Tools

Having the correct keyword tools is like having a whole person working for your SEO. There are many distinctive tools in the market today, but here’s a short list of the prominent ones that can really help your keyword research.

Keyword Research Tools for 2025

1) Google Keyword Planner: Despite newer alternatives, Google's own tool remains indispensable, offering access to billions of daily searches with reliable volume, competition, and CPC data. Use it to build your keyword foundation and leverage its forecasting capabilities. 

Cost: Free

2) Semrush: Semrush functions like an X-ray vision into your competitive landscape with its 25+ billion keyword database. Explore competitive analysis to see what's working for others, use visibility scores for keyword prominence, and identify content gaps your competitors have missed. 

Cost: Pro package at $119.95/month.

3) Ahrefs: Ahrefs provides deeper insights beyond basic metrics, helping you make smarter decisions with its "Return Rate" metric (showing search frequency) and "Clicks" data (revealing actual click behavior). Their Content Explorer and comprehensive learning resources add tremendous value. 

Cost: Lite plan at $99/month.

4) CanIRank: Unlike generic tools, CanIRank evaluates ranking potential specifically for your SaaS website – functioning as a personalized coach rather than a generic advisor. It offers assessments of your SEO standing, AI-powered improvement recommendations, and specific action steps to improve your ranking chances. 

Cost: Free tier available; paid plans from $49/month.

5) Keyword Insights: This AI-powered tool streamlines the crucial process of topic clustering for establishing topical authority. Group related topics from seed keywords, utilize AI-generated briefs based on SERP analysis, and incorporate social platform insights from Reddit and Quora. 

Cost: Try their $1 four-day trial; monthly plans start from $58.

Before we move to the next step of the SaaS SEO Lifecycle, here’s a quick nugget on a topic that is the talk of the town-

Keyword Strategy for Search Engines versus LLMs

The 2025 SaaS SEO landscape demands a dual approach to keyword strategy – one for traditional search engines and another for Large Language Models (LLMs). It’s like having to master two related but distinctive languages!

Step 3: Setting Your SaaS SEO Goals

Your SaaS SEO goals can be of two types: intentions and metrics. Intentions define the big-picture outcomes, while metrics help track progress from Day 1.

Defining Your Strategic SEO Intentions 

The best SaaS companies set outcome-driven goals—like “becoming the go-to resource for HR tech insights.” These goals aren’t set in stone; they evolve as the business grows.

A strong intention, such as “establishing the brand as the authority on customer insights,” serves as a guiding light for everything from content strategy to outreach efforts.

Establishing Metrics That Matter 

Developing KPIs involves choosing metrics that are directly connected to your strategic SEO intentions. They are typically a combination of both leading indicators (keyword rankings) and lagging measurements (conversions). 

A great way to approach targets is to base them on historical data and industry benchmarks, remaining flexible enough to adjust based on performance data. 

The most common SEO KPIs typically include organic traffic growth, keyword position improvements, click-through rates, and conversion rates from organic visitors.

Here it’s also important to not get carried away by shifting the focus completely to just traffic - ultimately it is the conversions that bring in customers!

Step 4: Content Marketing

The Role of Content

Content must play a spectrum of roles ranging from awareness to decision-making as the buyer travels down the funnel.

Here are the stages in a buyer's journey, also called a sales funnel:

• Awareness Stage (TOFU): This is the initial phase where potential customers identify a problem or need. They are actively seeking information to better understand their challenges.
• Consideration Stage (MOFU): In this stage, the buyer has clearly defined their problem and is researching for various solutions. They are evaluating different approaches or methods to solve their issue.
• Decision Stage (BOFU): At this final stage, the buyer is ready to make a purchase decision. They are comparing specific products or services and narrowing down their options to make an informed choice.

Content Types

Content diversity is crucial for reaching audiences across different platforms. Your audience today learns and engages in different ways, and your content mix should reflect that.

We suggest our clients to create content that is a healthy mix of these formats, with each serving a specific purpose in the buyer's journey or targeting a different buyer type.

Content Calendar

Having content calendars simplifies execution and alignment with your goals. They are the roadmap to your content's success.

