A founder launches a new SaaS product and decides to invest in search engine optimization. The reasoning seems obvious. Google processes enormous numbers of searches, and potential customers are already looking for solutions to the problems the software addresses.
The founder opens a keyword research tool and searches for a broad phrase like "project management software."
The results are encouraging at first. Thousands of people search for the phrase, and the commercial value appears substantial. Then the founder examines the search results.
The first page is dominated by established software companies, comparison websites, and publishers with years of content and backlinks.
The startup has a new domain, a handful of pages, and almost no search visibility.
The founder faces a difficult choice. Should they compete for a valuable keyword against companies with enormous marketing resources, or should they target smaller searches that appear less impressive?
For most early-stage SaaS companies, the second option deserves serious consideration.
The objective of SaaS SEO is not to attract the largest possible audience. It is to attract people who are likely to become customers.
A keyword searched by a few highly qualified buyers can be more commercially useful than a broad keyword attracting thousands of people with no intention of purchasing.
The challenge is learning how to identify those opportunities.
This guide explains how to find keywords for SaaS websites, evaluate search intent, identify realistic ranking opportunities, and turn keyword research into a customer acquisition strategy.
Why SaaS Keyword Research Is Different
A SaaS company does not simply need visitors.
It needs customers who experience a problem, recognize the value of solving it, and are willing to pay for software.
That changes how keywords should be evaluated.
Consider two searches.
The first is "what is customer relationship management."
The second is "CRM software for independent insurance agencies."
The first query may come from a student, a job applicant, a business owner learning terminology, or someone beginning to research software.
The second is much more specific. The searcher has identified a software category and an industry.
That does not guarantee a purchase, but it suggests a more defined need.
A startup selling CRM software to insurance agencies may find the second keyword more commercially relevant even if it attracts substantially fewer searches.
This is why search volume should not be the primary measure of keyword quality.
A useful SaaS keyword should connect three things: the customer's problem, the product's capabilities, and the searcher's likely intent.
When those elements align, search traffic has a clearer path toward becoming revenue.
The Four Types of Keywords SaaS Founders Should Understand
Not every keyword serves the same purpose.
Some searches indicate that a person is learning about a problem. Others suggest that the person is evaluating software or preparing to make a purchasing decision.
Understanding those differences helps founders decide which pages to create.
1. Problem-Aware Keywords
Problem-aware searches come from people trying to understand or solve an operational difficulty.
Examples include:
- How to automate client onboarding
- How to reduce missed sales follow-ups
- How to track recurring customer invoices
- How to manage contractor schedules
- How to automate weekly reporting
These searches may not explicitly mention software.
That can make them valuable.
A prospective customer might recognize the problem before knowing that a dedicated SaaS product exists to solve it.
An article addressing the problem can introduce the software naturally.
For example, a company selling client onboarding automation could publish a guide explaining how agencies can reduce repetitive onboarding tasks.
The article might compare manual checklists, spreadsheet templates, and automated workflows.
The product becomes relevant because it solves the problem being discussed.
Problem-aware content can help a startup reach customers before they begin comparing vendors.
2. Solution-Aware Keywords
Solution-aware searches indicate that the user already understands the category of solution they need.
Examples include:
- Client onboarding automation software
- Automated invoice reminder software
- CRM for independent insurance agents
- Employee scheduling software for cleaning companies
- Customer reporting software for marketing agencies
These keywords are often especially relevant to SaaS companies because they connect a recognized problem to a product category.
The searcher may be closer to evaluating available options.
However, broad solution-aware keywords can be competitive.
A new startup may struggle to rank for "CRM software" while having a more realistic opportunity to create a useful page for a narrower industry-specific query.
3. Comparison and Alternative Keywords
Comparison searches occur when prospective customers are evaluating different products.
Examples include:
- HubSpot alternatives for small agencies
- Asana vs ClickUp for marketing teams
- QuickBooks alternatives for freelancers
- Best CRM for independent consultants
- Project management software with client portals
These searches can indicate commercial intent.
The user is not merely learning what software is. They are investigating options.
A startup can create comparison pages that explain genuine differences in functionality, pricing models, workflows, and target customers.
