How to Build a Solid Foundation for Growth
If you run a SaaS business, you already know how noisy the market has become.
Every week, another platform launches, and every founder is chasing the same search terms; standing out organically feels more complex than ever.
While content and backlinks often get most of the attention, it’s the technical side of SEO that quietly decides whether your site performs or struggles.
At Whippet Digital, we work with SaaS companies across Aotearoa that have great products and innovative marketing, but whose websites are underperforming due to unseen technical barriers.
Pages aren’t appropriately indexed, crawl errors build up, and speed suffers.
The good news is that these problems can be fixed, and better still, they can be prevented.
Whether you’re rebuilding your site or switching to a new CMS, establishing the technical foundations correctly early makes every other marketing effort easier.
Let’s explore how.
What Technical SEO Means for SaaS
Technical SEO is the layer that allows search engines and users to experience your site as intended.
It’s not about keywords; it’s about structure, performance, and clarity.
A SaaS website often includes:
- Dozens of landing pages for different features or industries
- Constantly updated product content
- Resource hubs, help centres, and blogs
- Complex integrations and subdomains
That complexity can create crawl confusion, slow load times, and duplicate content if left unchecked.
At its core, technical SEO covers:
- Site speed and Core Web Vitals
- Crawlability and indexation
- Mobile optimisation
- Internal linking and hierarchy
- Structured data
- HTTPS and security
When those elements are healthy, content and campaigns perform better across every channel.
1. Crawlability and Indexation
Search engines need a clear path through your site.
If they can’t crawl it efficiently, the right pages won’t appear in search, no matter how strong the content is.
Regularly check:
- robots.txt – confirm key sections aren’t accidentally blocked.
- XML sitemap – keep it tidy and up to date.
- Canonical tags – avoid duplicate signals.
- Redirects – Use clean 301 redirects and remove broken links.
For SaaS websites that change quickly, minor crawl errors can multiply fast.
We often find high-value pages hidden behind ‘noindex’ tags or outdated structures that Google simply overlooks.
Resolving these issues typically yields an immediate increase in visibility.
2. Site Speed and Core Web Vitals
A fast site signals quality and reliability.
Google’s Core Web Vitals measure how quickly your page loads, how quickly it becomes interactive, and how stable the layout feels.
To stay competitive:
- Compress and serve images in WebP.
- Minify CSS and JavaScript.
- Cache resources and enable compression.
- Utilise a content delivery network to reach global audiences.
- Remove unused third-party scripts.
SaaS buyers are impatient; if a demo or pricing page lags, they’ll bounce to a competitor.
Keeping load times under two seconds is a realistic and worthwhile goal.
3. Mobile Optimisation
More than half of SaaS traffic in New Zealand now comes from mobile devices.
Because Google indexes mobile first, the slightest friction can cost rankings.
A mobile-friendly experience includes:
- Responsive layouts that adapt to any screen.
- Simplified navigation and short forms.
- CTAs that are easy to tap.
- Fast performance on mobile data connections.
If a potential customer checks your site on their phone during a commute and it takes too long to load, you’ve lost them.
4. Duplicate Content and Canonicalisation
SaaS companies often create similar pages for different features or markets.
Without proper canonicalisation, Google sees these as duplicates and splits the ranking power.
Best practice:
- Mark a single preferred version with a canonical tag.
- Consolidate near-identical pages where possible.
- Use 301 redirects for retired URLs.
- Keep each page’s content distinct and purposeful.
Cleaning up duplication clarifies your site’s structure and improves crawl efficiency.
5. Internal Linking and Architecture
Internal linking informs search engines which pages are most important and helps users navigate logically.
Build structure intentionally:
- Link from high-traffic blogs to core conversion pages.
- Keep important pages within three clicks of the homepage.
- Use meaningful anchor text.
- Create topic clusters, for instance, a “SaaS SEO” hub linking to related guides.
A clear linking strategy not only improves rankings but also guides visitors through your funnel.
6. Structured Data and Schema
Structured data helps search engines interpret context and display enhanced results like FAQs, reviews, or pricing.
For SaaS, key schema types include:
- Product schema – describe features and pricing tiers.
- FAQ schema – surface common questions in search.
- Review schema – show customer ratings.
- Article schema – markup blogs and thought leadership content.
A good structure benefits both traditional search and AI-driven discovery, where the clarity of information determines whether your brand is referenced or ignored.
7. HTTPS and Security
Security underpins trust.
