SaaS Keyword Research Methods
Imagine this: your ideal customer is searching Google right now typing in the exact problem your SaaS solves. But they’re not finding you. They’re landing on your competitors’ pages, booking demos, and signing up for free trials.
That’s the cost of missing strategic keyword research.
In the world of SaaS, 69% of all clicks go to the first 5 organic search results, and 66% of B2B buyers use search engines to discover solutions before ever speaking to sales. If your product isn’t showing up where your audience is looking, you’re not even in the race.
This guide breaks down everything you need to know about SaaS keyword research from uncovering high-intent long-tail queries to mapping keywords across the funnel and using real competitor data to steal market share.
You’ll also see how we helped Dovetail, a leading user research SaaS, 10x their organic traffic and scale to 4,800+ top 3 rankings using the exact keyword strategies we’re about to share.
Let’s dive in and show you how to stop chasing traffic and start building predictable, compounding SEO growth.
What is SaaS Keyword Research?
SaaS keyword research is the process of identifying the keywords your target audience uses to find your product or the problems it is solving. The search intent for these keywords can vary from informational or navigational, to commercial or transactional.
Understanding this intent helps SaaS marketers craft targeted content that not only ranks highly but genuinely resonates with prospective customers.
Purpose of SaaS Keyword Research: Audience Targeting
The main goal of SaaS keyword research is precise audience targeting. By identifying the keywords your target audience uses, your SaaS business can uncover insights into audience needs, motivations, and challenges.
This clarity enables your content marketing strategy to directly address user queries, thereby improving engagement, increasing organic traffic, and accelerating lead conversions.
Keyword Strategy for SaaS Companies
A well-structured SaaS keyword strategy outlines how your company can leverage competitive advantages through SEO, clearly defining tactics and methods to reach and convert your audience.
SaaS Keywords & Long-Tail Keywords
• SaaS Keywords: Typically broad and competitive (e.g., “CRM software”).
• Long-Tail Keywords for SaaS: More specific, lower competition, high conversion potential (e.g., “CRM software for small real estate teams”).
Content Ideas:
• Step-by-step guides to identifying and prioritizing SaaS keywords.
• Exploring keyword research’s impact on overall SEO campaigns.
High-Intent Keywords for SaaS
High-intent keywords signal readiness to purchase or sign-up, significantly boosting conversions.
• Transactional Keywords: “Buy accounting software,” “best CRM trial,” “project management software discount.”
Content Ideas:
• Lists of highest-converting SaaS keywords.
• Examples of bottom-of-funnel keywords for specific SaaS industries.
Competitor Keyword Research
Analyzing competitor keyword strategies is essential for uncovering gaps and opportunities.
Methods:
• Competitor keyword gap analysis
• SaaS competitor benchmarking
Content Ideas:
• Tutorials on competitor keyword research techniques.
• How-to guides on using tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz to uncover keyword opportunities.
• Comparing SaaS keyword performance against competitors.
SaaS Keyword Research Methods
Here are proven methods to refine your SaaS keyword research:
ICP Analysis
Define your Ideal Customer Profile and research their common searches.
Competitor Analysis
Evaluate keywords competitors rank for, and identify keyword gaps.
Jobs to Be Done Framework
Uncover keyword insights based on customer jobs and desired outcomes.
Google Ads Data
Leverage insights from your paid campaigns.
G2 Reviews
Extract keywords customers use when reviewing your SaaS and competitors.
Customer Journey Mapping
Identify relevant keywords across every stage of the customer lifecycle.
Analyzing Sales Calls
Understand terminology prospects naturally use.
Google Suggest & “People Also Ask”
Discover real-time, relevant user queries.
Adjacent Use Cases
Explore keywords tied to related or emerging markets.
Topic Clusters & Pillars
Organize keywords into topic-focused content hubs.
Google Search Console Data
Analyze data from existing traffic and keyword performance.
How to do Keyword Research for SaaS
Executing keyword research for SaaS requires a structured process:
1. Brainstorm Topics and Terms
Identify initial keywords relevant to your business.
2. Speak to Sales, CS, and Customers
Learn directly from stakeholders about pain points and challenges.
3. Gather Terms in Keyword Tools
Use Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Keyword Planner to generate comprehensive keyword lists.
4. Assign Search Intent
Classify keywords into informational, navigational, commercial, and transactional.
5. Prioritize Keywords
Rank based on intent, search volume, and business relevance.
6. Map Keywords to Existing Content
Identify gaps where new content is needed and optimize existing content.
How Keyword Research Drives SaaS Growth (Dovetail Case Study)
The success of Dovetail, a leading user research platform, is a strong example of how strategic keyword research can directly fuel SaaS growth. By deeply understanding their audience and aligning content with high-intent keywords, Dovetail achieved exceptional SEO results.
Uncovered High-Intent, Product-Led Keywords:
Through in-depth keyword research, we identified long-tail queries aligned with real user problems and use cases like “user research repository” and “customer insights platform.”
Mapped Keywords to Buyer Journey:
We targeted keywords across the funnel—top-of-funnel educational content to bottom-of-funnel high-intent pages—ensuring we captured traffic at every decision stage.
Created Targeted Landing Pages:
Built SEO-optimized landing pages around keyword themes that matched Dovetail’s core features and differentiated value props.
Leveraged Competitor Keyword Gaps:
Analyzed competitor positioning and identified underserved keyword opportunities, giving Dovetail a strong edge in niche verticals.
