The SaaS SEO Playbook: A 90‑Day Plan for Compounding Organic Growth

SaaS SEO is weird.

Not because SEO is complicated (it is), but because SaaS makes you want results now. The board deck. The pipeline gap. The churn math. The sales team asking why “SEO isn’t working” after three weeks.

Meanwhile, the SEO game is basically: do a bunch of unsexy things early, then let time and consistency turn that into compounding traffic later.

So this is a 90 day plan. Not a theory post. Not a “publish great content” motivational poster.

A real, slightly opinionated playbook you can run even if you are a lean team. Especially if you are a lean team.

And yes, I’m going to talk about AI and automation. Because if you are a SaaS company and you are still doing everything manually, you are choosing pain.

Before we start: what “compounding organic growth” actually means

Compounding SEO growth is when each new page makes the next page easier to rank.

That happens when:

• you build topical authority (clusters, not random posts)
• you strengthen internal linking (new pages pass equity to old pages, and vice versa)
• you update and refresh content (old pages climb, not decay)
• you build a predictable publishing engine (not “we post when we can”)

And in SaaS specifically, compounding happens when your content maps to intent. Not just search volume.

Meaning you cover:

• problem aware queries (pain, symptoms, “how to”)
• solution aware queries (tools, alternatives, “best X software”)
• product aware queries (your brand, competitors, comparisons, integrations)
• BOFU pages (pricing, use cases, templates, jobs to be done)

The 90 day plan below is built around that.

The 90 day structure (simple version)

• Days 1 to 14: Foundations, technical sanity, strategy, tracking
• Days 15 to 45: Build the content system, publish consistently, start clusters
• Days 46 to 90: Expand, refresh, interlink harder, build conversion paths

If you do nothing else, do this: publish every week, link everything together, and don’t let your best pages rot.

Ok. Let’s go.

Days 1 to 14: Foundations that make everything else work

1) Decide what your SEO is actually for (traffic is not a strategy)

SaaS SEO usually fails because it chases “visits” instead of “customers I can win”.

So set a clear SEO goal for the next 90 days. One. Not five.

Examples that work:

• “Increase demo requests from organic by 25% in 6 months”
• “Rank top 5 for 10 integration keywords by Q2”
• “Own the comparison space versus 3 competitors”

Then set a secondary metric that tells you if the machine is working:

• indexed pages
• impressions
• ranking distribution (top 3, top 10, top 20)
• internal link coverage
• content velocity (published per week)

Traffic comes later. Usually.

2) Install basic tracking (and be honest about attribution)

At minimum:

• Google Search Console
• GA4
• a rank tracker (or at least GSC + a simple SERP monitor)

Also, set up conversion events for:

• demo request submit
• signup
• pricing page view (as a micro conversion)
• “book a call” click

A lot of early SEO value shows up as “assisted conversions”. Don’t ignore that.

3) Technical SEO sanity check (not an audit rabbit hole)

You do not need a 40 page audit in week one.

You need to make sure Google can crawl and index your site, and that you aren’t sabotaging yourself.

Quick checklist:

• pages are indexable (no accidental noindex)
• sitemap exists and is submitted
• robots.txt isn’t blocking important paths
• canonical tags make sense
• site is fast enough (Core Web Vitals not perfect, just not terrible)
• you have one version of the site (https, non www vs www)

If you want a straightforward way to catch on page issues as you go, use an on page checker workflow. If you’re using SEO Software, there’s an actual built in tool for this: the on-page SEO checker plus the more specific improve page SEO flow. It’s basically: scan page, get fixes, move on. No drama.

4) Build your “money page map” (this is where SaaS teams get lazy)

List the pages that make you money:

• core product pages
• use case pages
• integrations
• pricing
• comparison pages
• demo or signup page

Now ask: do these pages have supporting content pointing to them?

Usually the answer is no. Which means your blog is floating in space. Pretty. Useless.

In week one, define 5 to 10 “destination pages” you want content to funnel into.

Days 15 to 45: Build the publishing engine (and start winning long tail)

This phase is about volume, yes. But controlled volume.

Not “publish 30 random AI posts”. That’s not a strategy. That’s a content landfill.

5) Build a keyword plan around jobs to be done, not features

Here’s a structure that works well for SaaS:

Tier A: BOFU and product aware (lower volume, high intent)

• “{competitor} alternatives”
• “{competitor} vs {you}”
• “best {category} software”
• “{category} for {industry}”
• “{tool} integration with {tool}”

Tier B: solution aware (mid intent)

• “how to choose {category}”
• “{category} checklist”
• “{category} metrics”
• “{category} templates”

Tier C: problem aware (top funnel, but builds authority)

• “how to fix {problem}”
• “why {problem} happens”
• “{problem} examples”
• “{problem} best practices”

Now, pick 3 clusters. Not 12. You can expand later.

