Everything You Need To Know Before Choosing A SaaS SEO Consultant

SEO if done correctly for your SaaS business can get you 2x the more exposure, leads and sales.

You clicked on this article, so we are assuming that you are willing to expand your knowledge on B2B SEO consultants and what they can offer you.

Join us as we discuss everything you need to know before choosing a B2B SaaS SEO Consultant.

What Are the Roles of SaaS SEO Consultants?

B2B SEO consultants create strategies for you to excel in your goals. They assist you in every stage of your sales process. Doesn’t matter if you are having trouble generating leads, having difficulty engaging with prospects, or facing challenges in your sales lifecycle management, these experts have your back.

According to a study published by Statista Research, the average annual revenue per consultant of professional services in SaaS companies worldwide increased between 2015 to 2020, despite some fluctuations. Respondents also reported an average annual revenue per consultant of 209,000 U.S. dollars during the 2021 survey.

What you need a SaaS SEO consultant?

1. On-page SEO 

A major chunk of success depends on how well your potential customers engage and interact with your content. This is where the role of search engine optimization (SEO) comes in, ensuring that your website can be found by search engines and reaches your target audience in time. A winning SEO strategy for B2B includes full optimization of website elements like headings, tags meta descriptions, title tags, internal linking, URL optimization, and more. A SaaS SEO expert can help you send all the right signals to Google and increase your engagement once users are on your site.

The right SEO consultant will help you to identify the correct keywords and phrases that your target audience would use to find your website. This also includes ensuring that your website includes relevant content that targets those keywords to meet all the requirements of search engine algorithms.

Earning backlinks to your website is a primary function of on-page SEO which will further boost your search engine rankings. Next, the B2B SaaS consultant will work on structuring your website to make it easy and fast to use for others. The consultant will also work with you to monitor and adjust your SEO efforts needed over time to ensure your website is well-optimized at all times.

2. Technical SEO

Technical SEO ensures that search engine bots can properly crawl, index, and understand your website’s content, helping your website rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). It also contributes to a smooth user experience by helping webpages load quickly and making sure all the elements of a webpage are easily accessible to users.

Technical SEO is more about optimizing your site’s performance, speed, security, and usability and less about the content. Here is how a B2B SEO consultant can help enhance the technical aspects of your website-

• optimizing page speed and mobile-friendliness, making sure all the pages are indexable.
• assess any weaknesses in security/stability or basic functionality such as broken links or missing images.
• ensuring that all the elements of the website are smoothly integrated into one user experience, contributing to a better user experience overall.

3. Content marketing strategy

A content marketing strategy is an excellent way to build trust and authority with your audience. The content you produce can unimaginably attract your audience, only if you know how to do it correctly. You can establish yourself as an expert in your niche, generate leads, drive traffic to your website, generate brand awareness, and create social buzz for the company.

A B2B SEO consultant can help a SaaS business with a content marketing strategy in the following ways-

• identify relevant keywords for the business
• optimizing website content for the targeted keywords
• creating backlinks to the website from high-quality websites.

Once the B2B SEO consultants identified a list of keywords with their own set of tools and expertise, they can help the business optimize its website content for those keywords. This will help improve the visibility of your website in SERPs and reach your target audience faster.

4. Off-page SEO

Off-page SEO is an equally important aspect as on-page SEO if not more. It includes link building, social media marketing, content marketing, and email marketing. Focussing on off-page optimization activities will help your website gain authority and visibility in the eyes of search engines. For example, link building can help you increase the number of links directed to your website from other sites, which will improve your rankings and ultimately drive traffic increasing the sales of your business. 

Here is what a B2B SEO consultant can help in optimizing your website with off-page SEO

• identifying the relevant keywords for your business to rank for.
• creating optimized content for those keywords and distributing them to the right places.
• evaluating results and adjusting strategies as needed to ensure that the business is making the most out of its off-page SEO efforts.
• providing backlinks to your website from high-quality websites, which will improve the website’s domain authority and search engine ranking.

5. Conversion optimization

Conversion optimization focuses on improving the performance of a website so that more people take action on it and convert. It is about making sure your website has the best layout, design, and content to attract users, makes them stay, and take action (buy or sign up).

