Opinion holder entrepreneur You are the contributor.
Some of the world’s largest software companies, such as Canva and MailChimp, have acknowledged SEO as a driving force in achieving unicorn status, and the list goes on.
SEO is a channel through which software companies can capture demand and turn that demand into paying customers. But most tech companies today repeat his SEO strategy the same as all their competitors. Back up the top of the funnel, basic information and get as much traffic as possible. problem?I want you correct Not much traffic.
Here are three unconventional SEO tactics that software companies can use to stand out and win customers.
1. Fewer Keywords, More Thought Leadership
Keyword-driven content is important for search engine optimization. The most important goal of SEO is to capture existing search demand. For example, if someone searches for a customer relationship management (CRM) software comparison, you want CRM software to appear as a candidate.
However, keyword-driven content can only reach very quickly so far. To rank content organically, Google evaluates a myriad of factors that help determine what content appears when a user searches. Their algorithms prioritize detailed and accurate content from trusted sources.
One of the best ways to become a trusted source is to establish thought leadership in your niche. The more people who trust you and your brand, share your content, and link back to your content, the better the results.
Google rewards authentic brands with trust in niche markets. A big factor in how they measure this is the inbound links pointing to your website, also called backlinks. No, it’s not spammy backlinks you can buy for $5 on shady websites (stay away from these sites). The type of backlinks that can only be earned through truly great content, brands and relationships. A type that is the true result of creating and promoting valuable content that people have no choice but to circulate.
This is where thought leadership strategies come into play. Typical link building is spam. Send mass emails to websites asking for links to you. Instead, your goal is to write unique, thought-provoking content that people can’t help but share, link to, and promote. This is thought leadership content and can get a lot more backlinks and distribution than a keyword-driven listicle like “His 5 Best CRM Software of the Year”, so it can have a huge beneficial impact on your SEO. give.
For example, I wrote an article on my software company’s blog about how data is lying on platforms like Google Analytics. It was meant to drive social sharing, engagement, and virality, not for keyword rankings. I used a powerful and impressive tone. I backed up my position with an example. I left a final question to encourage readers to share. Within weeks, it generated hundreds of backlinks from authoritative websites that shared the post. That’s more backlinks than most websites get with one of her articles.
Like most software companies, if I had written another “XX Best Tools” post, it would have had zero shares, zero links, and zero brand impact. No one wants to share boring, basic content. While you shouldn’t stop creating keyword-driven content that captures demand, you should focus on thought leadership content, which has a much higher viral potential, to bring trickle-down benefits to your overall SEO strategy. Then distribute and market that content across all channels to maximize impact.
Related: Why Trust Is The New Marketing Currency
2. SERP monopoly strategy
Publishing new content isn’t always the fastest way to generate leads, sales, and revenue. Ranking new content organically takes time. Especially if your brand isn’t established and you don’t have a track record of success. Deploy a SERP exclusive strategy instead of mass publishing. List your software companies in all summaries and comparisons in your field for valuable keywords.
For example, if your software company is CRM software, search for a keyword such as “best CRM”, create a list of the top 20 content rankings for this keyword, and do value-driven outreach to their website. carry out. Get your CRM list. This is the SERP monopoly strategy.
This allows you to be in front of thousands of searches in days instead of months. We leverage existing content that’s driving traffic. And because it’s so relevant, a successful campaign can drive qualified buyers and leads to your website in days.
Your ultimate goal is to rank in every post ranking for a list or comparison keyword in your space. Hence the name “SERP Exclusive”. Using the “Best CRM” example, this keyword gets 9,000 unique searches per month according to SEO tools. There are countless articles out there ranking the top CRMs. These are all opportunities to reach out to the author of the article and ask them to try and review the software.
If it’s a really good product, they’ll be happy to put it on their list and recommend it to their readers.
Always ask yourself when pitching your product to these site owners. What can I do to make it valuable to them, not just me? Can I get an affiliate deal and get a cut of the sales from your listing? Can you give them lifetime free access to use your tool so they can rank it for you? Take advantage of this to drive qualified buyers to your site in weeks instead of years.
RELATED: 5 Must-Have SEO Strategies for Entrepreneurs to Increase Traffic
3. SEO promotional content
SEO sales enablement content is a powerful strategy to rank directly in the organic search results of your competitors’ branded searches. SEO-critical promotional content often follows three clear formulas: Why, Best, and Versus. Example: Product X or Product Y: Which is best? These are the key middle to bottom tiers of content that people look for when making purchasing decisions. They want to know why a particular tool is the best for their needs.
Creating this kind of content can feel counterintuitive. What is your reason for highlighting your competitors’ good points? Well, many reasons. Consumers won’t trust your brand just by telling you how bad your competitors’ products are. Talking only negative things about your competitors is dishonest and consumers can see through it. Instead, your goal is to differentiate — talk positively about your competitors while acknowledging where and for whom your product shines.
Put your preconceived notions aside and write a comparative article explaining why your software is a winner for your target audience. By creating a comparison, you can start ranking in your competitors’ branded searches. So if your competitor is “Brand X”, you can actually rank for “Brand X” on Google by creating a comparison article like “Brand X vs Your Brand”.
Sales enablement content is versatile and broadens your target keywords. As a result, you get more demand from target markets you may not have known existed. Combined with his two strategies above, they can definitely increase qualified leads, sales, and revenue for your software company.
