Running a SaaS SEO Keyword Audit

A SaaS SEO keyword audit reveals something most enterprise content teams overlook: the biggest traffic opportunities are not in new content creation. They are hiding in pages that already rank, just not high enough to drive meaningful clicks. This audit breaks down exactly how to identify those opportunities, prioritize them by commercial value, and turn existing blog content into a consistent source of organic traffic.

For teams building a broader program around these wins, this fits naturally into an SEO-first SaaS content marketing strategy.

Key Takeaways

• Almost rankers are keywords ranking in positions 7 to 30. They are already indexed and beating most competitors, but sit just outside the traffic-generating zone.

• Sorting almost rankers by CPC (cost-per-click) surfaces the highest commercial value opportunities first, where organic traffic delivers the greatest ROI.

• Sorting by search volume identifies pages with the highest raw traffic potential, ideal for top-of-funnel reach and retargeting audiences.

• Enterprise blogs like Salesforce’s have dozens of pages sitting in positions 8 to 25 for high-value keywords that could reach page one with targeted optimization.

• Content refreshes, stronger internal linking, and improved on-page signals are the primary levers for moving almost rankers onto page one.

• These audits should be run on a quarterly cadence to capture new opportunities as rankings shift.

What Is an Almost Ranker and Why It Matters for Enterprise SEO

Almost ranker: a keyword for which a page currently ranks between positions 7 and 30, meaning it is indexed, competitive, and close to page one but not yet generating significant organic traffic.

This is the most efficient category of SEO opportunity available to any enterprise content team. The foundational work is already done: the page exists, Google has indexed it, and it has already outranked the majority of competing pages. The gap between position 15 and position 5 is far smaller in effort than building a new page from scratch and waiting for it to gain authority.

For a domain the size of Salesforce’s blog, this gap represents enormous untapped value. Dozens of pages sit within striking distance of page one for keywords with thousands of monthly searches and CPCs well above $8.

If you want to see another example of this exact approach, the Salesforce SEO blog audit uses the same “almost rankers” framework.

How to Structure a Salesforce SEO Audit Around Almost Rankers

The core methodology is straightforward: pull all keyword rankings from Google Search Console or a rank tracking tool, filter for positions 7 through 30, and then sort the results in two distinct ways. Each sort order reveals a different type of opportunity.

For a deeper look at keyword opportunity discovery, this keyword opportunity analysis framework is a useful companion process.

Sort 1: Highest CPC Keywords (Commercial Priority)

High-CPC keywords are the ones advertisers pay the most to appear for in paid search. Capturing organic rankings for these terms means earning traffic that would otherwise cost significant ad spend. These are the highest-priority targets in any Salesforce SEO audit.

The table below reflects keyword data captured during the audit period. Verify current positions and volumes with your own Search Console and rank tracking data before acting.

Keyword	Monthly Volume	CPC	Position at Audit
attribution model	900	$30.54	18
social selling	2,800	$24.89	8
customer experience	9,200	$19.91	13
salesforce connections	700	$16.50	7
small business seo	800	$16.01	18
subscription models	700	$14.29	4
data silos	1,500	$12.56	23
sales promotion	3,500	$12.42	11
what is a sales funnel	1,300	$12.10	7
insurance technology	700	$10.92	10
subscription model	900	$10.46	8
promotion strategies	2,000	$9.94	16
sales funnel stages	1,400	$9.00	13
salesforce architect salary	900	$8.90	20
business inspirational quotes	1,100	$8.82	11
types of leaders	2,700	$8.81	16
sales metrics	900	$8.81	8
amazon customer number	2,200	$8.22	10
holidays calendar	1,200	$8.21	11

What this tells us: Keywords like “attribution model” ($30.54 CPC, position 18) and “customer experience” ($19.91 CPC, position 13) represent the clearest wins. A page already ranking in the mid-teens for a $20+ CPC keyword needs content depth, internal link authority, and on-page signal improvements, not a new article.

Sort 2: Highest Volume Keywords (Traffic and Retargeting Priority)

High-volume keywords may carry lower CPCs, but they deliver scale. For an enterprise brand, ranking for terms with 10,000 to 60,000 monthly searches creates a large top-of-funnel audience that can be retargeted, nurtured, and eventually converted through downstream content.

Keyword	Monthly Volume	CPC	Position at Audit
leadership styles	62,000	$1.54	19
gen z age range	60,000	$1.61	11
mulesoft	40,000	$3.99	9
millennial age range	35,000	—	13
lippert components	22,000	$0.21	18
mascoma bank	15,000	$6.54	18
what years are gen z	15,000	—	14
business quotes	14,000	$2.47	5
chat with amazon customer service	14,000	$0.61	17
sales funnel	12,000	$8.02	8
smb meaning	12,000	$7.88	19
millennial age group	12,000	$2.03	13
ada compliance	11,000	$2.77	11
ada compliant	10,000	—	15
trailblazer definition	9,600	$0	19
types of leadership styles	6,800	$3.22	13
types of leadership	6,700	$3.48	20
chatbot meaning	6,400	—	17

What this tells us: “Leadership styles” at 62,000 monthly searches and position 19 is a standout. A single content refresh on that page, improving depth, adding structured data, and strengthening internal links from related posts, could move it from page two to page one and deliver tens of thousands of additional monthly visits.