A cluster is:

• 1 pillar page (bigger, more complete)
• 6 to 12 supporting articles that link back to the pillar
• internal links between the supporting articles where it makes sense

Example cluster for a content marketing SaaS:

• Pillar: “SaaS content marketing strategy”
• Supporting: “SaaS SEO checklist”, “how to write product led content”, “SEO content calendar for SaaS”, “content refresh workflow”, etc.

If you’re in the AI content + SEO space, a cluster around “on page SEO”, “content briefs”, “programmatic SEO”, “content refresh” tends to work nicely.

6) Create a content brief template (so your writing doesn’t drift)

Every article brief should include:

• primary keyword + intent (what searcher wants)
• secondary keywords (3 to 8)
• outline (H2s and H3s)
• examples to include (screenshots, mini walkthroughs, templates)
• internal links to add (minimum 3)
• CTA location (usually near the end, sometimes mid article)

This is the part that makes AI content usable, by the way. AI without structure gets you fluff.

7) Publish on a schedule you can actually keep

The boring truth: consistency beats intensity.

A good target for a SaaS in the first 90 days:

• 2 to 4 articles per week
• plus 1 refresh per week (even if small)

If that sounds like a lot, it is. Manually.

But with a hands off content pipeline it becomes normal. This is where something like SEO Software is honestly built for the job, since it scans the site, generates the strategy, creates articles, and schedules and publishes them. The content calendar part matters more than people think. Without it, you drift.

If you want to see how their approach stacks up against the typical content optimization tools, these comparisons are worth a skim:

• SEO Software vs Surfer SEO
• SEO Software vs Jasper

Different philosophy. One is more “optimize what you write”. The other is more “build the whole publishing system and keep it running”.

8) Ship the first cluster fast (don’t perfect it)

By day 45, you want:

• 1 pillar page published
• at least 6 supporting articles published
• all internal links in place
• at least one CTA path to product pages

Speed matters early because you’re feeding Google enough connected content to understand the theme of your site.

And yeah, your early posts might not be perfect. Fine.

Perfect is for later. Shipping is for now.

9) Add internal links like you mean it

Internal links are one of the few levers you fully control.

Rules that work:

• every new article links to a pillar
• every new article links to 2 to 4 related posts
• every post links to 1 money page (naturally, not spammy)
• every pillar links out to every supporting article

Do not bury your best pages.

Also, don’t use “click here” anchors. Use descriptive anchors. Google is not your friend, it’s a parser.

If you’re using an editor that supports SEO guidance, an AI SEO editor can speed up this whole process. For example, AI SEO Editor inside SEO Software is built around rewriting and optimizing while keeping structure, and that’s usually where teams waste the most time.

Days 46 to 90: Scale what works, refresh what’s slipping, and build conversion paths

This phase is where you stop feeling like you’re “doing SEO” and start feeling like you’re running a growth system.

10) Build comparison and alternative pages (SaaS gold, if you do it right)

Most SaaS teams avoid these because they feel awkward.

But buyers search them constantly. Especially when they’re close to choosing.

A good comparison page includes:

• who each product is for (be fair, it builds trust)
• feature breakdown (only meaningful features, not 50 rows)
• pricing overview (keep it accurate, update it)
• setup and learning curve
• support and integrations
• a clear recommendation by persona

You can also do “X vs Y vs Z” pages if the category is tight.

One note: don’t write these like a hit piece. Google can smell that. And humans can too.

If your product is in the SEO automation space for example, having a dedicated SaaS solution hub helps support these pages. If relevant, check out the SEO Software for SaaS teams page and use it as a destination page in your internal linking.

11) Add one “conversion bridge” to every high traffic article

This is where SaaS content usually underperforms. The article ranks, people read, and then... nothing.

A conversion bridge can be:

• a mini CTA block: “Want this automated?”
• a template download
• an internal link to a checklist page
• a link to a relevant feature page
• an example that naturally mentions the product

The key is context. It should feel like the next step, not an ad.

Example:

If the post is “On page SEO checklist for SaaS landing pages”, the bridge is:

• link to your on page checker
• link to a tool that improves page SEO
• link to a demo or a free trial

Not “book a call” out of nowhere.

12) Refresh content you published in the first month (yes, already)

Most teams wait 6 months to refresh. That’s too slow in SaaS.

