Vesna Scepanovic 
Did you know that 75% of users never go past the first page of search results? If your SaaS website isn’t ranking where it should, those potential customers won’t even know you exist.
There’s no trick or magic spell to getting to the top. It all comes down to SEO. While content and backlinks play a role, technical SEO for SaaS is what ensures search engines can crawl, index, and rank your site correctly.
Without a strong technical foundation, slow load times, broken links, and indexing issues can push your site further down the rankings, costing you leads and revenue.
The good news? You can fix these issues with the right technical SEO approach. Here, we’ll walk through 8 essential steps to optimize your SaaS site, improve rankings, and create a seamless user experience.
#1 Optimize Site Architecture for Better Crawlability
Search engines need a clear path to crawl and index your website. If your site structure is messy, pages may be overlooked, making it harder to rank. A well-organized site ensures both users and search engines can easily navigate your content.
Here are the key steps to improve site architecture:
- Use a Logical URL Structure: Group related content into categories like /blog/, /features/, and /pricing/ to create a clear hierarchy.
- Simplify Navigation: Keep key pages no more than three clicks away from the homepage to improve accessibility.
- Implement Breadcrumbs: These navigational links help users and search engines understand your site’s structure.
- Fix Orphan Pages: Pages without internal links can go unnoticed, so make sure every key page is properly linked to enhance visibility.
#2 Improve Core Web Vitals for Faster Loading
Speed matters. If your SaaS website takes too long to load, visitors won’t wait. They’ll leave. Google’s Core Web Vitals measure how fast and smooth your site feels to users. If your site is slow, you’re frustrating potential customers while losing rankings. That’s why technical SEO for SaaS must aim for performance.
Here’s how to optimize Core Web Vitals and keep your site running fast:
- Optimize Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): This measures how fast your main content loads. Speed it up by compressing large images, using next-gen formats like WebP, and upgrading to a faster hosting provider.
- Reduce Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Ever had a button jump just as you were about to click? That’s CLS in action. Prevent layout shifts by setting proper image dimensions and avoiding dynamic elements that move content unexpectedly.
- Improve First Input Delay (FID): A sluggish site feels unresponsive. Minimize JavaScript execution time, remove unnecessary scripts, and use lazy loading for images and videos.
- Run a Performance Test: Use Google PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse to check your site speed and get actionable recommendations.
#3 Fix Crawlability & Indexing Issues
Let’s say you’ve built an amazing SaaS website packed with valuable content. But if search engines can’t find and index your pages, it’s like having a billboard in the middle of the desert. No one will see it.
Here’s how to use technical SEO for SaaS to help your pages be found:
- Check for Indexing Errors: Use Google Search Console to see which pages are indexed and spot any errors preventing important pages from showing up in search results.
- Audit Your Robots.txt File: A misconfigured robots.txt file can block search engines from crawling key pages. Ensure it’s not accidentally hiding important content.
- Submit an XML Sitemap: A sitemap helps search engines understand your site structure. Use Yoast, Rank Math, or Google Search Console to generate and submit one.
- Fix Duplicate Content with Canonical Tags: If you have similar pages (like multiple pricing plans), use canonical tags to tell Google which version is the primary one.
- Identify and Resolve Broken Links: Broken internal links create dead ends for search engines and users. Use tools like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs to find and fix them.
#4 Implement Schema Markup for Enhanced SERP Visibility
Technical SEO for SaaS doesn’t mean just speed and indexing. It revolves around structuring your data so search engines can present it in the best possible way.
Search engines process around 2.2 trillion queries per year, so they need to help understand your content. That’s where schema markup comes in. It’s a structured data format that gives Google extra details about your SaaS site, making your content stand out in search results.
If you’ve ever seen a search result with star ratings, FAQs, or event details, that’s a schema at work.
Here’s how you can implement it:
- Use FAQ Schema: If your blog posts or help center pages answer common SaaS-related questions, adding FAQ schema can make them appear as expandable questions directly in search results.
- Add Review Schema: If you have customer testimonials or case studies, applying a review schema can highlight ratings and user feedback, improving click-through rates.
- Use Organization Schema: This helps Google recognize key business details like your SaaS company name, logo, social media profiles, and contact information.
- Test Your Markup: Use Google’s Rich Results Test or Schema Markup Validator to ensure your structured data is error-free and properly formatted.
