Keyword Research

Competitor Keyword Analysis for SaaS Marketing: Is it Beneficial?

Pushkar Sinha
Oct 17, 2023
7 mins read
Competitor Keyword Analysis for SaaS Marketing: Is it Beneficial?

Analyzing your competitor’s keyword targeting is a strategic process that involves researching and evaluating the keywords and search terms that competitors in a specific industry or niche target. This analysis helps businesses understand which keywords drive traffic to their competitors’ websites and provides valuable insights for optimizing their digital marketing efforts.

For SaaS companies, effective digital marketing is crucial for sustainable growth. Competitor keyword analysis allows SaaS businesses to gain a competitive edge by identifying high-performing keywords, understanding customer search behavior, and refining content strategies. It also helps target the right audience, improve search engine rankings, and ultimately drive more organic traffic and conversions.

This article aims to provide a comprehensive guide on how SaaS companies can leverage Competitor keyword analysis to fuel their growth. It will cover the fundamental concepts, tools, and steps involved in this process, enabling SaaS businesses to make informed decisions and optimize their digital marketing strategies.

Key Metrics and Parameters to Analyze

  1. Search Volume: This metric indicates how often a specific keyword is searched for on search engines. Higher search volume keywords generally have a larger potential audience but may face higher competition.
  2. Keyword Difficulty: This metric assesses how challenging ranking for a particular keyword is. It considers factors like the number of competing pages, domain authority of top-ranking pages, and more.
  3. Click-Through Rate (CTR): CTR represents the percentage of people who click on a search result after viewing it. It reflects the relevance and attractiveness of a webpage’s content in relation to a specific keyword.
  4. Cost-Per-Click (CPC): This is relevant for paid advertising campaigns and indicates the cost an advertiser pays each time a user clicks on their ad.

Tools for Competitor Keyword Analysis

  1. Google Keyword Planner: An essential tool that provides insights into search volumes and competition levels for specific keywords.
  2. SEMrush: Offers a comprehensive suite of tools for keyword research, competitor analysis, and SEO strategy optimization.
  3. Ahrefs: Known for its robust backlink analysis, Ahrefs also provides valuable keyword research features and competitive analysis tools.
  4. Moz: Offers a range of SEO tools, including keyword research and competitor analysis, to help businesses improve their online visibility.

A few notable mentions would be tools like SimilarWeb, SpyFu, and Owler, which can provide data on competitors’ website traffic, keywords, and online presence, aiding in identifying and assessing competitors.

Steps for Competitor Keyword Analysis

Initial Research

  1. Selecting Target Keywords

In this step, it’s crucial to identify the primary keywords relevant to your product. These are the terms potential customers are likely to use when searching for solutions in your niche. Essentially, these keywords should come from the stakeholders or senior marketing managers.

  1. Identifying Competitor Websites

Compile a list of your main competitors’ websites. These are the companies that directly compete with your SaaS offering. 

Analyzing Competitor Keywords

  1. Keyword List Compilation

Utilize tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to generate a comprehensive list of keywords your competitors rank for. Pay attention to both high-volume and long-tail keywords. 

  1. Prioritization based on Metrics

Evaluate the compiled keywords based on metrics like search volume, keyword difficulty, and relevance to your SaaS product. Prioritize keywords that align with your business goals, target audience, and are also easy to win.

Gap Analysis

  1. Identifying Keywords Your Website Ranks for

Use SEO tools to determine the keywords your SaaS website is already ranking for. This provides a baseline for comparison.

  1. Identifying Keywords Competitors Rank for

Compare your keyword list with the keywords your competitors are ranking for. Identify keyword gaps for which your website is not currently optimized.

  1. Identifying Overlapping Keywords

Highlight keywords that both your SaaS and competitors rank for. These are areas of direct competition and should be a focus of optimization efforts. Also, identify keywords that your competitors are not ranking but are relevant for your business. This is where you have zero competition, and ranking for them would be an easy target.

Leveraging Competitor Keyword Insights

After doing your research and analysis, you will find that there are high-volume keywords that both you and your competitors are ranking for. If they are your primary keywords and core to your business offering. You should double down your efforts on them. Write more content, create relevant pillar pages, and get backlinks on anchors that match the main keyword or its synonyms and variations. 

Additionally, you will also find longer keywords with low traffic. You might think targeting these keywords will be a waste of time, but that’s not true at all. Usually, if not always, these keywords have the right intent that matches your offering. For instance, “sales CRM” as a keyword does not clearly indicate the right intent. However, “sales CRM for small teams” indicates a better search intent, showing that the person searching for this keyword is more likely to purchase. 

Targeting long-tail keywords through competitor analysis offers distinct advantages in digital marketing. These specific, less competitive keywords attract users with focused search intent, leading to higher conversion rates. Businesses can enhance their SEO authority and trustworthiness by understanding and capitalizing on overlooked niches. This approach also fosters a more engaging user experience, as visitors find precise and relevant content, resulting in longer time spent on the site. Additionally, it can be cost-effective in paid advertising, offering more clicks for the budget. This strategy empowers businesses to carve out their niche, build authority, and ultimately increase their online visibility and success.

Let’s see how you can incorporate the abovementioned keywords into your SaaS business’s website and content marketing strategy.

On-Page Optimization

Optimize these elements with relevant keywords to improve search engine visibility and user engagement. Also, create high-quality, informative content that naturally incorporates targeted keywords. Ensure content is user-friendly and valuable to your audience.

Integrate high-impact keywords into your content strategy. By high-impact keywords, I am referring to long-tail keywords with low competition and high commercial intent. Your content strategy should include product descriptions, blog posts, landing pages, and other marketing collateral.

Craft content that showcases your product’s unique value proposition. Highlight features, benefits, and solutions that set your offering apart from competitors.

Off-Page Optimization

Develop a backlink strategy to obtain good quality, relevant backlinks from high-authority websites. This improves your website’s authority and search engine ranking. You must also collaborate with industry influencers and thought leaders to guest post on their platforms. Make sure that the links to your website are added to the right anchor text. This expands your reach and builds credibility for particular keywords of interest.

Paid Advertising

Utilize paid advertising platforms like Google Ads to target specific keywords your competitors are targeting especially if the keywords are highly competitive and have the right commercial intent. 

This can help you compete for the same audience. It is also important to Implement paid advertising on social media platforms, using competitor insights to target similar audiences and improve ad performance.

Conclusion

Competitor keyword analysis stands as a cornerstone in driving relevant traffic to your website Businesses can unlock invaluable insights by diving into potential customers’ search behavior and understanding competitors’ strategies. This process sharpens your digital marketing efforts and fortifies your position in the competitive SaaS landscape.

Moving forward, it’s imperative to integrate SaaS competitor keyword analysis as a dynamic component of your ongoing strategy. Regular assessments, adaptations, and a keen eye on emerging trends will keep your SaaS offering at the forefront. Embrace this process to achieve growth and a continuous journey toward sustained success. Remember, in the dynamic realm of digital marketing, staying ahead is an ever-evolving pursuit.

About Pushkar Sinha

Pushkar Sinha SaaS SEO expert Pushkar Sinha

Pushkar Sinha is the Head of Digital Marketing at FirstPrinciples Growth Advisory. With 15+ years of expertise, he specializes in SEOfor European, American, and Indian markets, both in agency and in-house roles. His holistic skill set encompasses Google Ads, Affiliate Marketing, SEO, SEM, PPC, E-Commerce, and Project Management. Pushkar is...

About Pushkar Sinha

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