If you want blog posts that…
convert like sales pages:
Increase lead flow by 10-fold:
Quadruple traffic in less than a year:
Flip your content strategy on the head.
Let me explain.
At any given moment a market has three types of people:
- Unaware – they don’t know they have a problem. (~60%)
- Somewhat aware – they know they have a problem. (~30%)
- Most aware – they know what they need to solve their problem. (~10%)
Ask any SEO/content marketer and they’ll tell you to go after the unaware and somewhat aware segments first, because you’ll get the most traffic. (And thus more customers.)
WRONG!
High-volume keywords from those two segments are extremely competitive. You have to build tons of backlinks and wait years before they rank. On top of that, they attract beginners who need nurturing before they convert.
And you know what’s also a deal with beginners?
They have no money. So when they do convert, they go for the low-ticket plans.
If you wanna increase MRR fast, do the exact opposite.
Focus on:
- Product-centric keywords, first
- Solution-centric Keywords, second
- Awareness Keywords, last
Here’s how to do it.
Step 1: Product-centric Keywords
Bottom-of-the-funnel. High buying intent.
Start with keywords that have the highest buying intent.
It’s the fastest and easiest way to make sales through content. Prospects are literally looking for your solution—they are product aware. They are knowledgeable about your industry and have been using your competitors. Now they’ve outgrown them. Their budget has increased.
And that’s where you step in.
Product-centric articles are a mix of buying guides and product comparison listicles.
In my experience, they convert 1-3% of cold google traffic straight to trial signups or demo calls.
For example, highlighted are articles I’ve written for a client:
Compare the conversion rates.
My articles got twice as many signups while pulling ~200x less traffic.
These articles are like SEO-driven sales pages.
Product-centric Keyword Patterns
Product-centric keywords fall in one of three buckets.
- Comparison
- Product Alternatives
- Best Category Software
1. Comparison Keywords
These are articles where you’re comparing software head-on – feature by feature.
These are bottom bottom of the funnel. Prospects are literally typing your brand name in the search. They are either on the fence about which software to go with or are considering switching. These have, by far, the highest conversion rates of all product-comparison keywords.
Example keywords:
- leadpages vs landingi
- unbounce vs landingi
- instapage vs landingi
To find comparison keywords, type your brand name in Ahrefs and click Matching terms.
Add Include filter for “vs”:
That’s your list of comparison keywords.
Where people mess up: If you can’t find many comparison keywords around your brand, then find comparison keywords of popular competitors and make it a three-way comparison. For example, “Hubspot vs Salesforce vs Topsailor”. Google will rank this for “Hubspot vs Salesforce” since those words are front-loaded, and Topsailor can piggyback off their popularity.
2. Product Alternative Keywords
Here you’re comparing 5+ competitors and covering each one briefly.
Example keywords:
- unbounce alternatives
- leadpages alternatives
- clickfunnels alternatives
To find them write a list of your biggest, closest competitors into Ahrefs’s Keyword Explorer.
Then go under matching terms and Include “alternatives”.
Pro tip: Focus on competitors that have the most similar customer profile.
Where people mess up: targeting these keywords with landing pages. As in “hey, we’re the best alternative to this competitor.” That’s fine. But 9/10 times people want a list of competitors. Not nailing this search intent fit hurts ranks big time. So just write a list and place yourself on the first spot – the conversion rate is the same.
3. Best Category Software Keywords
Most companies stop at keywords like Best Landing Page Software.
But the secret is to cover every way prospects are describing your product.
Example keywords:
- [Experience] Best Easy Landing Page Software
- [Product] Best Landing Page Software for eBooks
- [Audience] Best Landing Page Software for SMBs
- [Platform] Best Landing Page Software for Shopify
- [Mechanism] Best No-code Landing Page Software
- [Feature] Best Collaborative Landing Page Software
- [Solution] Best Landing Page Software for Lead Gen
Finding them all is an exercise in patience, driven by your:
- Product knowledge
- Customer insight
- Creativity
Tip: use Google’s Auto Suggest for brainstorming.
Where people mess up: Thinking broad topic will rank for long-tail keywords. For example, the content for all keywords I’ve listed above might be similar. You might be tempted to try ranking for them all with just one, broad article on “best landing page builders”. But the audience searching for these keywords is different. They aren’t looking for the same information, and because of that, they act differently. Google can recognize that. And when it does, it separates keywords into different SERPs.
Conclusion: Product-centric Keywords
There are about 20-40 product-centric keywords for every SaaS.
- Comparison
- Product Alternatives
- Best Category Software
Always start with them because they have the highest buying intent.
Articles written on these topics will convert at least 1-3% of cold traffic straight to trial signups or demo calls, who will need little nurturing. These are prospects that are familiar with the industry, aren’t beginners, and have big budgets.
Go after product-centric keywords to quickly and easily increase MRR through content.
IMPORTANT!
THESE KEYWORDS ARE THE REVENUE DRIVERS.
I can’t stress this enough. Without them, nothing will bear fruit. Well, it will, but the fruit will be withered and few and far between. Once you have 10… 20… 30… of these on your blog, only then move to Step 2 and Step 3 in the rest of this guide.
(I’ve included Steps 2 and 3 in here for general education & to give you an overview of what’s in store for you — if you choose to continue the game after getting the product-centric keywords up and running.)
Now.
How exactly does Product-centric strategy look like for you?
We won’t know until we talk. I can’t do this alone; I need your product & industry knowledge. And you can’t do this alone; you need my experience with SaaS content strategies.
