How To Plan Your SaaS B2B SEO Budget for Top ROI

Search engine optimization (SEO) is essential for the success of any service as a software (SaaS) B2B company. Without investing in SEO, your company would not have the online presence it needs to compete. However, your budget may not yield your expected return on investment (ROI) without a strategic plan.

This article discusses how to plan your SEO budget like a B2B SEO agency. We will talk about

• Assessing your SEO needs
• Setting a realistic budget
• Prioritizing your SEO tactics
• Measuring ROI

Let’s go!

Want to learn more about the Digital Authority Partners approach to SEO? Watch this video!

1. Assessing Your SEO Needs

How much you spend on SaaS B2B SEO depends on your company’s needs. Before thinking of expenses, you first need to assess your SEO situation. Here are some steps you can follow:

1. Conduct a website audit: Doing an audit is the best way to gauge the state of your website. Doing so can identify technical issues harming your search engine rankings. Broken links, duplicate content, and slow page speed are among the most common problems to look out for. 

2. Analyze your competitors: How well you stack up against your competitors directly impacts your SEO needs. You must know their keywords, content strategy, and backlink profile. This knowledge gives you insight into the level of investment required to compete.

3. Set realistic goals: Based on what you learned from your website audit and competitor analysis, set realistic SEO goals. Strike a balance between aiming high and recognizing what is achievable. Once you have your goals set, creating a budget plan becomes a lot easier.

2. Setting a Realistic Budget

Realistic goals require a realistic budget. You do not want to allocate money you might not have. 

To set a realistic budget, you must first understand the cost of SEO. Several factors affect this cost, including the following:

• Industry competitiveness: Some industries are more competitive than others. Industries such as insurance, finance, or healthcare demand bigger investments to yield results. SaaS can be highly competitive as well, so expect the need for a larger budget.
• SEO goals: As previously discussed, establishing goals makes budget planning easier. An ambitious SEO campaign requires a bigger investment. A smaller campaign, on the other hand, would be less expensive. 
• Expertise: Efficiency has a direct impact on the cost of SEO. The service of an experienced and efficient B2B SEO agency comes at a greater cost. However, it is worthwhile in the long run because it creates efficiencies you can’t realize on your own.

A solid grasp of SEO costs should make it easier to set a realistic budget. Still, here are some pointers you may find useful:

• Set clear goals: Your goals should not only be realistic, but they must also be specific. For example, the goal “improve SEO ranking” is realistic for any strategy but is  ambiguous. What degree of improvement? How long is the time frame? Answering these questions helps you determine how much you need to invest.
• Research industry benchmarks: Similar to competitive analysis, looking at industry benchmarks is helpful in budgeting. It gives you an idea of how much other businesses in your industry spend on SEO. A realistic budget for your company might be similar to that of similarly sized companies.
• Consider your resources: Sometimes, the resources you have limit your goals, and that is fine. If you have a limited budget, you may need to focus on a smaller set of SEO goals. Yet, that also means planning your budget is a lot easier.
• Get multiple quotes: Obtain quotes from multiple SEO agencies to compare prices and services. This can help you make an informed decision and choose an agency that aligns with your budget and goals.

B2B SaaS SEO can help market each funnel stage. Keep in mind this crucial aspect when setting a realistic budget. Industry competitiveness, SEO goals, and expertise are crucial factors that influence the cost of SEO. In the SaaS industry, high competition demands a more significant investment, making it important to plan your budget accordingly. 

3. Prioritizing Your SEO Tactics

With a clear understanding of your SEO needs and a realistic budget, it is time to prioritize your SEO tactics. Not all tactics are equally effective; some may require more investment than others. Below are some pointers to consider:

1. Optimizing both the content and HTML source code through on-page optimization is important when improving your website's visibility on search engines. This includes enhancing meta tags, header tags, and image alt tags. On-page optimization should be a top priority for all businesses looking to succeed in SEO.

2. Creating and sharing high-quality content tailored to your target audience and optimized for search engines is the essence of content marketing. You can create different types of content, such as blog posts, videos, and infographics. Doing this effectively attracts more traffic and builds brand awareness.

3. Gaining backlinks from other authoritative websites is a crucial aspect of link building. Although time-consuming and expensive, acquiring high-quality links can help improve your search engine rankings. This is especially true if you are targeting highly competitive keywords.

4. Local SEO is a highly effective way for businesses with a physical location to attract customers from their communities and nearby areas. Optimizing your website and Google My Business listing for local search queries can improve your visibility in local search results and attract more local customers to your business.

Consider your budget, goals, and target audience when prioritizing your SEO tactics. Focus on the tactics that have the most significant impact on your rankings and traffic within your budget constraints. Remember, SEO is a long-term investment, and results may take time to materialize.

4. Measuring ROI

Measuring the ROI of your SEO budget is essential for determining the effectiveness of your SEO strategy. It requires tracking and analyzing various metrics related to your SEO efforts, such as website traffic, keyword rankings, lead generation, and revenue. By measuring these metrics, you can assess your SEO tactics' success and identify areas for improvement.

Establishing clear goals and objectives for your SEO strategy is essential for an accurate ROI measurement. For instance, if your objective is to increase website traffic and generate more leads, you should track the number of visitors and the number of leads generated from your SEO efforts. 

Similarly, you should monitor your rankings for target keywords over time to improve your keyword rankings. Measuring the ROI of your budget determines the tactics that yield the highest returns. Consequently, this will allow you to adjust your budget accordingly to optimize your ROI.

Summing Up

We cannot overstate the importance of SEO for SaaS B2B companies. However, simply allocating a budget for SEO is not enough. Without a strategic plan, your investment may not yield the expected ROI. If you want expert help maximizing the effectiveness of your SEO budget, contact Digital Authority Partners.