Improved Topical Authority with Clusters:
Implemented topic clusters around high-value themes like “qualitative research,” “research operations,” and “customer feedback analysis” to signal expertise and boost rankings.
Results:
• +878% organic traffic growth
• Scaled top 3 keyword rankings 62 to 4,800+ in 18 Months
Dovetail’s growth proves that keyword research when tied to real user needs, product strengths, and buyer intent can unlock scalable, compounding SaaS growth.
Tools for SaaS Keyword Research
In the digital landscape, website owners use sophisticated tracking mechanisms like cookies and tools such as Hotjar to monitor user behaviors across sessions and interactions.
This data collection facilitates an understanding of user preferences not just for content curation but also for strategizing on keyword optimization. By analyzing which pages or content a specific audience engages with, marketers can identify relevant keywords that resonate with their target demographic.
This information is then leveraged through SEO tools to research competitors and refine a list of keywords aimed at improving site rank, thus creating a symbiotic relationship where analytics drive targeted search engine optimization efforts for enhanced online visibility.
Gathering and analysis of data from various touchpoints including site IDs and user behavior serve as a foundational layer for identifying relevant keywords.
Connecting the dots between user interaction data and keyword research tools unleashes a potent strategy to list and find targeted keywords that resonate with actual audience behaviors, thereby crafting an optimized online presence that is both visible and relevant.
Leverage tools to streamline SaaS keyword research:
• Ahrefs & SEMrush: Comprehensive keyword databases and competitor analysis.
• Infranodus: Visualize semantic keyword gaps and topical opportunities.
• Google Search Console: Monitor and refine keyword performance based on real-time data.
• Google Ads Keyword Planner: Uncover insights from paid search data.
• Keywords Everywhere: Browser extension offering quick keyword insights.
Integrating high-value keyword analytics into your internal, technical, and content SEO strategies significantly enhances your site’s rank and competitive performance.
Integrating Keyword Analytics into Technical SEO Strategies
Integrating high-value keyword analytics into the technical SEO strategies of content creation can significantly boost a site’s search performance and help it outperform competitors. Here’s how:
1. Improved Content Relevance and Indexability
• Mapping high-value keywords to specific pages ensures that your content aligns with user intent and search queries.
• Optimizing title tags, meta descriptions, headers, and structured data with these keywords improves crawlability and indexing.
• Google rewards relevance content built on keyword data is more likely to match what users are looking for.
2. Stronger Internal Linking Structure
• Keyword analytics reveal semantic relationships and content clusters.
• Strategically linking related pages based on keyword themes boosts topical authority and distributes link equity across your site.
• This helps Google better understand your site’s structure and increases the ranking potential of key pages.
3. Reduced Keyword Cannibalization
• By auditing existing content with keyword data, you can identify and resolve duplicate targeting across multiple pages.
• This technical refinement ensures each page targets a distinct keyword or cluster, maximizing overall visibility.
4. Enhanced Page Speed and User Experience (UX) for Priority Pages
• Keyword analytics help prioritize which high-value pages to optimize for technical SEO factors like Core Web Vitals, mobile responsiveness, and load time.
• These UX improvements reduce bounce rates and increase engagement on pages that matter most.
5. Data-Led Content Architecture
• Building your site architecture around keyword clusters and search intent improves both user navigation and search engine understanding.
• Pages targeting primary keywords serve as pillars, while supporting content links back contextually boosting both authority and rankings.
6. Rich Snippets and SERP Features
• High-value keyword data reveals queries that trigger SERP features (People Also Ask, featured snippets, etc.).
• Structuring your content accordingly (using schema markup, answering questions clearly, etc.) increases chances of occupying these high-visibility placements.
7. Smarter Content Refreshes
• Keyword analytics show declining or emerging keyword trends.
• Updating existing content based on these insights ensures continued relevance and helps maintain or boost rankings.
FAQs
What is the difference between SaaS SEO and traditional SEO?
SaaS SEO differs from traditional SEO primarily due to the customer lifecycle, product complexity, and sales process:
• Sales Cycle: SaaS products typically involve longer, more complex sales cycles, requiring content optimized for multiple buyer journey stages.
• Focus on Retention: SaaS SEO emphasizes ongoing engagement and retention, not just initial conversions.
• Search Intent: SaaS SEO targets highly specialized, intent-driven keywords that reflect specific problems, solutions, and product features.
• Content Strategy: SaaS content is usually product-led, deeply aligned with customer success, tutorials, comparisons, use-case guides, and in-depth educational materials.
In contrast, traditional SEO often focuses broadly on traffic volume and transactional keywords without necessarily mapping closely to complex customer lifecycles or recurring user needs.
What is SaaS research?
SaaS (Software as a Service) in research typically refers to cloud-based tools used to streamline or enhance the research process.
How much should I pay for keyword research?
Prices vary depending on the depth of analysis. Monthly costs can range from free tools to subscriptions between $99 to $500+ monthly for premium tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush.
How do I conduct market research for SaaS?
Use a combination of customer interviews, competitor analysis, market trend analysis, and keyword data to build robust insights into your target audience and competitors.
What is SEO for SaaS?
SEO for SaaS is optimizing your website and content to rank higher in search engines, increasing visibility, driving relevant organic traffic, and ultimately growing subscribers or revenue.
What’s the best keyword strategy for SaaS?
A balanced approach leveraging high-intent, long-tail keywords with a clear understanding of customer pain points, journey stages, and product use-cases.