Here's how you can create content calendars that are effective:

• Align themes with product launches and seasonal trends
• Balance different content types across funnel stages
• Include specific creation, review, and publication dates
• Assign clear responsibilities for each piece
• Schedule promotion activities alongside creation
• Build in flexibility for timely topics

An example content calendar looks like this:

Promoting Your Content

Active promotion of your content amplifies its reach and takes it to the people who can benefit from it.

Here are some effective promotion strategies:

• Sharing content in channels where your audience spends time
• Engaging with industry communities and forums 
• Emailing relevant pieces to your subscribers
• Collaborating with industry partners and thought leaders
• Using paid promotion for high-value content
• Repurposing content to extend its reach

We’ll explore how to make your content strategy extraordinary in 2025 in the coming segments.

Step 5: On-Page SaaS SEO

This is an optimization step that makes your content and pages more suitable to rank on search engines and LLMs.

These might seem basic, but they're often overlooked points. Even in 2025, many websites miss these fundamental optimizations!

Here are some best practices for AI and search results snippet optimization:

• Structure content to directly answer specific questions
• Format key information in lists, tables, or concise paragraphs
• Include definitions of important terms
• Use clear headings that match common search phrases
• Provide unique data points and statistics

Step 6: Technical SaaS SEO Strategy

Technical SEO is like the plumbing in a beautiful house – it is not glamorous, but everything falls apart without it. These technical aspects ensure search engines can properly discover, index, and understand your website.

The Technical SEO Essentials Checklist:

• Review indexing through robots.txt and sitemap configuration
• Reclaim link equity through proper 301 redirections
• Implement schema markup to provide context about your content
• Build strategic internal linking to establish site structure
• Fix broken links to maintain user experience
• Perform regular crawl analysis to catch issues early
• Optimize for mobile experiences across all site sections

While working on ranking in Google, it is important to consider the factors that improve what Google calls ‘Page Experience.

JTBD Framework: Understanding Search Behind the Search

These steps can make your SEO technically sound. However, also keep in mind that technical SEO isn't a one-time project – it requires ongoing maintenance as your site evolves.

Step 7: Backlink Strategy

Backlinks function as third-party endorsements of your content. Their main purpose is to establish domain authority and trustworthiness for your SaaS website. They can be considered as digital votes of confidence from other sites.

Backlinks play multiple roles in your SEO:

• Helping search engines discover new content
• Building topical authority to your site
• Signalling content quality and relevance
• Improving overall domain strength

Despite the ever-changing search landscape, quality backlinks remain one of the most reliable predictors of ranking success in 2025.

So, how do you get these ‘thumbs up’ signals?

Tips for Getting High-Quality Backlinks

• Create link-worthy content. These content types are best for backlinks:
• Original research and surveys with unique findings
• Resources that can serve as reference material
• Interactive tools that provide utility
• Visual content that simplifies concepts
• Conduct outreach to industry publications
• Use broken link building to provide replacement resources
• Reclaim unlinked brand mentions
• Explore PR initiatives for broader coverage
• Analyze competitor backlinks to understand gaps and get ideas

Step 8: Monitoring and Optimizing

Essential Tracking Tools

You can improve your strategy with time through insights from regular tracking.

The essential tracking toolkit involves:

• Google Analytics for understanding traffic sources and user behavior
• Search Console for insights into search performance and technical issues
• SEO platforms like Semrush or Ahrefs for competitive analysis

These tools reveal not just what's happening but often why it's happening. This can help you make informed adjustments to your strategy.

Evolving Your Keyword Strategy

You’ll have to refine your keyword approach constantly to stay relevant.

Search behavior, competition, and your own business priorities can evolve over time. Regularly reviewing ensures your strategy remains aligned with current opportunities.

This should be part of your regular workflow, with minor adjustments made continually and larger strategic shifts as needed.

Staying Current with Search Evolution

Search engines and AI systems constantly evolve their ranking approaches – staying informed helps you adapt quickly.

Best approaches to staying ahead of changes:

• Follow trusted SEO publications like Semrush, SearchEngingeJournal, and Ahrefs for update announcements
• Participate in industry events such as our Coach by TripleDart sessions, which focus on search trends
• Join professional communities where updates are discussed
• Watch your performance data for signs of algorithm impacts

These eight steps act as the building blocks for your SaaS SEO, and these are the key steps to your SaaS SEO Lifecycle. 