#5 Prioritize Mobile-First Optimization
Nearly 7 billion people use smartphones worldwide. If your SaaS site isn’t mobile-friendly, you’re missing out on a massive audience. Google prioritizes mobile-first indexing, meaning it evaluates and ranks your site based on its mobile version. If your SaaS website doesn’t work well on smaller screens, you’re making a huge SEO mistake, costing you rankings, traffic, and potential customers.
Technical SEO for SaaS must ensure a seamless experience across all devices. Here’s how:
- Make Your Site Responsive: Use a flexible design that adapts to different screen sizes. Avoid layouts that require excessive zooming or scrolling.
- Speed Up Mobile Load Times: Compress images, enable lazy loading, and use browser caching to keep mobile pages fast.
- Fix Mobile Usability Issues: Use mobile-friendly tests to find problems like buttons that are too small or text that’s hard to read.
- Avoid Intrusive Pop-Ups: Google penalizes sites with pop-ups that block content. Stick to subtle banners or slide-ins instead.
- Optimize for Touch Navigation: Ensure menus, links, and buttons are large enough to tap easily without frustration.
#6 Optimize for Multi-Regional & Multi-Language SEO
Planning to take your SaaS business global? Your technical SEO strategy must support multiple languages and regions to reach international customers effectively.
If search engines and users can’t easily access the right content for their location, you risk losing international customers before they even explore your product.
Here’s how to get it right:
- Use Hreflang Tags: These tell search engines which language and region each page targets, preventing duplicate content issues.
- Structure URLs for Different Regions: Use country-specific subfolders (e.g., /us/, /uk/, /de/) instead of mixing languages on the same page.
- Translate More Than Just Content: Optimize meta descriptions, URLs, and alt text for each language version of your site.
- Ensure a Consistent User Experience: Don’t rely solely on auto-translations. A poorly translated page can damage credibility and engagement.
#7 Secure Your Site with HTTPS & Prevent Vulnerabilities
Security isn’t just about protecting user data because it’s a ranking factor. Google favors secure sites, and visitors expect them. If your SaaS platform isn’t secured with HTTPS, search engines might flag it as unsafe, and users will bounce before even exploring your product. Technical SEO for SaaS must include strong security measures to protect rankings and build trust.
Learn how to keep your site secure:
- Use HTTPS Everywhere: Ensure all pages, including subdomains, use SSL encryption. A missing HTTPS can trigger warnings that scare users away.
- Set Up Automatic SSL Renewals: Expired SSL certificates can instantly make your site appear untrustworthy.
- Scan for Security Vulnerabilities: Regularly check for malware, broken security headers, and outdated plugins that could create entry points for attacks.
- Monitor Google Search Console’s Security Report: If Google flags security issues, act quickly to fix them before they hurt your rankings.
#8 Track SEO Performance with Log File Analysis
Google crawls your site constantly, but are its visits helping or hurting your rankings? Technical SEO for SaaS doesn’t just involve making changes. It means understanding how Googlebot moves through your site and fixing roadblocks that could hurt rankings. That’s where log file analysis comes in.
Here’s how to use it to your advantage:
- Check Crawl Activity: Use tools like Screaming Frog Log Analyzer or Google Search Console to see how often search engines visit your pages. If key pages aren’t getting crawled, they won’t rank.
- Find Crawl Budget Waste: If Google spends too much time on unnecessary pages (like duplicate URLs or outdated content), important pages might not get indexed.
- Fix Crawl Errors: Identify and resolve 404 errors, server issues, and redirect chains that could slow down indexing.
- Optimize Internal Linking: If search engines struggle to find certain pages, adjust your internal linking strategy to help them get discovered faster.
Make Technical SEO for SaaS Your Good Habit
Technical SEO for SaaS isn’t something you fix once and forget. It’s how to keep your site running smoothly, rank higher, and turn visitors into customers. From improving crawlability to optimizing site speed and security, every step you take strengthens your SaaS platform’s ability to compete in search results.
But, keeping up with technical SEO takes time, and mistakes can be costly. That’s where Zlurad makes the difference.
We take the guesswork out of optimizations, fix crawl issues, boost site speed, and ensure search engines (and users) find exactly what they need. This way, you get the most out of your SEO budget and leverage the SEO strategy that finally pays off.
Let’s ensure that technical issues don’t hold back your SaaS platform. Get a free SEO audit to improve your rankings and increase conversions.