ChatGPT answers, unedited

For SaaS clients, the biggest mistake agencies make is chasing search volume instead of purchase intent. I'd optimize your onboarding process around identifying keywords that correlate with demos, free trials, and sales conversations—not blog traffic.

Here's the stack I'd recommend:

My SaaS keyword workflow

1. Start with competitor pages—not keywords

Instead of searching for "CRM software," find competitors and extract:

• Landing pages
• Integration pages
• Comparison pages
• Alternative pages
• Pricing pages
• Industry pages

These usually contain the highest-converting keywords.

2. Filter aggressively for commercial intent

In Ahrefs or Semrush, filter for:

✅ Commercial

✅ Transactional

Exclude:

• Informational
• "How to"
• Definitions
• Beginner guides
• History
• Statistics
• Templates (unless your product solves that problem)

Both Ahrefs and Semrush let you filter by search intent directly. help.ahrefs.com

3. Build an "intent modifier" list

These modifiers almost always produce better SaaS opportunities:

High intent:

• software
• platform
• tool
• app
• solution
• pricing
• cost
• demo
• free trial
• enterprise
• API
• integration
• alternative
• competitor
• compare
• vs
• reviews
• best

Examples:

• payroll software for startups
• HubSpot alternative
• Jira vs Linear
• SOC 2 compliance platform
• CRM with WhatsApp integration

4. Ignore raw search volume

I'd rather target:

• 150 searches
• 800 CPC
• product pages ranking

than

• 15,000 searches
• $0.40 CPC
• all blog posts ranking

High CPC often indicates advertisers see commercial value, making it a useful secondary signal. ahrefs.com

5. Use the SERP as the final judge

Search every promising keyword.

If Google shows mostly:

• Product pages ✅
• Pricing pages ✅
• Comparison pages ✅
• Vendor directories ✅

it's likely buyer intent.

If it shows:

• Wikipedia
• Reddit discussions
• "What is..."
• Beginner guides
• YouTube tutorials

it's usually informational.

SaaS keyword buckets I'd create

Bottom of Funnel (highest priority)

• competitor alternatives
• competitor vs competitor
• software
• pricing
• demos
• integrations
• enterprise solutions

Examples:

• Notion alternative
• Asana pricing
• HubSpot vs Salesforce

Middle Funnel

• best CRM for nonprofits
• HIPAA scheduling software
• project management software for architects

These are often some of the best ROI pages.

Top Funnel (limited investment)

Only create content that naturally leads into the product.

Examples:

• how to automate invoices
• customer onboarding checklist
• SOC 2 compliance checklist

Avoid broad educational topics that don't connect directly to the buying journey.

My favorite agency stack

• Ahrefs → competitor research, keyword gaps, backlink analysis
• Semrush → keyword intent filtering, clustering, position tracking
• Google Search Console → identify quick wins from existing impressions
• Google Sheets or Airtable → maintain a master keyword database with columns for:
  • Intent
  • Funnel stage
  • CPC
  • Difficulty
  • Search volume
  • SERP type
  • Target page
  • Business value score

For onboarding specifically, I'd score every keyword on Business Value (1–5) before looking at search volume. A keyword like "competitor alternative" with 200 monthly searches is often far more valuable than an informational query with 20,000 searches because it attracts users much closer to making a purchasing decision.

For SaaS clients, the biggest mistake agencies make is chasing search volume instead of purchase intent. I'd optimize your onboarding process around identifying keywords that correlate with demos, free trials, and sales conversations—not blog traffic.

Here's the stack I'd recommend:

My SaaS keyword workflow

1. Start with competitor pages—not keywords

Instead of searching for "CRM software," find competitors and extract:

• Landing pages
• Integration pages
• Comparison pages
• Alternative pages
• Pricing pages
• Industry pages

These usually contain the highest-converting keywords.