Accuracy matters.
Comparison content should not invent competitor limitations or misrepresent pricing.
The most useful pages help readers understand which product fits their particular requirements.
4. Integration and Workflow Keywords
Integration-related searches can reveal a particularly specific need.
Examples include:
- CRM that integrates with QuickBooks
- Client onboarding software for HubSpot
- How to sync Salesforce contacts with an internal database
- Automated reporting from Google Sheets to Slack
- Recruiting software that integrates with Greenhouse
These searches identify existing tools or workflows.
That context can make the searcher easier to understand.
A founder may know which systems the customer uses, what information needs to move between them, and why the integration matters.
For SaaS products with genuine integration capabilities, these keywords can support highly relevant landing pages and tutorials.
The critical requirement is that the product actually supports the functionality described.
How to Find Keywords for SaaS Without Expensive SEO Tools
Many founders assume keyword research requires a costly subscription.
Professional SEO platforms can be valuable, but a startup can begin discovering relevant searches using free resources.
The first source is often the company's own customers.
During sales calls, customers explain problems in their natural language.
They might say that they spend hours preparing reports, forget to follow up with prospects, or struggle to coordinate employees across multiple locations.
These descriptions provide the raw material for keyword research.
A founder should record the phrases customers repeatedly use and investigate how those phrases appear in search results.
The second source is Google Search itself.
Autocomplete suggestions can reveal related searches as someone begins typing a query.
Search results can also surface related questions and alternative formulations.
These suggestions are useful for discovering language, although they should not be treated as reliable indicators of search volume.
The third source is competitor websites.
A founder can examine which problems competitors emphasize, how they organize use-case pages, and which integrations they promote.
The objective is not to copy their content.
It is to understand how established businesses describe the market.
The fourth source is Google Search Console, once the startup's website begins receiving impressions.
Search Console can reveal queries for which Google has displayed the website, even when nobody clicked.
Those impressions can provide clues about topics where the site is beginning to gain visibility.
The fifth source is online communities.
Reddit, industry forums, professional communities, and software review discussions can reveal recurring customer frustrations.
A founder should look for patterns in the questions people ask rather than treating every discussion as a keyword opportunity.
Together, these sources can produce a useful initial keyword list without purchasing a research platform.
A Practical SaaS Keyword Research Example
Imagine a founder building software that automates client onboarding for small marketing agencies.
The founder begins with a broad keyword:
"Client onboarding software."
That phrase describes the product, but it does not identify a specific customer segment or workflow.
The founder expands the research into several groups.
Keyword candidateLikely search intentSuggested pageClient onboarding softwareCommercial investigationProduct landing pageClient onboarding software for agenciesIndustry-specific evaluationAgency landing pageHow to automate client onboardingProblem-solvingTutorialClient onboarding checklist for marketing agenciesTemplate or workflow guidanceGuide and templateClient onboarding automation with HubSpotIntegration requirementIntegration tutorialBest client onboarding software for small agenciesVendor comparisonComparison guideHow to collect client assets during onboardingSpecific operational problemPractical article
These are illustrative keyword candidates, not verified search-volume opportunities.
The founder would still need to inspect actual search results and confirm that people use the phrases.
But the exercise reveals an important pattern.
One broad product category can contain many narrower customer problems.
Each problem may deserve a different page.
A product landing page should explain the software and its value proposition.
A tutorial should help readers complete a task.
A comparison page should help readers evaluate alternatives.
A template page should provide a genuinely useful resource.
Matching the page to search intent is often more important than repeating the target keyword throughout the text.
How to Evaluate Keyword Difficulty Without Relying on a Score
SEO tools frequently assign keyword difficulty scores.
These scores can be useful directional estimates, but they are not guarantees of whether a particular website can rank.
Different tools use different methodologies.
A founder should also examine the actual search results.
Suppose a new SaaS company wants to target "client onboarding software for boutique marketing agencies."
The founder searches the phrase and studies the pages currently appearing.
Are the results dominated by major software companies?
Do they directly answer the query, or are they generic pages about client onboarding?
Are there specialized providers serving the same audience?
