A 50-point SaaS SEO framework you can audit this week

This checklist is built for SaaS founders, marketing leaders, and in-house SEO practitioners responsible for driving trial signups or demos through organic search. You own or influence the website and have time for a structured audit—anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months depending on your platform's size and complexity.

You're not this checklist's audience if you're a SaaS company outsourcing SEO entirely to an agency (in that case, use the framework to evaluate what your agency should be doing) or if you're purely focused on brand-awareness metrics rather than trial conversion.

This is also tactical work—it assumes basic SEO knowledge. If you're entirely new to search optimization, start with the hub resource to understand SaaS SEO as a discipline, then come back here to execute.

The checklist is organized into four tiers by business impact. Tier 1 (Technical Foundation) covers crawlability, indexation, and speed—if these fail, nothing else matters. Tier 2 (Conversion Architecture) focuses on the pages that turn searchers into trial users: pricing, comparison, product detail, and signup paths. Tier 3 (Content Dominance) is your pillar content strategy around the problems your platform solves. Tier 4 (Authority & Growth) covers backlinks, citations, and brand momentum.

Most SaaS platforms gain their first meaningful search traffic by completing Tier 1 and Tier 2 fully, then focusing on 3–5 Tier 3 pillar topics. Tier 4 takes longer and is often the difference between ranking #5 and #1, but it's not required to gain traction.

Audit in order: Don't jump to content strategy (Tier 3) until Tier 1 is solid. Don't chase backlinks (Tier 4) until your conversion pages convert at acceptable rates.

Site Speed & Core Web Vitals

1. Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) — Is your homepage loading the largest image or text block in under 2.5 seconds on mobile? Use PageSpeed Insights to measure. If above 2.5s, compress images, lazy-load, or move to a CDN.

2. Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) — When the page loads, does text or buttons jump around? Target below 0.1. Most shifts come from ads, image dimensions not declared, or web fonts loading late.

3. First Input Delay (FID) — Measure responsiveness to user clicks. Target under 100ms. Profile with Web Vitals extension to identify slow JavaScript.

Crawlability & Indexation

4. robots.txt audit — Confirm you're not blocking /pages, /blog, /docs, or other key sections. Run a test in Google Search Console.

5. XML sitemaps — Do you have a sitemap.xml with all key pages? Is it submitted to Google Search Console? Update it monthly.

6. Mobile-first indexing readiness — Does your mobile version have the same content as desktop? Check with Mobile-Friendly Test and the URL Inspection tool in GSC.

7. Internal linking depth — Can Google reach all important pages in under 3 clicks from the homepage? Audit with Screaming Frog to identify orphan pages.

Structure & Canonicals

8. Canonical tag audit — Are canonicals set correctly on duplicate pages (e.g., /pricing?utm_source=google vs /pricing)? Self-referential canonicals on key pages.

9. HTTPS enforcement — All pages served over HTTPS with 301 redirect from HTTP?

10. Subdomain vs. subfolder strategy — If you have /docs, /blog, or /academy, keep them on the main domain for link equity. Avoid subdomains (docs.yoursite.com) unless critical for infra reasons.

Schema Markup

11. Organization schema — Implement on homepage with company name, logo, contact, social profiles.

12. Product or SoftwareApplication schema — Add to key product pages with features, pricing, and user rating (if you have reviews).

13. FAQ schema — Add to FAQ sections on main pages and docs. Google often shows FAQ snippet results for SaaS queries.

14. Breadcrumb schema — Implement on docs, blog, and category pages to improve SERP appearance.

15. BreadcrumbList for docs — If you have a deep docs structure, breadcrumbs help Google understand hierarchy and aid crawlability.

Pricing & Product Pages

16. Pricing page SEO audit — Does your /pricing page have 150+ words of SEO text (not just a table)? Add a section explaining when each tier is right. Target 'SaaS name + pricing', 'SaaS name vs competitors', and comparison keywords here.

17. Product detail pages — Each main feature should have its own page (/features/inventory-management, not just a #anchor on /product). Write 300+ words explaining the feature, its use case, and its business value.

18. Comparison pages — Create pages for top competitor comparisons (SaaS name vs Competitor, head-to-head). These rank quickly and drive high-intent traffic.

19. Signup path friction audit — From landing page to trial account creation, how many clicks? Can a searcher sign up in under 60 seconds? Remove unnecessary form fields above-the-fold.

On-Page Optimization

20. Title tag distribution — Does each key page have a unique, descriptive title under 60 chars? Include primary keyword naturally (e.g., 'Inventory Management Software | YourSaaS' not 'Home').

21. Meta description audit — Is every key page's meta description 120–155 chars and action-oriented? Example: 'Track inventory in real time, reduce overstock by 40%, integrate with your POS. Free 14-day trial.'

22. H1 uniqueness — One H1 per page, matching or close to your primary target keyword. Avoid H1 in headers/footers.

23. Keyword clustering in body — Do your top pages cover related keywords naturally? E.g., pricing page should mention 'cost', 'plans', 'paid tiers', 'enterprise', not repeat 'pricing' 12 times.

Conversion Signals

24. CTA button prominence — Is your primary CTA (Start Free Trial, Schedule Demo) visible without scrolling on mobile? Use contrasting color.

25. Trust signals above-the-fold — Customer count, ratings, security badges, or case study logos visible immediately. Builds credibility before scroll.

26. Internal linking from /blog to /pricing — Does your blog naturally link to product pages when relevant? Most SaaS blogs fail to drive readers toward trial.

27. Trial signup clarity — Is it obvious what happens after signup (onboarding video, free access, no credit card needed)? Remove friction objections.