2. Filter aggressively for commercial intent

In Ahrefs or Semrush, filter for:

✅ Commercial

✅ Transactional

Exclude:

• Informational
• "How to"
• Definitions
• Beginner guides
• History
• Statistics
• Templates (unless your product solves that problem)

Both Ahrefs and Semrush let you filter by search intent directly. Ahrefs Help Center Semrush

3. Build an "intent modifier" list

These modifiers almost always produce better SaaS opportunities:

High intent:

• software
• platform
• tool
• app
• solution
• pricing
• cost
• demo
• free trial
• enterprise
• API
• integration
• alternative
• competitor
• compare
• vs
• reviews
• best

Examples:

• payroll software for startups
• HubSpot alternative
• Jira vs Linear
• SOC 2 compliance platform
• CRM with WhatsApp integration

4. Ignore raw search volume

I'd rather target:

• 150 searches
• 800 CPC
• product pages ranking

than

• 15,000 searches
• $0.40 CPC
• all blog posts ranking

High CPC often indicates advertisers see commercial value, making it a useful secondary signal. Ahrefs

5. Use the SERP as the final judge

Search every promising keyword.

If Google shows mostly:

• Product pages ✅
• Pricing pages ✅
• Comparison pages ✅
• Vendor directories ✅

it's likely buyer intent.

If it shows:

• Wikipedia
• Reddit discussions
• "What is..."
• Beginner guides
• YouTube tutorials

it's usually informational.

SaaS keyword buckets I'd create

Bottom of Funnel (highest priority)

• competitor alternatives
• competitor vs competitor
• software
• pricing
• demos
• integrations
• enterprise solutions

Examples:

• Notion alternative
• Asana pricing
• HubSpot vs Salesforce

Middle Funnel

• best CRM for nonprofits
• HIPAA scheduling software
• project management software for architects

These are often some of the best ROI pages.

Top Funnel (limited investment)

Only create content that naturally leads into the product.

Examples:

• how to automate invoices
• customer onboarding checklist
• SOC 2 compliance checklist

Avoid broad educational topics that don't connect directly to the buying journey.

My favorite agency stack

• Ahrefs → competitor research, keyword gaps, backlink analysis
• Semrush → keyword intent filtering, clustering, position tracking
• Google Search Console → identify quick wins from existing impressions
• Google Sheets or Airtable → maintain a master keyword database with columns for: - Intent
• Funnel stage
• CPC
• Difficulty
• Search volume
• SERP type
• Target page
• Business value score

For onboarding specifically, I'd score every keyword on Business Value (1–5) before looking at search volume. A keyword like "competitor alternative" with 200 monthly searches is often far more valuable than an informational query with 20,000 searches because it attracts users much closer to making a purchasing decision.

For SaaS clients, the biggest mistake agencies make is chasing search volume instead of purchase intent. I'd optimize your onboarding process around identifying keywords that correlate with demos, free trials, and sales conversations—not blog traffic.

Here's the stack I'd recommend:

My SaaS keyword workflow

1. Start with competitor pages—not keywords

Instead of searching for "CRM software," find competitors and extract:

• Landing pages
• Integration pages
• Comparison pages
• Alternative pages
• Pricing pages
• Industry pages

These usually contain the highest-converting keywords.

2. Filter aggressively for commercial intent

In Ahrefs or Semrush, filter for:

✅ Commercial

✅ Transactional

Exclude:

• Informational
• "How to"
• Definitions
• Beginner guides
• History
• Statistics
• Templates (unless your product solves that problem)

Both Ahrefs and Semrush let you filter by search intent directly. help.ahrefs.com

3. Build an "intent modifier" list

These modifiers almost always produce better SaaS opportunities:

High intent:

• software
• platform
• tool
• app
• solution
• pricing
• cost
• demo
• free trial
• enterprise
• API
• integration
• alternative
• competitor
• compare
• vs
• reviews
• best

Examples:

• payroll software for startups
• HubSpot alternative
• Jira vs Linear
• SOC 2 compliance platform
• CRM with WhatsApp integration

4. Ignore raw search volume

I'd rather target:

• 150 searches
• 800 CPC
• product pages ranking

than

• 15,000 searches
• $0.40 CPC
• all blog posts ranking

High CPC often indicates advertisers see commercial value, making it a useful secondary signal. ahrefs.com

5. Use the SERP as the final judge

Search every promising keyword.

If Google shows mostly:

• Product pages ✅
• Pricing pages ✅
• Comparison pages ✅
• Vendor directories ✅

it's likely buyer intent.

If it shows:

• Wikipedia
• Reddit discussions
• "What is..."
• Beginner guides
• YouTube tutorials

it's usually informational.