While diligently following this lifecycle is almost an unwritten rule to get your basics right, SaaS SEO today has become extremely competitive. 

How do you ensure your SEO game is not just good enough to get traffic but also ranks in search engines and LLMs? How do you stand out in the crowd, with most SaaS companies posting tons of content?

Part 2: Taking Your SaaS SEO Strategy Beyond the Ordinary

Harking back to our first segment, with the surge of AI-based search engines and Gen AI platforms, SEO in 2025 is a different ball game. Certain areas have transformed from supporting tactics to make-or-break components of a successful SaaS SEO strategy:

• Using LLMs as a lead generation engine
• Focusing on improving brand authority 
• Ensuring relevancy of content to your niche
• Making your content as authentic as possible 

In this segment, we’ll explore how you can capture opportunities in the AI-driven search landscape, by focusing on these high-impact areas.

1. SaaS SEO Strategy for LLMs

LLMs are eating up search traffic like nobody's business. A large chunk of users now prefer LLMs to traditional search engines for complex queries. And it's easy to see why! 

When we ask ChatGPT about the "best CRM for small SaaS companies," we get an immediate, thoughtful response instead of sorting through ten websites, each claiming they're the best.

We’ll explore how to make your content strategy extraordinary in 2025 in the coming segments.

What types of searches are moving to LLMs? 

Primarily those conversational, long-tail queries that traditional search engines might typically struggle with. 

Think of questions like "How can I protect my B2B SaaS from ransomware attacks?" instead of just "ransomware protection B2B."

So how do you optimize SaaS SEO for LLMs? 

First, you need to understand that writing for LLMs can be fundamentally different. It's about entity relationships and comprehensive topic coverage.

Think about it this way: LLMs interpret meaning by analyzing how closely words and concepts relate to each other. When a GenAI interface determines which brands to mention for "improving posture chairs," it's not just counting keywords – it's measuring the semantic distance between your brand and the topic of ergonomics, among other considerations like training data.

This means your content strategy needs a serious upgrade. Instead of just targeting "ransomware protection," create content and position it in such a way that it directly answers conversational questions like "What's the best software to protect my business from ransomware attacks?" Structure your headings as questions people actually ask or lines they speak in conversation.

Also, focus on building a digital presence through PR. This ensures that your brand is quoted by trustworthy sources. In parallel, start investing in User Generated Content (UGC) forums like Reddit, answering questions and participating in discussions. AI models pick up on these things.  

Your KPIs need to evolve, too. Forget just tracking rankings and traffic – now you need to monitor:

• How often your brand gets cited in AI responses
• The quality of LLM referral traffic
• Your entity recognition strength for key topics

The SaaS companies winning at LLM optimization are creating content specifically designed for AI consumption. Let’s look at one case example to see what this means.

Case Study: Enhancing Docupilot’s Visibility in AI Responses

Here’s how we improved Docupilot’s LLM response visibility over 6 months by identifying and optimizing pages that are ripe for LLMs:

1. Content Structure & Navigation
   
   • Replaced generic titles with question-based formats (e.g., "What is Document Automation?")
   • Added page-top TL;DR sections and structured table of contents
   • Implemented strategic H2/H3 hierarchy with action-oriented headings
   • Used lists, tables, and emphasized formatting (bold, italics, block quotes)
2. Technical Optimization
   
   • Deployed FAQ, How-to, and Article schema markups
   • Enhanced multimedia with descriptive alt-text and captions
   • Created structured data paths for improved AI extraction
   • Strengthened internal linking to authority pages
3. Audience-Centered Approach
   
   • Aligned content with natural language patterns
   • Added dedicated "Frequently Asked" sections
   • Balanced statistical data integration for optimal AI citation
   • Prioritized conversational search patterns
4. Authority Building
   
   • Secured mentions in key publications (Wikipedia, TechCrunch, Forbes)
   • Amplified content across professional platforms (LinkedIn, Medium)
   • Showcased case studies, awards, and credibility signals
   • Consistently emphasized brand name, features, and integrations

Docupilot saw an uptick in both traffic and leads from LLMs:

Checklist for Creating Content for LLMs

2. Brand Authority Is More Important Than Ever

In 2025, brand authority isn’t just important for SaaS SEO—it’s the foundation. According to HubSpot, 92% of marketers plan to maintain or increase investments in brand awareness in 2025.