28. Mobile conversion path — Can users complete a trial signup on mobile? Test end-to-end on iPhone 12 and Android.

Competitive Positioning

29. Unique value proposition clarity — Can a first-time visitor in 5 seconds explain what your platform does? Write one sentence on the homepage.

30. Feature differentiation — On each feature page, explicitly state how you differ from leading competitors. Avoid generic phrases like 'powerful' or 'easy to use'.

31. Case study placement — Link case studies from /pricing and key product pages, not just the /case-studies hub. They close deals.

32. Proof elements on key pages — Each of /pricing, /features (main ones), and /product should mention customer count, uptime, or a specific result metric (not vague testimonials).

33. Mobile conversion UX — On mobile, is your CTA button sticky or at top of fold? Remove hero video if it delays H1 text on mobile.

Pillar Topic Strategy

34. Pillar topic selection — Identify 3–5 core problems your platform solves (not your product names). For an accounting SaaS, pillars might be 'payroll automation', 'tax compliance', 'financial reporting'. For a project management tool: 'team collaboration', 'project tracking', 'resource planning'.

35. Pillar content depth — Each pillar should have one 2,000–3,000 word cornerstone article. It should answer the broadest version of the question, not pitch your product. Title format: '[Problem]: Complete Guide' not '[Product]: Best Features'.

36. Cluster content linking — Create 4–6 cluster articles (800–1,500 words each) for sub-topics related to each pillar. Cluster articles link to pillar, pillar links back. E.g., pillar 'Payroll Automation', clusters: 'how to set up direct deposit', 'payroll tax deductions guide', 'multi-state payroll management'.

37. SEO blog cadence — Publish 1–2 SEO-optimized articles per month (not daily viral posts). Prioritize depth over volume. One pillar article is worth 20 thin blog posts.

Content Quality Markers

38. Word count & depth — Pillar content 2,000+ words, cluster content 800–1,500 words, product posts 500+ words. Thin content (under 300 words) rarely ranks unless your domain authority is very high.

39. First-hand data or research — Include one original insight or stat per pillar article. Survey 50 users, analyze your own product data, or run a small experiment. Link to it often. This builds topic authority faster than pure research aggregation.

40. Competitor content audit — What content ranks #1–3 for your target keywords? Identify gaps. Don't just copy structure—write more detailed, specific content with original insights.

Authority Signals Within Content

41. Author attribution — Byline with real name and photo on all published content. Helps E-E-A-T signal. If you publish under a generic company account, Google views it as weaker authority.

42. Update & refresh cycles — Audit your top 10 ranking pages every 6 months. Add new data, update outdated stats, refresh examples. Publish an updated date. Google favors fresh content in competitive niches.

43. Outbound linking to authority — Link to 3–5 authoritative external sources (industry reports, academic research, established publications) in each pillar article. Not excessive—shows you're citing sources, not just promoting yourself.

44. Internal linking momentum — All cluster articles link to the pillar. The pillar links to product pages when contextually relevant (not forced). This concentrates link equity toward your money pages.

45. FAQ section on pillar articles — Add a 5–8 question FAQ section answering sub-questions. Optimize for FAQ snippet placement. Many SaaS queries trigger People Also Ask results.

46. Backlink audits — Use Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz to identify your top referring domains. Are they relevant to SaaS, software, or your vertical? Disavow spammy link farms pointing to you. Start with quality over quantity—5 links from software review sites beat 50 from low-quality directories.

47. Earned media & brand mentions — Track mentions of your brand name in news, blogs, and reviews. If mentioned without a link, reach out and request one. Use Google Alerts or a brand monitoring tool.

48. Software review sites — List your product on G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, and industry-specific review platforms. These earn high-authority backlinks and drive comparison traffic. Reviews also appear in Google SERP as rich results.

49. Partnership & integration content — Create co-authored content with complementary SaaS companies. E.g., a project management tool and time tracking tool co-author 'How to combine project and time tracking for better capacity planning'. Both link to each other—mutual authority boost and shared audience.

50. Brand + SEO metrics dashboard — Track organic traffic to key pages, conversion rate from trial signup, backlink growth, and keyword rankings for your top 20 target terms. Report monthly. Most SaaS platforms see authority metrics move in 3–6 month cycles, not weeks.

Weeks 1–2: Tier 1 Technical (Fast Wins) — Run full technical audit. Fix Core Web Vitals issues, crawlability blocks, and implement organization + product schema. This work is high-effort, one-time, and unblocks everything else. Assign to a developer.

Weeks 2–3: Tier 2 Conversion Pages (High ROI) — Audit and optimize /pricing, top 3 product feature pages, and /comparison. Refresh title tags, meta descriptions, add or improve FAQ schema. Improve CTA visibility and trust signals. This is the fastest way to move your conversion rate on existing traffic.

Weeks 4–8: Tier 3 Pillar Content (Long-term Traction) — Identify and write your first pillar article + 2 cluster articles. Publish one per week with full promotion (email, social, partner outreach). Most SaaS platforms see measurable rank movement on first pillar topics in 6–8 weeks if authority is reasonable.

Ongoing: Tier 4 Authority (Parallel Track) — Backlink outreach, review site listings, and partnership content should run in parallel, not after. But don't obsess over rankings while your conversion pages are leaking users.

Key: Tier 1 and 2 take 2–3 weeks and often move conversion rate immediately. Tier 3 takes 6–12 weeks to show ranking results. If your team is small, do Tier 1 + 2, then Tier 3. If you have the capacity, run Tier 4 alongside.