Does the search engine display product pages, tutorials, directories, or discussion threads?
These observations help the founder understand the competitive landscape.
If the top results are highly relevant and comprehensive, ranking may be difficult.
If the results only partially address the specific need, there may be an opportunity to create a more useful resource.
But weak-looking results do not guarantee easy rankings.
Search engines consider many factors, including relevance, site quality, links, and broader signals that are not fully visible from the results page.
The founder should treat manual analysis as a way to prioritize experiments rather than predict outcomes with certainty.
Why Low Domain Authority Does Not Mean You Cannot Rank
New SaaS websites often have limited backlink profiles and little established search visibility.
This makes broad, competitive queries challenging.
But domain authority is not a metric used by Google itself. It is a third-party estimate developed by SEO software providers.
Google's ranking systems evaluate pages using many signals, and a third-party authority score should not be treated as a direct ranking factor.
For founders, the practical implication is straightforward.
A new website should not assume that it must compete immediately for the largest keywords in its industry.
Instead, it can publish useful pages addressing narrower needs.
A small SaaS company might struggle to rank for "employee scheduling software."
But a detailed guide about scheduling part-time employees at independent cleaning businesses may address a more specific search intent.
If the content provides original examples, practical instructions, and accurate information, it may have a clearer reason to exist.
The objective is not to manipulate an authority score.
It is to build a collection of pages that genuinely help the customers the company wants to reach.
How to Prioritize SaaS Keywords by Revenue Potential
A founder may identify hundreds of relevant keywords.
The next challenge is deciding which deserve attention first.
Search volume alone is not sufficient.
A better approach evaluates commercial relevance, customer pain, product fit, search intent, and ranking opportunity.
Consider a startup selling automated invoice reminder software.
It discovers three keyword candidates.
The first is "what is an invoice."
The second is "how to follow up on overdue invoices."
The third is "automated invoice reminders for small accounting firms."
The first may attract a broad educational audience.
The second describes a problem that the software can address.
The third describes both a software capability and a customer segment.
The third may have the strongest commercial relevance, even if its search volume is smaller.
A founder can use a simple scoring system to compare candidates.
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Keyword priority score = Customer pain × Product fit × Purchase intent × Ranking opportunity
Each factor can be rated from one to five.
This is a planning heuristic, not a validated SEO formula.
The purpose is to force the founder to consider more than traffic estimates.
A keyword with strong purchase intent but little product relevance should not receive a high priority.
Similarly, a keyword that perfectly describes the product may not be useful if the search results indicate a completely different intent.
The founder should prioritize keywords that create a credible path from search to product adoption.
The Difference Between Traffic Keywords and Revenue Keywords
Consider two articles published by a SaaS startup.
The first is titled "50 Productivity Tips for Remote Workers."
The second is titled "How to Automate Weekly Client Reports for Marketing Agencies."
The productivity article might attract a broad audience.
Students, employees, freelancers, and casual readers could all find it useful.
But only a small portion may need the company's software.
The reporting article addresses a narrower operational problem.
If the startup sells automated reporting software to agencies, the article is closely connected to the product.
The second article could attract fewer visitors while generating more qualified interest.
This illustrates the distinction between traffic keywords and revenue-oriented keywords.
The founder should not ignore informational content. Educational articles can build trust and help potential customers understand problems.
But the content strategy should contain a clear path from information to product value.
A startup that publishes hundreds of unrelated articles may build traffic without building a customer acquisition channel.
The objective is to attract the right people, not merely more people.
How to Build a SaaS Keyword Cluster
A keyword cluster is a group of related topics organized around a central customer problem or product category.
For example, a startup offering customer onboarding software might create a central page explaining its product.
Supporting content could cover onboarding checklists, automated welcome emails, document collection, onboarding workflows, and integrations.
Each article would address a distinct question.
The pages could link to one another where the connection is useful.
A reader researching onboarding checklists might discover a guide about automating document collection.
A reader exploring automation might then visit the product page.
This structure helps users navigate related information and gives search engines clearer signals about the relationships between pages.
However, a keyword cluster should not become an excuse to publish many nearly identical articles.
Each page should serve a distinct purpose.