So schedule a call with me here and let’s see what revenue can we unlock.
Step 2: Solution-centric keywords
Middle-of-the-funnel. Buying intent ~10x lower than Product-centric keywords.
These keywords reflect pain.
Prospects want to solve a problem. But they don’t know how. They aren’t aware that software exists that could help them (otherwise they’d search for product-centric keywords). When presented with the software, up to 1% will take the offer.
However, these articles shine in Audience Building.
When done right, they convert 5-15% of cold traffic to your email list for nurturing & retargeting.
For example, 140 people read my Lagrange Strategy.
During this time, 31 of them signed up for my newsletter.
Meaning this article converts 22.1% of visitors into email leads.
Solution-centric Keyword Patterns
There are two types of solution-centric keywords:
- Direct solution; the prospect wants a tool
- Indirect solution; the prospect wants a process
In both cases, the prospect isn’t aware that software exists to solve their problem.
1. Direct Solution Keywords
Here, prospects want a solution as a:
- template
- checklist
- cheatsheet
Your job is to find a solution that can be enhanced or simplified with your software.
For example, a technical SEO tool can target “technical SEO checklist”:
To sell their software, they can mention that it’s more accurate, faster, and automated than going through the checklist manually. And to build an audience, they can offer a printable cheatsheet version to anyone not ready to invest.
2. Indirect Solution Keywords
These are how-to guides.
Prospects want a process of how to go from A to B.
- how to make a landing page
- how to design a landing page
- how to create a free landing page
- how to create a landing page in WordPress
- how to create a landing page without a website
To find them, type your main keyword in Ahrefs’ Matching Terms report and Include “how to”:
These keywords have more volume, even lower conversion rates, and are harder to rank for.
To sell your software, mention, again, how it’s better than doing the process manually. And to build an audience, offer, again, downloadable checklists, templates, or cheatsheets.
Where people mess up: mentioning the product at the wrong time and place; pushing it too hard; or only writing for one audience. Unlike Product-centric keywords, where the readers are expecting your pitch, Solution-centric readers want pure value. If they as much as smell that the article wasn’t written explicitly for them, or if you’re giving them an incomplete solution to sell your product, they will bounce. Since most Solution-centric readers will not be your prospects, alienating them means article engagement will drop, and your ranks soon after. You have to find a way to satisfy both—non-prospects and prospects—AND weave your product in between.
Step 3: Awareness Keywords
Top-of-the-funnel. Buying intent ~100x lower than Product-centric keywords.
These are “what is” and glossary-style posts, as well as statistics, trends, and research.
These keywords don’t directly get you more users.
Their goal is to get journalists and other writers in the industry to link your articles in their articles. Linking to high-quality pieces will make them look good and give their readers a better experience.
And you will:
- Get backlinks
- Raise awareness
- Improve topical authority
Which creates an environment where your profitable articles can thrive.
For example, backlinks improve Domain Rating (DR) — a huge ranking factor in 2023. Increase it, and all your articles will shoot up the ranks. Now, look how many backlinks this “Page Speed Reports Stats & Trends” attracts:
36 high-quality links, growing their Domain Rating every month on autopilot.
In 2023, buying the links manually would cost between $10,000 and $30,000/month.
Awareness Keyword Patterns
I split awareness keywords into three types:
- Original research
- Statistics, surveys, and trends
- Glossaries, definitions, what-is posts
I once researched which type of Awareness Keywords get the most backlinks.
This is what I found:
(Compared to Product-centric keywords in the last line.)
1. Original research
Original research gets the most backlinks — 49 per month on average.
Here’s how it looks:
Problem.
Making them is very hard.
To find the topic idea, you can’t use any SEO tools. You have to brainstorm “what might writers & journalists in my industry find interesting”. Then design a study. Then find long-tail keywords that fit your idea — if any. Then gather the data. Then hire analysts to create a report. Then copywriters & designers to produce a truly remarkable piece.
The whole process can take up to two months.
2. Statistics, surveys, and trends
These get half as many backlinks.
Yet, they’re considerably easier to create. You can make one in two weeks. And they rank fast because not many companies have discovered them yet. A combination that can make them your biggest backlink drivers in 2023.
The challenge is making them more noteworthy than what’s already ranking:
- Gather more stats
- Have better design
- Present the stats faster
To get ideas, plug your highest DR competitor into Ahrefs and check Best by Links Growth.
Pro tip: to find which stats journalists like best, plug the page into Anchors report and check most popular anchor texts.
On your page, present these stats first.
3. Glossaries, Definitions, What-is posts
These are the easiest to create. You can make one in 1-5 days.
You’re answering one simple question: what something means.
To find them, scrape existing glossaries in your industry. For example, if your SaaS is related to sales, find keywords in a sales glossary like this one:
Then write articles like:
- What is ABC in sales?
- Sales account definition
- What is account-based marketing
Although you can pitch software or newsletter in these articles, less than 0,1% will convert.
Again, the primary purpose is getting backlinks from journalists and other writers. It’ll increase your Domain Rating and float all your other money pages to the top.
Conclusion
That’s it!
That’s my strategy for growing hyper-profitable saas blogs. Fast and efficient.
- Product-centric keywords first,
- Solution-centric keywords second,
- Awareness keywords last to secure long-term growth.
It’s all about doing the right things, at the right time, in the right order.
Read next
Prioritizing keywords: How to always pick keywords you can rank for… by looking at these 3 little-known SEO metrics.
Do next
Schedule a call: Find out exactly how this strategy would look like for your SaaS.