SaaS keyword buckets I'd create

Bottom of Funnel (highest priority)

• competitor alternatives
• competitor vs competitor
• software
• pricing
• demos
• integrations
• enterprise solutions

Examples:

• Notion alternative
• Asana pricing
• HubSpot vs Salesforce

Middle Funnel

• best CRM for nonprofits
• HIPAA scheduling software
• project management software for architects

These are often some of the best ROI pages.

Top Funnel (limited investment)

Only create content that naturally leads into the product.

Examples:

• how to automate invoices
• customer onboarding checklist
• SOC 2 compliance checklist

Avoid broad educational topics that don't connect directly to the buying journey.

My favorite agency stack

• Ahrefs → competitor research, keyword gaps, backlink analysis
• Semrush → keyword intent filtering, clustering, position tracking
• Google Search Console → identify quick wins from existing impressions
• Google Sheets or Airtable → maintain a master keyword database with columns for:
  • Intent
  • Funnel stage
  • CPC
  • Difficulty
  • Search volume
  • SERP type
  • Target page
  • Business value score

For onboarding specifically, I'd score every keyword on Business Value (1–5) before looking at search volume. A keyword like "competitor alternative" with 200 monthly searches is often far more valuable than an informational query with 20,000 searches because it attracts users much closer to making a purchasing decision.

For SaaS clients, the biggest mistake agencies make is chasing search volume instead of purchase intent. I'd optimize your onboarding process around identifying keywords that correlate with demos, free trials, and sales conversations—not blog traffic.

Here's the stack I'd recommend:

My SaaS keyword workflow

1. Start with competitor pages—not keywords

Instead of searching for "CRM software," find competitors and extract:

• Landing pages
• Integration pages
• Comparison pages
• Alternative pages
• Pricing pages
• Industry pages

These usually contain the highest-converting keywords.

2. Filter aggressively for commercial intent

In Ahrefs or Semrush, filter for:

✅ Commercial

✅ Transactional

Exclude:

• Informational
• "How to"
• Definitions
• Beginner guides
• History
• Statistics
• Templates (unless your product solves that problem)

Both Ahrefs and Semrush let you filter by search intent directly. help.ahrefs.com

3. Build an "intent modifier" list

These modifiers almost always produce better SaaS opportunities:

High intent:

• software
• platform
• tool
• app
• solution
• pricing
• cost
• demo
• free trial
• enterprise
• API
• integration
• alternative
• competitor
• compare
• vs
• reviews
• best

Examples:

• payroll software for startups
• HubSpot alternative
• Jira vs Linear
• SOC 2 compliance platform
• CRM with WhatsApp integration

4. Ignore raw search volume

I'd rather target:

• 150 searches
• 800 CPC
• product pages ranking

than

• 15,000 searches
• $0.40 CPC
• all blog posts ranking

High CPC often indicates advertisers see commercial value, making it a useful secondary signal. ahrefs.com

5. Use the SERP as the final judge

Search every promising keyword.

If Google shows mostly:

• Product pages ✅
• Pricing pages ✅
• Comparison pages ✅
• Vendor directories ✅

it's likely buyer intent.

If it shows:

• Wikipedia
• Reddit discussions
• "What is..."
• Beginner guides
• YouTube tutorials

it's usually informational.

SaaS keyword buckets I'd create

Bottom of Funnel (highest priority)

• competitor alternatives
• competitor vs competitor
• software
• pricing
• demos
• integrations
• enterprise solutions

Examples:

• Notion alternative
• Asana pricing
• HubSpot vs Salesforce

Middle Funnel

• best CRM for nonprofits
• HIPAA scheduling software
• project management software for architects

These are often some of the best ROI pages.

Top Funnel (limited investment)

Only create content that naturally leads into the product.

Examples:

• how to automate invoices
• customer onboarding checklist
• SOC 2 compliance checklist

Avoid broad educational topics that don't connect directly to the buying journey.

My favorite agency stack

• Ahrefs → competitor research, keyword gaps, backlink analysis
• Semrush → keyword intent filtering, clustering, position tracking
• Google Search Console → identify quick wins from existing impressions
• Google Sheets or Airtable → maintain a master keyword database with columns for:
  • Intent
  • Funnel stage
  • CPC
  • Difficulty
  • Search volume
  • SERP type
  • Target page
  • Business value score

For onboarding specifically, I'd score every keyword on Business Value (1–5) before looking at search volume. A keyword like "competitor alternative" with 200 monthly searches is often far more valuable than an informational query with 20,000 searches because it attracts users much closer to making a purchasing decision.