If two keyword phrases have essentially the same search intent, one comprehensive page may be more useful than two competing pages.
A founder should prioritize clarity and usefulness over maximizing the number of URLs.
How to Write SaaS SEO Content That Converts
Keyword research identifies what people search for.
Content determines whether the website helps them.
A useful SaaS article should begin by understanding the reader's situation.
What problem are they trying to solve?
What have they probably attempted already?
What information would help them make a decision?
Consider an article targeting "how to automate client onboarding."
A weak article might begin with a generic explanation of why onboarding is important, followed by several paragraphs repeating the keyword.
A stronger article could describe a specific onboarding workflow.
It might explain how agencies collect client information, create project folders, assign responsibilities, send welcome messages, and track outstanding documents.
The article could then demonstrate which steps can be automated and which require human judgment.
Screenshots, sample workflows, checklists, and practical examples can make the resource more useful.
If the SaaS product supports the workflow, the founder can explain how the software helps.
The product should appear as a relevant solution rather than an unrelated advertisement.
A strong call to action should match the reader's intent.
Someone researching a problem may appreciate a template or tutorial.
Someone comparing software may be ready for a demo or free trial.
The page should help the reader take the next logical step.
Using Google Search Console to Find Hidden Keyword Opportunities
Once a SaaS website begins appearing in Google Search, Search Console can provide valuable information.
A founder may discover that an article receives impressions for queries that were not originally targeted.
For example, a guide about client onboarding might appear for searches involving agency onboarding templates, collecting client assets, or automated onboarding checklists.
These queries can reveal how Google associates the page with related topics.
The founder should examine impressions, clicks, click-through rates, and average position over an appropriate period.
If a page receives impressions but few clicks, the title or search snippet may not communicate its value clearly.
If a page attracts clicks but produces no meaningful product engagement, the audience may not match the company's ideal customer.
If an unexpected query is highly relevant, the founder may improve the existing article or create a separate resource if the search intent is genuinely different.
Search Console does not provide a complete record of every search query, and performance data can fluctuate.
The founder should avoid drawing strong conclusions from tiny samples.
But over time, the information can help refine the content strategy based on actual search visibility.
Common SaaS Keyword Research Mistakes
One common mistake is targeting keywords solely because they have high search volume.
A broad keyword may attract many visitors but few qualified buyers.
Another mistake is selecting keywords without examining search intent.
A founder might create a product landing page for a query where users primarily want a tutorial.
The page may struggle because it does not answer the question people are asking.
A third mistake is producing multiple pages that target nearly identical searches.
This can create unnecessary duplication and make it harder to maintain a coherent website.
A fourth mistake is using AI to generate large volumes of generic content without adding original expertise or practical value.
AI can help with research organization, outlines, and editing, but content still needs to serve real users.
Finally, founders sometimes abandon SEO too quickly.
Organic search visibility often develops gradually, particularly for new websites.
A few weeks of limited traffic do not necessarily establish that the strategy has failed.
The founder should evaluate progress over time and continue improving content based on evidence.
A 30-Day SaaS Keyword Research and Content Plan
During the first week, interview customers or review existing sales conversations.
Identify the problems they describe and the software categories they already understand.
Create an initial list of keyword candidates using customer language, Google Search suggestions, competitor websites, and relevant communities.
During the second week, group those keywords by search intent.
Separate problem-aware queries, solution-aware queries, comparison searches, and integration-related searches.
Evaluate which terms most closely match the product's value proposition.
During the third week, publish one high-quality commercial landing page and one practical supporting article.
The landing page should explain the product's relevance to a specific customer segment.
The supporting article should solve a related problem in enough detail to be genuinely useful.
During the fourth week, improve internal linking, verify that the pages can be indexed, and establish measurement through Search Console and website analytics.
The founder should then continue publishing based on the strongest customer problems and observed search opportunities.
Thirty days is not enough to guarantee meaningful rankings.
It is enough to establish a repeatable research and publishing process.
How Many Keywords Should a New SaaS Website Target?
There is no universal number.
A founder with limited resources may be better served by five carefully selected topics than fifty loosely related articles.
