SEO for Startups: How to Rank Higher and Grow Faster

SEO for Startups: How to Rank Higher and Grow Faster

Learn how to grow your startup with these quick search engine optimization (SEO) steps.

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We live in a world where online search is part of everyday life - whether it's finding a nearby coffee shop or a solution to a business problem. As a startup, you want to grow - you want your website to appear in search results and reach more potential customers, we get it. But standing out in this crowded market can be tough.

That's why you need search engine optimization (SEO) to help people find you - instead of the other way around. The best part? SEO for startups doesn't have to be an overhaul. When you have the right strategy and the right tools, it can be quick and easy.

With these tips, you can start seeing real results, even if you have limited resources. In this quick guide, you'll find practical, step-by-step SEO tips to help your startup rank higher and grow faster.

What you'll learn:
What is SEO and why it matters
Why SEO is important for startups
Common misconceptions startups have about SEO
Step-by-step SEO for startups
Your startup can be SEO-ready by end of day

What is SEO and why it matters

SEO is the process of improving your website so it ranks higher in search engine results. When someone goes to a search engine (like Google, Bing, or Yahoo) and searches for something related to your startup, you want your website to show up at the top of the results.

Search engines scan millions of web pages to find the best matches for what people are searching for - and now, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), they are more tuned in now than ever before. The better your website matches what people want, the higher it will appear in search results - you just have to learn the algorithms. And, again, have the right tools.

Research shows that around 75% of all clicks on search traffic come from the first page of Google results (the top ten spots). In fact, a recent study found that ranking at the top of the search results in a niche generates a 39.8% click-through rate (CTR), while the second and third positions receive 18.7% and 10.2%, respectively. Simply put, organic search is one of the highest-converting channels for startups.

But that's not all. Here's why SEO really matters:

• It delivers long-term benefits: The more effort you put into SEO, the more it pays off over time. Unlike paid ads, which stop generating traffic when your budget runs out, SEO builds value long after your initial investment.
• It matches you with your customers: SEO attracts people who are actively looking for solutions your startup offers, making them more likely to engage.
• It keeps you flexible: As trends and customer behavior change, you can adjust your SEO strategies to meet demand without needing a complete overhaul of your marketing efforts.

Why SEO is important for startups

With 68% of all online experiences starting with a search engine, having strong SEO can make or break your visibility in a crowded marketplace. If your startup isn't prioritizing SEO, you're likely missing out on a huge chunk of potential customers. The benefits of SEO for startups are huge. Let's take a closer look at some of these:

It's a cost-effective growth strategy

Startups often operate on tight budgets, and paid marketing can get expensive quickly. SEO, on the other hand, is a more affordable option. Instead of constantly paying for ads, you can focus on optimizing your site to attract organic traffic for free. To put it into perspective, SEO delivers an average ROI of 748%, significantly outperforming PPC campaigns, which typically offer around 200%.

It helps you compete with bigger businesses

In competitive industries, startups often face bigger, more established companies. But with SEO, you can still win. Search engines care more about relevance and quality than brand size, so even a small startup can outrank a larger competitor by providing better content.

It builds credibility and trust with customers

Customers tend to trust businesses that appear at the top of search results. Ranking higher organically signals to users that your startup is credible and offers value. So, getting to that front page not only drives traffic but also positions your brand as a trustworthy option.

Alongside organic visibility, AI agents like Agentforce help startups deliver consistent, proactive customer support that builds trust. This real-time, personalized assistance enhances the customer experience and encourages repeat engagement. Ready to build your own AI agent?

SEO tip: The top organic search result gets 19 times more clicks on average, than the leading paid search result.

Common misconceptions startups have about SEO

Now that we've talked about why SEO for startups is important, let's clear up some common myths that many startups have.

SEO is not an overnight success strategy. Many startups believe that optimizing their website will lead to immediate traffic spikes, but only 5.7% of newly published pages reach the top 10 within a year. SEO is a long-term investment that requires consistent effort to build trust with search engines, just like with customers. However, it brings consistent organic traffic once it's established.

You've probably also heard claims that "SEO is dead," with Google rolling out hundreds of algorithm updates each year. While these changes can be challenging, they don't mean SEO is obsolete. Here's the truth: as long as you focus on delivering valuable, relevant content that meets your audience's needs, SEO remains as crucial as ever. Algorithms may evolve, but the demand for quality content never goes away.