For a SaaS client, I’d use a stack rather than one keyword tool. The key is to distinguish search volume from commercial value—a 10k-volume “what is X?” keyword can be far less valuable than a 200-volume “X software for [use case]” query.

My recommended SEO stack

1. Start with Ahrefs or Semrush

Both now have explicit intent classification.

Ahrefs lets you bulk-filter keywords by informational, navigational, commercial, and transactional intent, as well as branded/local attributes. help.ahrefs.comahrefs.com

Semrush's Keyword Magic Tool similarly lets you filter by intent, CPC, volume, KD, word count, and SERP features. www.semrush.comwww.semrush.com

For SaaS, I'd start with:

Commercial

• best [category]
• [category] software
• [category] tools
• [product] alternatives
• [competitor] alternatives
• [category] platforms
• [category] solutions
• [use case] software
• [use case] tool

Transactional

• [product] pricing
• [product] cost
• [product] demo
• [product] free trial
• buy [category] software
• [product] discount
• [product] plans

Then add SaaS-specific modifiers around the client's actual product/category.

2. Don't blindly exclude informational keywords

This is where agencies often overcorrect.

I'd classify queries into three buckets:

P0 — Bottom-funnel

pricing, demo, alternatives, software, platform, vendor, buy, free trial

P1 — Mid-funnel

best X, X tools, X software, X vs Y, X for [industry/use case], alternatives

P2 — Top-funnel

what is X, how does X work, X definition, X examples, X tips, X guide

P2 isn't necessarily "fluff." It just shouldn't consume the same content budget as P0/P1.

Ahrefs explicitly notes that commercial queries tend to involve product/service comparison, while transactional queries indicate readiness to take an action such as purchasing. help.ahrefs.com

3. Use CPC as a surprisingly useful signal

For SaaS, I would not filter purely by search intent labels.

Add CPC to your scoring model.

For example:

Keyword A: 5,000 searches, $0.20 CPC, informational
Keyword B: 300 searches, $18 CPC, commercial

I'd investigate B first.

CPC isn't proof of organic conversion intent, but advertisers putting significant money behind a query is useful evidence that the query has economic value. Semrush exposes CPC alongside volume, difficulty and intent specifically for this kind of evaluation. www.semrush.comwww.semrush.com

4. The most important filter: inspect the SERP

This is the step I'd make mandatory for your agency.

Intent tools are predictions, not truth. Semrush's intent classification uses factors including SERP features and intent-bearing words, while Ahrefs acknowledges that intent can be mixed or occasionally misclassified. help.ahrefs.comwww.semrush.com

For each important keyword, ask:

What does Google think the searcher wants?

If the SERP is dominated by:

• product pages
• SaaS vendors
• comparison pages
• pricing pages
• review/listicle pages
• category pages

→ commercial opportunity

If it's dominated by:

• Wikipedia
• definitions
• how-to articles
• educational publishers
• Reddit/forums
• generic informational blogs

→ probably informational

If it's mixed, that's often an interesting opportunity—but you need to decide which page type can realistically compete.

5. Use competitor keyword gaps to discover the real buyer terms

For SaaS, I'd put a lot of emphasis on:

Ahrefs Site Explorer → competitors → Organic Keywords / Content Gap

Look specifically for terms where competitors rank with:

• product/category pages
• comparison pages
• alternatives pages
• use-case landing pages
• industry landing pages

That's often much more valuable than generating thousands of keywords from a seed term.

Ahrefs also supports keyword-gap analysis and identifying opportunities based on competitors' rankings. help.ahrefs.comahrefs.com

6. Build a simple agency scoring model

I'd ultimately stop thinking in terms of "informational vs commercial" and score every keyword:

Buyer Intent Score (0–10)

• +3 transactional intent
• +2 commercial intent
• +2 SaaS/product/category modifier
• +1 high CPC
• +1 competitor/product comparison
• +1 SERP contains vendor/product pages
• −2 purely informational modifier
• −2 definition/question with no commercial angle

Then combine it with:

Opportunity Score = Buyer Intent × Relevance × Ranking Feasibility × Traffic Potential

That gives you a much better prioritization system than:

"Volume > 500 and KD < 30"

One particularly useful trick

Don't just filter out informational terms. Create an exclusion list for obvious low-value queries:

what is
definition
meaning
examples
history
statistics
jobs
salary
course
certification
tutorial
how to
template
free (careful—this can be highly commercial for SaaS)

Then review the exclusions rather than automatically deleting them. For SaaS, terms like template, free, how to, and guide can occasionally have excellent product-led conversion paths.