Here's what's happening: The LLM doesn't just scan the web for keyword matches. The brands consistently mentioned in industry publications, cited in research, user forums, and PR articles, and recognized as thought leaders are more likely to get recommended.

This is a fundamental shift. According to our client data, brands with established authority in their niche are receiving significantly more referral traffic from LLM platforms than competitors with similar keyword rankings but weaker brand presence.

What are SaaS companies doing about Brand Authority? 

They're treating brand authority as a strategic pillar, not just a marketing nice-to-have. We're seeing three key approaches:

1. Strategic, unique content: Companies are moving beyond generic content to showcase unique perspectives and original research. 
2. ‍Cross-channel presence: SaaS businesses are beginning to maintain a coherent voice and message across all touchpoints. This consistency strengthens the association between your brand and area of expertise.
3. ‍Value-aligned positioning: When your brand stands for something, it creates stronger mental associations that translate to better recognition.

Case Study: Targeted Content Strategy for Improving Pluto’s Brand Authority

Here’s how we helped Pluto, a fintech SaaS company, improve its brand authority within a year.

1. Strategic Content Development
   
   • Identified CFO/finance manager pain points (corporate cards, petty cash, accounts payable, purchase orders)
   • Built topic clusters around customer-specific search queries instead of generic finance content
   • Maintained a disciplined publishing schedule (5 strategic pieces monthly for 10-12 months)
2. Authority Amplification
   
   • Leveraged G2 awards through targeted regional PR campaigns
   • Created a comprehensive resource library with practical templates and detailed case studies
   • Positioned Pluto as a knowledge leader rather than just another finance solution
3. Measurable Results
   
   • Achieved a substantial increase in branded searches
   • Established strong domain authority and topical relevance in finance
   • Demonstrated clear brand recognition growth within their specialized niche

Ultimately, Pluto saw an 85% YoY increase in average monthly searches! As a result, there was a huge improvement in the number of leads they generated. 

3. Relevancy of Content to Your Industry is Critical

Google has gotten remarkably good at understanding industry relevance. This means that publishing content outside your lane can actively hurt your SaaS SEO in 2025. 

This puts an end to the old strategy of casting a wide keyword net. SaaS companies are losing significant traffic after algorithm updates have begun to prioritize industry relevance. 

The solution isn't producing less content—it's focusing that content on your actual areas of expertise. We're advising clients to conduct thorough content audits, identifying and removing or redirecting content that strays too far from their core competencies.

What’s the Way Forward for Content?

Successful SaaS companies are now creating in-depth content hubs around closely related topics where they have genuine expertise. These hubs establish topical authority through comprehensive coverage rather than isolated articles on trending keywords.

This relevancy factor is even more pronounced with LLMs, where jumping between unrelated topics can dilute your perceived expertise in AI systems.

Case Study: How HubSpot Lost its Traffic - or Did it?

As the year began, the SaaS industry was hit with a breaking news: that there was a huge dip in Hubspot’s traffic. Their organic traffic dropped from 13.5 million in November 2024 to 8.6 million in December 2024. 

While this instigated multiple reactions, with many experts coming up with sound theories, a deeper look reveals an important lesson.

On looking at the data for their website, it becomes clear that a large part of the traffic loss was attributed to keywords that are not really related to HubSpot’s niche at all! 

Sample this: One of the keywords that got hit the most, seeing its traffic reduce by 136%, was the term ‘shrug emoji,’ which has got as much to do with HubSpot as a fish does to a desert!

And here’s what is even more interesting: while the HubSpot Blog’s traffic got hit, the traffic to their website actually increased by 64% in the three months leading to January as opposed to the three previous months.

So, what does this convey?

As much as the quality and quantity of content is important, Google is pushing to rank sites that are relevant to their niches. This is a direct reflection of Google wanting to provide the most ‘useful’ answer in terms of expertise and content from companies that are related to the ecosystem. 