And, as search behavior changes, trends shift, and new competitors enter the scene. Regularly updating your content and SEO tactics ensures that you remain relevant and visible. This continuous cycle of improvement keeps your startup agile and prepared to meet the changing demands of the market.

Step-by-step SEO for startups

Let's learn about the key steps that will help your startup build a solid SEO foundation from the ground up.

Step 1: Set clear goals and objectives

Before diving into SEO, it's crucial for startups to set clear goals and objectives that align with their broader business aims, such as building a customer base for a SaaS startup or driving sales for an ecommerce brand. Without a clear destination, it's challenging to measure success and keep efforts focused and effective.

Setting objectives for SEO in a startup involves defining clear, measurable goals that align with your overall business strategy. Start by identifying your target audience and the specific actions you want them to take, such as signing up for a newsletter, making a purchase, or requesting a demo. Your objectives should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. For example, you might aim to increase organic traffic by 20% within the next six months or improve the conversion rate from organic search by 15% in the next quarter.

Several tools can be helpful in tracking and measuring these objectives. Google Analytics is a must-have for monitoring website traffic, user behavior, and conversions. Google Search Console provides insights into your site's performance in search results, including keywords and click-through rates. Tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Moz can help with keyword research, competitor analysis, and tracking your search engine rankings.

Step 2. Research your startup's keywords

Once your SEO goals are set, it's time to dive into keyword research. Think about the key products or services you offer. What would you type into Google to find your business? You can also ask your customers what they searched for when they found you. Gather these keywords and start building your list.

Next, expand your keyword list using research tools. Free options like Google Keyword Planner, or AnswerThePublic can help you find related keywords. For more in-depth features, consider tools like SEMrush, which also offers limited free plans. As you research, focus on:

• Search volume and difficulty: Pay attention to how many people are searching for a keyword (search volume) and how hard it will be to rank for it (keyword difficulty). This will help you prioritize which keywords to focus on first.
• Search intent: Understand if users are just looking for information (e.g., "how to use project management software") or if they're ready to make a purchase (e.g., "buy project management software"). Prioritize keywords that match the stage of the customer journey you want to target.

Step 3. Write content that's optimized for search engines

Focus on creating content that solves your audience's problems or answers their questions. Write for humans, not algorithms, and keep your content engaging. Use short paragraphs, subheadings, and bullet points to make it easy to skim. Tools like Grammarly, ProWritingAid, or Hemingway Editor can help you keep your writing clear and error-free.

Once you've written valuable content, naturally include your keywords in the context. Make sure the main keyword is in the title and appears early in the text (within the first 100-150 words), but avoid overusing it.

To take it a step further, build depth around key topics. Start with a main article, like a guide on "Remote Work Best Practices," and then create related articles that explore specific aspects, such as managing remote teams or tools for virtual collaboration. Linking these articles helps search engines understand your content and encourages your audience to explore more of your site.

Step 4. Build quality links to improve your startup rankings

The idea is simple: the more high-quality, relevant websites that link to your site, the more search engines like Google will trust your content. Focus on getting high-quality backlinks instead of a large number of low-quality ones, as spammy or irrelevant links can hurt your SEO efforts.

To earn quality backlinks, build genuine relationships within your industry. Share valuable content with your network or consider guest blogging on reputable sites. Tools like BuzzSumo, Hootsuite, or NinjaOutreach can help you find trending content in your niche and identify influential websites that might be interested in linking to your work. Additionally, collaborating on projects like webinars or podcasts can naturally lead to backlinks while strengthening your industry connections.

While backlinks from other sites are important, don't forget about internal linking (linking between your own pages). When you create new blog posts or pages, link to relevant older content. This keeps visitors engaged, helps them explore more of your site, and boosts your SEO by spreading link authority throughout your content.

Step 5. Improve your on-page SEO

On-page SEO makes sure that everything on your website is structured and optimized so search engines (and users) can easily find, understand, and engage with your content. Before diving into content and keywords, take a step back and look at how your website is organized.

Site speed. Your website should load well, it's important for SEO and the user experience. Compress images to reduce loading times while keeping their quality intact. Clean up your website's code by removing unnecessary CSS, JavaScript, or HTML code. Use tools like GTmetrix, Google PageSpeed Insights, and Pingdom to analyze your site and provide tips to boost performance.