Some of the prospects have already done their research before contacting your business. In such a case, you would want them to take a desired action and convert, by making your website easily navigable and accessible. But if you want to bring more leads through your search engine traffic, then conversion optimization can be combined with other strategies like paid ads (Google ads) or organic listings.

Here is how a B2B SaaS consultant can help

• improving the visibility of the business’s website and driving more traffic.
• improving the quality of your website’s content and making it more relevant to potential customers.
• identifying keywords and phrases that potential customers are using to search for products and optimizing website content.

Questions to Ask a Potential SaaS SEO Consultant 

Hiring an efficient SEO consultant can have a significant impact on your business’s success, so you want to do it in the right way. But how do you start? By asking the right questions!

We have compiled a list of important questions that you should ask before hiring a B2B SaaS SEO consultant-

1. What are you best at?

Let’s be honest here. It is not impossible but can be hard to find an SEO consultant that would excel in all areas. Of course, they should be good at all SEO disciplines(on-page, off-page, technical), but very few manage to be experts in all of them. Moreover, it also depends on your resources and how much you are willing to spend. So the smartest thing to do here is to try to find the best match for your business.

Some consultants may focus on just one area like link building or technical SEO, and double down their strengths over a niche service, while others may have equal strengths over all disciplines. It would be best to first determine your strengths, needs, and requirements and then approach the SaaS SEO consultant to determine how their knowledge, expertise, and knowledge will help you in the best possible way.

2. How can your work and resources impact my business?

Here are some factors that play a key role in evaluating the potential impact of B2B SEO potential on your business-

Organic traffic potential - What are the high search demands in your business category?

Developer resources- Are your developers qualified and experienced? Can they finish promptly?

Content creator resources- Do you have a dedicated team to produce SEO content? Or, do you have the budget to hire freelancers?

Link builder/PR resources- Do you have a PR specialist or a link builder? Can you afford to hire them?

We are not telling you to ask for numbers at this stage, but the consultant should be able to provide you with enough information to help you evaluate the potential of their work.

3. Do you have any use cases or client examples?

It is only fair to ask for previous case studies to help you evaluate their work and achievements. Just like you would ask an architect for house pictures and previous work, the same goes for a SaaS SEO consultant. If the B2B SEO Consultant is well established and competed, they must already have a ready portfolio to showcase. This can include casework and client testimonials that are specific to how the consultancy has helped their business grow. If you ever come across a SaaS SEO consultant who cannot provide any substantial reviews or are very vague about who they have worked with, you can pass. 

4. What SEO tools do you use, and how do you use them?

Every efficient SEO consultant uses B2B SEO tools like Semrush, Ahrefs, or Moz to enhance the productivity and accuracy of their work. Google Search Console and Google Analytics work but they are not considered very professional. However, using the best SEO tools is only basic for a B2B SEO consultant. Let them walk you through their processes like- How do they find link-building opportunities? How do they identify and use keywords? How do they audit a website?

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Choosing a SaaS SEO Consultant

Hiring is tricky, it can do more harm than good if done wrong. Here are some red flags and common mistakes you should watch out for while hiring-

1. Relying on Google

This might catch you off guard but the best SaaS SEO consultants are mostly at that standard because of client referrals more than SEO optimization. When a consultant is doing great, they are referred by their clients. They will gain new clients this way and tend to work for their clients for an ongoing period with a high retention rate and a lot of work.  As such, they might or might not have the time to optimize their website for Google. 

On the other hand, SaaS SEO consultants who are always at the top of the search engine, may or may not be the best at their game. There can be several possibilities, one of them being a short client list so they can spend more time tweaking their website to the top.

Though not always true, you should keep these things in mind while choosing your SaaS SEO consultant. You can also have a look at the Google reviews if you are searching for a specific region.

2. Deciding by the ‘top SEO’ lists

Let’s be honest here, any lists with the top tag do not necessarily mean they are. A lot of factors come into play here, including paying to be featured on a list like this. Most smart people don’t rely on a ‘best of’ list when it comes to finding something really good.

Instead of scouting for options in the ‘best of’ lists, you can trust reviews, look out for recommendations or even look for SaaS SEO experts who are recognized for being good at what they do.