By day 60 to 90, you should already be:

• updating intros that don’t match intent
• adding missing sections based on GSC queries
• improving internal links
• adding 1 to 2 better examples
• tightening titles and meta descriptions for CTR

Refresh is the hidden growth lever because it compounds without needing new URLs.

A simple workflow:

1. Open GSC
2. Find pages with impressions but low clicks
3. Rewrite title + meta to match intent
4. Add 2 missing subtopics (based on queries)
5. Add internal links to your money pages

Do that weekly.

13) Do a lightweight content gap analysis (and stop guessing)

By now you’ll have a sense of what’s indexing and what’s not.

Pick 3 competitors and answer:

• what clusters do they have that you don’t?
• what BOFU pages do they rank for (alternatives, integrations, “best” lists)?
• what templates or checklists are driving links?

Then add those to your next 30 day plan.

Don’t copy their content. Copy the coverage.

14) Build an internal linking “push week”

This sounds silly but it works.

Pick one week where you do almost no new writing.

Instead:

• add 5 internal links to each of your top 20 pages
• update old posts to point to new posts
• ensure every cluster is tightly linked
• ensure every pillar has links to the money page it supports

It’s not glamorous. It’s also one of the fastest ways to move rankings without publishing anything new.

The content types that tend to win for SaaS (and when to use them)

You don’t need to do all of these in 90 days. But you should know what they are.

1) Playbooks and checklists (high save and share rate)

Best for: problem aware and solution aware

2) Templates (links and leads)

Best for: mid funnel Examples: “SaaS SEO report template”, “content calendar template”, “keyword research sheet”

3) Integrations and “how to” setup guides (BOFU without sounding salesy)

Best for: product aware Examples: “How to connect X to Y”, “How to track SEO conversions in GA4 for SaaS”

4) Alternatives and comparisons (direct buying intent)

Best for: BOFU Just be honest and specific.

5) Use case pages (quietly powerful)

Best for: bottom funnel and sales enablement These also help your homepage not do all the work.

A realistic 90 day publishing plan (example)

If you want something you can literally copy into a content calendar.

Days 1 to 14

• Publish 2 articles (target easy long tail)
• Create 1 pillar outline (don’t publish yet)
• Fix technical blockers
• Map money pages + internal linking targets

Days 15 to 30

• Publish pillar page
• Publish 4 supporting articles
• Add internal links across cluster
• Add CTAs to 5 existing pages

Days 31 to 45

• Publish 6 more supporting articles
• Publish 1 integration guide
• Refresh 2 older posts (or earlier posts)
• Run an on page check on your pillar and top posts

Days 46 to 60

• Publish 2 comparison pages
• Publish 4 more cluster posts
• Build a template or checklist lead magnet (optional)
• Add conversion bridges to top 10 posts

Days 61 to 90

• Refresh 1 post per week (minimum)
• Publish 6 to 10 new articles (based on what indexed and what got impressions)
• Run an internal link push week
• Review: which cluster is gaining traction? Double down

Common mistakes that kill SaaS SEO momentum (even with good content)

You publish but don’t interlink

So nothing builds. Every post is an island.

You target only high volume keywords

And you lose for 12 months straight. Long tail is where momentum starts.

You avoid BOFU pages because they feel “salesy”

Then you get traffic that never converts. Fun.

You treat AI content like a magic button

AI accelerates systems. It doesn’t replace strategy, structure, or editing.

You never refresh

Your best pages slowly slide down the SERPs while you chase new ones. Classic.

Where SEO automation fits (without wrecking quality)

If you’re trying to execute this plan with a small team, the bottleneck is always the same:

• keyword research takes too long
• writing takes too long
• editing takes too long
• publishing and formatting takes too long
• internal linking gets skipped
• content calendar becomes a graveyard

This is why “hands off content marketing” platforms are having a moment. Not because teams are lazy. Because there is too much to do.

If you want the quickest path to running this 90 day plan without hiring an agency, you can look at SEO Software as the engine. It’s built to scan your site, generate a topic strategy, create and rewrite articles, and schedule and publish them. Which is basically the hard part of being consistent.

If you’re already writing content but want a tighter workflow, start smaller: use the AI SEO editor for rewrites and the on-page SEO checker to keep pages clean as you scale.

Wrap up (and what to do tomorrow morning)

If you’re staring at this thinking “cool, but what’s the first move”, do this:

1. Pick 3 clusters tied to how your product actually wins.
2. Publish 2 articles this week, then do it again next week.
3. Build one pillar, ship it, link everything to it.
4. Add internal links like it’s your job (because it is).
5. Refresh pages weekly once impressions show up.

Run that for 90 days and you won’t just “have a blog”.

You’ll have a system. And that’s when compounding starts to feel real.