Every SaaS website should operate on HTTPS, with valid SSL certificates and secure resources.
Always check:
- Certificates renew automatically.
- Internal links use HTTPS.
- No mixed-content warnings appear.
Even a brief lapse can trigger browser warnings that halt sign-ups.
8. Site Migrations and CMS Rebuilds: Your Best Chance to Fix Issues
When you’re moving platforms or redesigning your site, that’s the perfect time to deal with technical SEO properly.
Addressing it mid-build is easier and cheaper than retrofitting later.
During a migration, we typically:
- Audit the existing site to map problems and opportunities.
- Design a cleaner URL structure.
- Build redirects before launch to preserve equity.
- Implement structured data templates from day one.
- Test Core Web Vitals in staging.
- Re-submit the sitemap immediately after go-live.
Treating technical SEO as part of development avoids the “traffic drop after launch” that so many SaaS teams experience.
9. AI Search and GEO Visibility: Preparing for the Next Wave
Search is evolving rapidly.
AI systems like Perplexity, Gemini, and ChatGPT are transforming how people discover and assess software.
Instead of ten blue links, users now see summarised answers drawn from multiple trusted sources.
This shift means search engines and AI models value structured, clearly written content that’s easy for machines to interpret.
At Whippet Digital, we’ve built our own AI Search and GEO analysis process to help SaaS companies stay ahead of this change.
It’s an internal framework that assesses how your site performs in emerging AI search environments, measuring:
- How well your content can be read and summarised by AI models.
- Whether your pages provide the kind of structured data AI systems prioritise.
- How your site’s authority signals compare within your niche and region.
This analysis complements our traditional technical audit, providing a more comprehensive view of visibility, not just in Google’s classic results, but also in the new AI-driven landscape that’s already shaping buyer journeys.
For New Zealand SaaS companies aiming to scale globally, this kind of insight is becoming essential.
AI search doesn’t care where you’re based; it rewards clarity, credibility, and structure.
Our job is to make sure your site meets that standard.
10. Measuring and Maintaining Technical Health
Once your foundations are strong, keep them that way.
Technical SEO isn’t a one-time project; it’s an ongoing maintenance effort.
We recommend:
- Monthly checks for broken links, slow pages, and crawl errors.
- Core Web Vitals monitoring through Search Console.
- Quarterly reviews of structured data and index coverage.
- Performance dashboards combining analytics and search data.
For Whippet clients, we include AI Search and GEO metrics in these reviews, allowing you to see how visibility evolves as algorithms change.
11. Why Technical SEO Fuels SaaS Growth
A technically sound site does more than rank higher.
It builds trust, improves conversion, and makes every marketing dollar work harder.
When your pages load quickly, visitors stay.
When your structure is clear, Google crawls more efficiently.
When your schema and internal links are in order, your brand appears in more places — from rich snippets to AI summaries.
We’ve seen clients double the number of demo requests after cleaning up crawl issues and improving speed, without changing a single headline.
That’s the compounding effect of a solid technical foundation.
12. Practical Steps for Founders and CMOs
If you’re not sure where to start, focus on these actions first:
- Run a comprehensive technical audit before expanding content.
- Fix crawl and indexation errors.
- Optimise Core Web Vitals for sub-2-second loads.
- Strengthen internal linking and topical clusters.
- Implement relevant structured data.
- Secure the site with HTTPS.
- Integrate technical SEO early in any rebuild or CMS change.
- Review AI Search and GEO readiness quarterly.
Each improvement builds on the last, creating a faster, cleaner, and more discoverable platform for growth.
Final Thoughts: Build It Right, and Growth Follows
Technical SEO doesn’t attract headlines, but it underpins everything.
Without it, your content, ads, and outreach are working uphill.
With it, your site becomes faster, more discoverable, and ready for the future, including the shift toward AI-driven search.
For SaaS companies based in New Zealand and targeting global markets, that preparation matters.
The stronger your technical base, the easier it is to scale with confidence.
If you’re planning a migration, suspect hidden issues, or want to understand how AI Search and GEO will shape your visibility, explore how we can help you and let’s talk.
Get in touch with Mike, Whippet Digital’s founder, for a clear, jargon-free look at what’s happening under the hood of your SaaS site.
You’ll walk away with practical insights and a plan you can act on immediately.
At Whippet Digital, we believe great SEO isn’t about chasing trends.
It’s about building the kind of technical and strategic foundation that continues to grow long after the latest algorithm update has come and gone.