3. Believing there’s a “secret recipe’’ 

Remember that transparency is what you should be aiming for. In the day and age of open-source data, look for B2B SEO consultants that are open and transparent about their practices. There are no special techniques when it comes to SaaS. Your SaaS SEO consultant should understand your business, your market, and your goals clearly to make things work. 

How Much Does a SaaS SEO Consultant Charge ?

Frankly speaking, there is no set price, SEO SaaS consultants can charge whatever they want for different types of SEO. 

But to give you a fair idea, we have compiled a list of the different types of rates charged by a SaaS SEO consultant-

Hourly rate

Normally fees are based on how many hours are spent working on each project. Remember to ask your company for a breakdown of their work to make sure you are billed correctly. The cost for hourly SEO work per hour on average is $100 to $250 per hour.

Monthly rate

Monthly packages normally include a specific set of services such as competitor research, competitor research, keyword research, SEO content writing, technical audits, link building, and more. Also, some B2B SEO consultants can offer to build a custom plan with an agreed monthly plan. The monthly rate can range from $10,000 and above.

Per project

A B2B SEO Consultant may also charge project-wise. You can start by discussing your SEO needs and goals before agreeing on the project scope, responsibilities, and total cost. This option offers more scope for negotiation. The average project-based SEO services may range from $1000 to $1 million and up.

SEO Consultant or SEO Agency for Your SaaS Company?

From freelancers and consultants to agencies, there are a couple of routes when it comes to outsourcing the SEO function of your business. We are going to break down the choice between an SEO consultant and an agency to help you make an informed decision.

First, let us know the basic difference between the two-

SaaS SEO Consultancies upskill existing digital marketers, audit your website and help you devise a long-term SEO strategy or newly-upskilled team to implement. They will not exactly work for you but will show you how to do it yourself provided you have the necessary manpower.

Benefits of hiring an SEO consultancy

• Enhances your in-house team’s potential
• Tailor-made advice, strategies, and recommendations that integrate with your existing systems.
• Helps you identify any hidden technical problems.
• One time expenditure

SaaS SEO Agencies are teams of experts in subjects as diverse as content marketing, programming and web development, digital PR, and social media marketing. Hiring an agency is the most popular solution right now for outsourcing SEO.

Benefits of hiring an SEO agency for your B2B company

• A fully-resourced team of SEO professionals at your hand.
• Receive long-term support at every stage of your SEO journey.
• Measurable results and accountability.
• Utilize truly innovative SEO tactics.

Choosing the right option will entirely depend on your needs and resources. The total cost of hiring an SEO consultant can be lower than an SEO agency but this does not paint the complete picture. Working with an SEO consultant can often incur unforeseen and unbudgeted secondary costs. For example, they may recommend investing in new SEO tools or sending staff to relevant sources. There is also a burden of implementation, and if the SaaS SEO strategy does not work, the consultant has no liabilities. Also, they are not likely to walk the extra mile to help you with content writing, editing, and CRO activities.

Whereas SEO agencies rely on their strategies to yield results to retain clients and grow their business over time. Their effort is not limited to SEO, but to all other departments that are associated with SEO- including content, design, and web development. If you need long-term support, month-by-month progress reports on your organic rankings, or want to calculate the exact or near-exact ROI of your SEO investment, SEO agencies are a more suitable choice !

How Will TripleDart Be the Best in B2B SaaS SEO Consulting? 

TripleDart is a revenue focussed growth marketing agency that helps B2B SaaS companies reach their marketing goals in time. No matter where you are in your marketing journey, we make sure you tick off all the goals on your checklist. We will work with your in-house marketers at every step and optimize your SEO strategies.

This we how we can help

Performance SEO- We will help you to scale organic growth with keyword research, backlink building, and high-speed  SaaS content marketing.

Content and thought leadership- We help you connect with your prospects, generate leads, and create demand for your product through high-quality content and consistent content production.

Brand and web design- Curate attractive landing pages, display, ad banners, and website refreshes with quick turnarounds

Data Analytics- View, track and analyze all your KPIs to get full visibility of your marketing acquisition funnel in one place.

Tired of Not Growing Fast Enough? We Are Here to Help!

We take pride in our and our client’s achievements. Try us once, and we are sure that you will never want to leave. Contact us now to know how we can help you reach all your SEO goals.