Clear web pages. Your website should be easy to navigate, with content, offerings, or services grouped into relevant sections. For example, if you have a blog, make sure it's neatly organized by topics or categories.

Create a sitemap. A sitemap helps search engines discover all the pages on your website. Most content management software (CMS) have plugins that automatically generate a sitemap for you.

Title tags and meta descriptions. Ensure your title tag clearly describes the page content, includes your primary keyword, and stays within 50-60 characters. Make it engaging to encourage users to click. While meta descriptions don't directly affect rankings, they should summarize the page in 150-160 characters and entice users to visit.

Mobile-friendliness. More than 60% of global web traffic now comes from mobile devices, so it's essential to ensure your site is mobile-friendly. Use the Mobile Usability report in Google Search Console to assess how easily users can navigate your site on mobile devices. Fix any issues, like text being too small or buttons being too close together.

Step 6. Use off-page SEO to expand your reach

Off-page SEO includes social media, influencer marketing, and online reviews. While social media doesn't directly affect your search rankings, it is essential for your overall SEO strategy. Platforms like LinkedIn, Reddit, and Quora can increase engagement and drive traffic to your site, helping your SEO efforts. Here are some ways social media can indirectly boost your SEO:

• Increased visibility and brand awareness: Regularly sharing high-quality content on social media helps you get in front of potential customers who may not have found you through search engines.
• More backlinks: As your content spreads across social media, it increases the chance that other websites will link back to your site, improving your off-page SEO.
• Faster content indexing: Search engines can index your content more quickly if it's frequently shared and discussed on social platforms.

Using AI-powered CRM can also amplify social engagement insights, providing startups with a more actionable understanding of customer interactions.

Step 7. Use local SEO to attract nearby customers

If your startup has physical locations or serves specific areas, local SEO should be a key focus. About 46% of all Google searches have local intent, so optimizing for this can increase your visibility in local searches, leading to more foot traffic, phone calls, and online inquiries.

Start with your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business). This free tool helps you manage how your business appears on Google Search and Maps. Make sure to include accurate details like your business name, address, and phone number, and keep this information consistent across all platforms. Additionally, list your startup in trusted directories like Yelp, Yellow Pages, and industry-specific sites.

Step 8. Review and reoptimize your SEO regularly

Monitor your keyword rankings, organic traffic, bounce rates, and user engagement to evaluate the success of your SEO efforts. Google Analytics and Google Search Console are great for tracking these metrics. But don't just stop there - regularly update your content to keep it fresh and relevant.

Search engines use crawlers (automated bots) to understand your website and its content, but if it's not set up correctly, important pages might not get indexed. To prevent this, regularly check for crawl errors with tools like Google Search Console. Fix broken links that result in 404 errors and set up 301 redirects for any moved content. Also, combine similar pages and use canonical tags to avoid duplicate content issues. Tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush can help you monitor and fix site errors.

If you see some pages aren't performing well, revisit them and make improvements. Here's a simple approach to reoptimizing your content:

• Update your keywords: Search trends change, so regularly revisit your keyword research to incorporate newer, more relevant terms.
• Refresh old content: Add up-to-date information, new links, or more engaging media like images or videos.
• Improve your technical SEO: Ensure your site's loading speed, mobile-friendliness, and security are in top shape.
• Analyze backlinks: See which of your pages are attracting the most links and focus on building more high-quality links to underperforming content.

The right marketing tool for small businesses can make all the difference in running efficient campaigns, reaching the right customers, and gaining valuable insights. With AI-powered automation, you can create personalized campaigns that connect with your audience at every step. This helps you engage better, close deals faster, and build strong relationships for growth.

Get the AI in SEO Complete Guide for free and boost your startup web performance.

Your startup can be SEO-ready by end of day

Getting started with SEO can feel like a big leap, especially when you're managing so much else as a startup. The good news is, you don't need to break a sweat to make meaningful progress. While you focus on your SEO strategy, let Salesforce take charge of your sales, marketing, commerce, and customer service.

Starter is quick to set up and easy to use, empowering your team to focus on what truly matters - growing your business and nurturing customer relationships. You'll be an SEO pro by the end of the day.

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Kyle Place is a Senior SEO Analyst at Salesforce. Before working as an inhouse SEO he worked with an SEO agency, and in every position, he puts data behind every decision.

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