The correct number depends on the product's scope, customer segments, available expertise, and ability to maintain useful content.
A narrow vertical SaaS product might begin with a handful of commercial pages and supporting tutorials.
A broader platform may eventually need a larger content library covering multiple industries, workflows, and integrations.
The important distinction is between publishing more content and covering more genuine customer needs.
A startup should expand its keyword strategy when it has something useful to say about additional problems.
Publishing pages merely to increase the number of indexed URLs is unlikely to create a durable distribution advantage.
The Bigger Lesson: Keywords Are Evidence of Customer Demand
Founders sometimes approach SEO as a technical exercise.
They collect keywords, optimize titles, adjust headings, and monitor rankings.
Those activities matter, but they are not the foundation of successful SaaS distribution.
The foundation is understanding what customers need.
A search query is a small piece of evidence about a person's problem or intention.
Someone searching for "automated invoice reminders for accounting firms" has revealed more than a collection of words.
They have identified a business workflow, a desired capability, and a potential purchasing context.
The founder's task is to interpret that signal.
Can the product solve the problem?
Does the company understand the customer?
Can it provide a useful answer?
Is there a credible path from the search to a product that delivers value?
When these questions are answered well, keyword research becomes more than a way to generate traffic.
It becomes a method for discovering and reaching potential customers.
The strongest SaaS SEO strategies do not begin with a spreadsheet full of high-volume keywords.
They begin with a clear understanding of the market and use search data to find where customer needs intersect with the product.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best keywords for SaaS?
The best keywords are those that match the product's capabilities, ideal customers, and search intent. Industry-specific software searches, problem-aware queries, comparison keywords, and integration-related searches can all be valuable.
How do I find low-competition keywords for SaaS?
Begin with specific customer problems and long-tail searches. Examine Google's results to understand search intent and competition, then prioritize topics where your website can provide a more relevant or useful answer.
What are buyer-intent keywords for B2B SaaS?
Buyer-intent keywords suggest that someone is evaluating a solution. Examples include "CRM for insurance agencies," "best client onboarding software," and "accounting software that integrates with Salesforce."
Can a new SaaS website rank on Google?
Yes, but results depend on competition, relevance, content quality, technical accessibility, and other factors. New websites may benefit from focusing on narrower queries that closely match their expertise.
Is domain authority a Google ranking factor?
No. Domain authority is a third-party metric, not a ranking factor used directly by Google. It can provide a rough comparative signal but should not determine an entire SEO strategy.
How many SEO articles should a SaaS startup publish?
There is no required number. Start with a manageable set of high-value pages that address distinct customer needs. Expand as research and customer feedback reveal additional opportunities.
Should SaaS founders target informational or commercial keywords?
Both can be useful. Commercial keywords may connect more directly to purchasing decisions, while informational content can introduce the product to customers earlier in their research.
How long does SaaS SEO take to work?
Results vary considerably. New websites may require months to develop meaningful organic visibility, and some competitive queries may remain difficult to rank for. Track progress over time rather than expecting immediate results.
Sources and Further Reading
Google Search Central — SEO Starter Guide
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide
Google's introductory guidance on search visibility, site organization, and creating useful content.
Google Search Central — Creating Helpful, Reliable, People-First Content
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content
Guidance on creating original, useful resources for people rather than producing content primarily to manipulate rankings.
Google Search Console
https://search.google.com/search-console/about
A free tool for understanding how a website performs in Google Search, including queries, impressions, clicks, and indexing information.
Google Search Central — Performance Report
https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7576553
Documentation explaining Search Console's search performance metrics and reporting limitations.
Turn SaaS Keywords Into Paying Customers
Finding keywords is only one part of building a successful SaaS company.
The larger challenge is connecting customer problems to a compelling offer and developing a distribution system that consistently brings the right people to your product.
In Mastering Distribution: How to Get Customers in the AI Era, Dr. Navraj Chohan explains how founders can identify painful customer problems, position products effectively, select acquisition channels, and build repeatable systems for growth.
The book covers founder-led sales, SEO, content, partnerships, conversion, retention, and the economics of customer acquisition.
Explore Mastering Distribution: How to Get Customers in the AI Era.