Unbranded keywords for organic traffic

Inspired by Adobe and Canva’s SEO strategies, I began investigating feature pages and the possibility of using off-brand keywords to increase conversions.

A few months ago I started creating an SEO “swipe file” for SaaS and software brands and placing the first page with unbranded keywords on their feature pages.

Originally this was supposed to be a simple project. Drop a few examples and use them in my work with clients and colleagues to show what’s possible.

Then it became very clear that many sites don’t use this strategy, so searching through hundreds of pages resulted in 30 winners.

In this article, we’ll explore why incorporating non-branded keywords into your landing pages is a profitable strategy and debunk a few SEO myths about building an optimized page.

Use of non-branded keywords on landing pages

Landing pages are not usually an area that SEO professionals yell about as the content is considered thin and unable to rank due to the low word count. Landing pages are also not great for backlinks compared to other content.

Let’s rewind and clarify what I mean by landing page.

Viola Eva wrote an excellent article for Ahrefs on landing page SEO, defining landing pages as “websites designed to convert traffic into leads.”

This includes feature, product, and solution pages, as well as competitor pages, use cases, or lead magnets.

While we can argue about the linguistics, the point is that solution, industry, and feature pages can be optimized for organic reach. In fact, they are pretty powerful converters.

I’ve looked through over a hundred feature pages to examine what it takes to rank on the first page, and the results are pretty compelling.

Disclaimer: I work for Flow SEO who supported this research by accessing Ahrefs and some of the companies on the list are our clients.

Identify opportunities for unbranded feature pages

Unfortunately, we can’t be Salesforce or Oracle – people know their names and search their products with branded searches.

Optimizing your feature page for off-brand keywords is an opportunity to increase organic traffic for those who aren’t already on-brand. This is a chance to really make your product features shine.

Should all features get one page? Probably not.

I recommend creating an all-features page as a hub and creating feature pages for strong competitors.

So how do we identify the right feature pages?

We get our hands dirty on keyword research and search engine results pages (SERPs).

This is a “put yourself in their shoes” exercise. Make a list of all the words or phrases related to this feature while also imagining what you would be looking for if you were in the market for this product.

How is it used? Which industries does it apply to? What problem does it solve?

Here you compile a list of potential keywords and use them to examine whether the search intent as represented in the SERPs matches the website’s feature page.

Tips for identifying pages and keywords:

• Functions like reports, SMS notifications or other standard functions are too vague as queries and will most likely never rank – unless there’s a niche hook (e.g. industry, company size, etc.)
• Get creative with match types by using action words like “find influencers” or “plagiarism checker”. People use these queries when they are in a moment of need and may be ready to convert.
• Avoid trademarking or branding anything in the keyword, especially if you’re relatively new to SEO. Here are the top non-branded keywords I found in my research:

Well, just seeing that other brands have featured pages on the first page doesn’t mean your site will too.

Click through the pages and try to understand the audience and industries they are targeting.

It doesn’t have to be difficult.

One of my favorite ways of doing this is by simply asking my customers about their product, noting specific phrases and the language they use, and also asking how their customers like the product or specific feedback about that feature use.

Surveying your customer or audience is the best way to connect through a shared language and perspective.

SEO tips for optimized feature pages

These recommendations are based on studying an endless number of feature pages, resulting in a definitive list of 30 SaaS and software feature pages with first-page rankings for non-branded keywords.

There is no recommended word count

Earlier I mentioned that some people might not see a landing page as an SEO opportunity.

One of the main reasons for this is that there is a misconception that the page needs to have a lot of text in order to rank.

My research shows that this is a completely wrong assumption.

The estimated word count of the 30 feature pages examined is 170-2,600.

As you can see in the table above, the highest word count is for ZenDesk’s feature page.

This site ranks in the bottom half of the 30 in terms of total keywords and referring domains.

While Grammarly and Adobe dominate keywords overall, their word count is relatively small.

Breaking this down further, the chart above shows the sites with non-branded keywords that rank at number one.

Again, the word count does not rank these pages significantly since the word count is between 170 and 970.

Rather, this indicates that these pages are content-specific and adequately respond to an individual’s query.

Backlinks don’t make or break your site

The good news doesn’t stop at a smaller word count.

This research also shows that domain referencing is not a priority or required.

At the absolute lowest, a feature page had 3 referring domains and the highest had 2,400.

The above diagram may look familiar to you, but this time I’ve included a line to point domains to the URL.

Interestingly, it doesn’t show a strong correlation with the total number of keywords on the page or the word count.

Create a free tool

One thing that struck me the most during this research is that taking a feature of your overall product and making it available as a free tool is a great strategy.

This free tool doesn’t need to have the same features as your paid tool, but just enough for people to actually use it, maybe even more than once.

Grammarly is a great example of this strategy.

The Plagiarism Feature Page includes a free tool to scan a document or text, and it’s the first thing you see when you land on it.

This page doesn’t stop there as it further explains “why use a plagiarism checker?” below. and who their product is for, while ending with a call-to-action (CTA) to “review your text now.”

This is a common strategy used by other well-known companies like Adobe or Canva.

It works because your website visitors are presented with an instant solution without the need for them to sign up.

It creates a positive user experience with your brand and starts the dance of reciprocity.

Scheme helps to achieve rich results

Your feature page is a landing page, so you want it to convert.

You want to grab attention from the first moment search results appear.

Using schema or structured data can help your feature page stand out in the SERPs by adding rich results. These rich results can provide a visual rating, carousel, prizes, or other visual elements.

It costs nothing to implement, but beyond a single blue link, it gives you a robust SERP listing that will help you stand out from the competition.

Pop-ups are out – chatbots are in

Of the 30 websites surveyed, only 1 had a popup on the page, while 16 had chatbots and 14 had neither.

I know I can’t be alone in celebrating the death of pop-ups.

Not only are pop-ups an intrusive feature that most people dislike, but they can also contribute to sensory overload for many individuals, making them inaccessible.

Domain rating matters until it doesn’t matter anymore

Of the 30 feature pages examined, the average domain score is 82, ranging from 57 to 96.

The chart below shows the sum of all keywords along with the domain score.

Although the URLs with the most keywords tend to have higher domain scores, this chart doesn’t show a very clear correlation.

It tells me that having a strong domain score above 50 helps, but doesn’t mean you need 96 to rank on the first page with a non-branded keyword.

Non-branded keywords for the rest of us

Unfortunately, most companies don’t have brand awareness.

So while well-known brands can delete a feature page and not consider optimizing it for SEO, the rest of us need to get creative to bring in more qualified leads.

We identified potential feature pages for brand-agnostic keyword optimization and delved into the research to see what it takes to reach number one.

This is a solid framework to get out there and put this strategy into action.

I would like to hear all opinions on this topic, especially if you have successfully implemented this strategy.

More resources:

---

Featured Image: amgun/Shutterstock