Why Two-Dimensional Sorting Produces Better Prioritization

Most SEO audits sort by one variable. Sorting by both CPC and volume separately forces a cleaner strategic decision: are you optimizing for revenue impact or audience scale?

High-CPC targets are best for conversion-focused optimization. These pages should be updated with stronger calls to action, more precise keyword targeting, and content that matches the commercial intent of the searcher.

High-volume targets are best for brand reach, retargeting pool growth, and topical authority. These pages benefit from comprehensive content expansion, FAQ sections, and structured data that helps them appear in AI Overviews and featured snippets.

Running both analyses together gives content and SEO teams a prioritized backlog that balances short-term revenue impact with long-term traffic compounding.

What to Do After Identifying Almost Rankers

Identifying the opportunity is step one. The optimization work is where rankings actually move. For each almost ranker identified in a Salesforce SEO audit, apply the following improvements in order of impact:

1. Refresh the content: Update statistics, examples, and framing to reflect current information. Google’s recent core updates have consistently rewarded content that demonstrates genuine expertise and recency. Stale content loses ground to fresher competitors.

2. Strengthen internal linking: Add contextual internal links from high-authority pages on the same domain pointing to the target page. Internal linking is one of the most underused levers for moving pages from position 15 to position 5.

3. Improve on-page structure: Ensure the primary keyword appears in the H1, the first paragraph, and at least one H2. Add structured subheadings that match the specific questions searchers are asking around that topic.

4. Add supporting visuals: Original images, charts, and diagrams improve time on page and reduce bounce rate, both of which are behavioral signals that influence rankings.

5. Optimize for featured snippets and AI Overviews: Format key answers as concise, direct paragraphs or tables. AI answer engines extract content that is structured, declarative, and self-contained. Teams that want to benchmark this area can review the best AI SEO agencies for visibility in AI Overviews and monitor mentions with an AI Search Visibility tool.

6. Monitor and iterate: Track ranking changes over 30 to 60 day windows after each optimization. Do not make multiple changes simultaneously if you want to understand which lever moved the needle. A clear measurement framework should include core B2B SEO KPIs.

How Often to Run This Type of Audit

A quarterly cadence is the right default for enterprise blogs. Rankings shift constantly, new content gets published by competitors, and Google’s algorithm updates redistribute positions across the SERP. What was a position 12 keyword three months ago may now be at position 7 or position 22.

Running this audit every 90 days ensures the optimization backlog stays current and the team is always working on the highest-leverage opportunities available at that moment.

If you need execution support between audits, a specialized SaaS SEO agency can help turn identified opportunities into ranking gains.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is an almost ranker in SEO?
An almost ranker is a keyword for which a page currently ranks between positions 7 and 30 in Google search results. These keywords are already indexed and competitive, but sit just outside the range where they generate meaningful organic traffic. They represent the highest-efficiency optimization targets because the foundational work of indexing and initial ranking has already been done.

Q: Why focus on CPC when doing a Salesforce SEO audit?
CPC reflects what advertisers are willing to pay per click for a keyword in paid search. When a page ranks organically for a high-CPC keyword, it earns traffic that would otherwise require significant ad spend. Prioritizing high-CPC almost rankers means the SEO effort delivers the greatest measurable commercial return.

Q: How do you move a page from position 15 to page one?
The most effective levers are content freshness, internal link authority, and on-page structure. Updating the content to reflect current information, adding internal links from high-authority pages on the same domain, improving heading structure, and optimizing for featured snippets are the primary tactics. Results typically appear within 30 to 60 days of implementation.

Q: How is a blog SEO audit different from a technical SEO audit?
A blog SEO audit focuses on keyword ranking opportunities, content quality, and on-page optimization across existing articles. A technical SEO audit examines site infrastructure, crawlability, page speed, Core Web Vitals, and indexation issues. Both are necessary for a complete enterprise SEO strategy, but a blog audit produces faster, more targeted content wins. For a more technical review process, see this B2B content audit.

Q: How often should an enterprise blog run an SEO audit like this?
Quarterly is the recommended cadence for most enterprise blogs. Rankings shift frequently due to algorithm updates, competitor activity, and content decay. A 90-day audit cycle ensures the optimization backlog reflects current ranking data and keeps the team focused on the highest-value opportunities at any given time.

Q: Can this audit methodology apply to blogs outside of Salesforce?
Yes. The almost ranker methodology applies to any domain with an established content library. The larger the blog and the stronger the domain authority, the more almost rankers will appear in the data. SaaS companies, media publishers, and enterprise B2B brands with hundreds of indexed posts are the best candidates for this type of keyword opportunity analysis.