4. Authenticity Bears Fruit

In a world where we can generate unlimited content, what's truly valuable? Authenticity. According to Stackla, 88% of consumers point to authenticity as a key deciding factor when considering a business to shop from.

From Google's perspective, authenticity signals expertise, experience, authority, and trustworthiness—the core components of their E-E-A-T evaluation framework. Their systems have become increasingly sophisticated at detecting content that offers genuine value versus generic filler.

For readers, authentic content simply resonates more. An article by Find Your Influencer reports that 90% of people value authenticity highly when choosing brands, and 92% trust reviews more than traditional ads.

What Does Authentic Content Look Like in Practice? 

It takes several forms:

• Executive thought leadership pieces: These articles take a stand and provide insights that only someone deeply embedded in the industry could offer
• ‍First-person accounts and case studies: These showcase actual challenges, solutions, and results
• ‍User-generated content: They bring customer voices directly into your narrative. Featuring real user experiences significantly enhances the perceived authenticity of the content

Case Study: Creating Authentic, Standout Content for Flowforma

We took up generating authentic content as a goal for Flowforma, one of our long-standing clients and a digital automation platform. And this is how we did it:

1. BOFU Blogs: BOFU content offers immense possibilities for authenticity, as you can truly showcase your depth of knowledge. We identified several such keywords, many of which their competitors weren’t targeting, and wrote research-led, expertise-heavy articles on them.
2. ‍Demo-led content: The more ‘proof’ you give to Google that you are offering something unique and useful, the better your odds at ranking. We created several articles that included demos of real-world applications of our client’s product, which not only improved the traffic significantly but also led to much higher engagement rates.

We’ll let the numbers take over from here.

• Traffic Growth: Before our engagement, from October 2023 to April 2024, FlowForma experienced 926K impressions and 8.91K clicks. 

Post-optimization, from May 2024 to November 2024, impressions soared to 2.34M with 14.7K clicks, marking a significant uplift in organic visibility.

• Increased Lead Generation: The optimized content strategy translated into a higher volume of Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs), even amidst a seasonal dip in December

SaaS SEO Toolkit for 2025

Throughout the SaaS SEO lifecycle in 2025, a mixture of standard as well as AI-specific tools can act as invaluable assets. Here’s what the SEO Tool universe looks like in 2025:

SaaS SEO Team Structure in 2025

The SEO structure in 2025 means adapting to both conventional search engines and AI-powered discovery systems.

Core Functions:

• Content Strategy: Developing plans targeting both search engines and LLMs, focusing on topical authority and citation-worthy material
• AI Content Optimization: Tailoring content for LLM discovery based on how AI systems evaluate information
• Technical SEO: Addressing complex technical requirements across all discovery channels
• Analytics & Attribution: Tracking performance across platforms and connecting interactions to business outcomes
• User Experience: Improving engagement metrics that influence rankings and AI recommendations

New Specialized Functions:

• Entity Management: Maintaining brand consistency to strengthen AI entity recognition
• Multimedia Optimization: Making visual and audio content discoverable by traditional search and AI systems

Additional KPIs:

• LLM Citation Rate: Frequency of content citations by AI assistants
• Entity Recognition Accuracy: How correctly AI systems understand your brand
• Multi-Channel Attribution: Tracking conversions from all discovery sources
• Content Freshness: How current your content appears to AI systems
• Semantic Relevance: Topic coverage comprehensiveness versus competitors

Successful SEO now follows a hybrid model with parallel strategies for traditional search and AI-specific content. Cross-functional collaboration ensures consistency while maintaining specialized expertise for each channel.

Conclusion

Simply put, the SaaS SEO coin now has two sides, with LLM being the second. 2025 will perhaps be remembered as the year SEO changed forever, but it’s not a reason to panic. Rather, it’s a year where SEO opens more doors for SaaS businesses.

You can either implement distinctive changes to your SEO team’s strategy, or you can reach out to an expert agency like TripleDart to manage your SEO efforts. TripleDart has helped over 100 companies achieve and exceed their SEO goals, and in 2025, TripleDart has helped several companies change their SEO game and adapt. If you want to be one of them, book a call with us to understand how we can take your SEO to the next level!