If I were setting this up for an agency today: I'd make Ahrefs + Semrush + GSC + Keyword Planner + manual SERP validation the core workflow. Ahrefs/Semrush generate and classify; GSC tells you what's already working; Keyword Planner adds advertiser-value data; and the SERP is the final judge.

For a SaaS SEO engagement, I’d use a stack rather than a single keyword tool. The goal is to discover broadly, then aggressively filter for commercial relevance + evidence of a buying journey.

My recommended stack

Semrush and Ahrefs are particularly useful because they now expose intent classifications. Ahrefs lets you bulk-filter keywords as informational, navigational, commercial, or transactional. help.ahrefs.com Semrush has equivalent intent filtering and specifically recommends commercial + transactional filters when prioritizing revenue-driving keywords. www.semrush.com

The workflow I'd use for your SaaS clients

1. Start with competitor keyword gaps

Put in 3–5 direct competitors in Semrush/Ahrefs and pull:

• Missing keywords
• Weak keywords
• Commercial intent
• Transactional intent
• Non-branded
• Reasonable KD
• Keywords where competitors have product/solution pages ranking

Semrush's Keyword Gap specifically supports Missing/Weak filtering alongside intent. www.semrush.com

2. Build a buyer-intent modifier library

For SaaS, don't rely solely on the tool's intent label. Create your own modifiers.

High-value examples:

Solution/category

• project management software
• accounting software
• customer feedback platform

Evaluation

• best [category] software
• [category] tools
• [product] alternatives
• [competitor] alternatives
• [product] vs [competitor]
• [category] comparison
• [product] reviews

Commercial/action

• [product] pricing
• [product] cost
• [category] pricing
• [product] demo
• [product] free trial
• [product] discount

Problem + solution

• software for [specific problem]
• tool for [specific workflow]
• automate [business process]
• [use case] software

This is where SaaS gets interesting: "best X software" isn't transactional in the traditional sense, but it can be extremely valuable commercially. Semrush similarly distinguishes commercial intent (research/comparison) from transactional intent (ready to act). www.semrush.com

3. Use CPC as a signal, not a filter

This is where I'd bring in Keyword Planner.

Google provides keyword ideas, monthly searches and bid estimates. support.google.com

For an SEO agency, a keyword with:

500 searches + $15 CPC

may be substantially more interesting than:

10,000 searches + $0.20 CPC

The CPC isn't proof that organic visitors convert, but it can indicate that advertisers perceive commercial value.

4. Build an explicit "fluff filter"

I'd score every candidate keyword against something like:

Buyer Intent Score

• +3 = transactional
• +2 = commercial investigation
• +2 = product/category explicitly mentioned
• +2 = pricing/cost/demo/trial
• +2 = competitor comparison
• +1 = strong SaaS use-case modifier
• +1 = meaningful CPC
• −3 = purely informational
• −2 = definition/meaning query
• −2 = tutorial/how-to with no product angle
• −2 = academic/general research
• −3 = irrelevant audience/use case

Then prioritize roughly:

8+ → Tier 1 money keywords
5–7 → Tier 2 commercial opportunities
2–4 → supporting content
<2 → usually reject

5. Don't automatically throw out informational keywords

This is the important nuance.

I'd filter out informational fluff, not informational keywords wholesale.

For example, suppose the SaaS is an HR platform:

The key question isn't:

"Is this informational?"

It's:

"Does ranking for this query put the SaaS in front of someone who could plausibly become a customer?"

6. Finally, manually validate the SERP

This is the step I'd make mandatory before a keyword enters the strategy.

If you search employee onboarding software and Google returns:

• SaaS product pages
• Software directories
• Comparison pages
• Vendor landing pages
• Product reviews

that's strong evidence of commercial intent.

If you search employee onboarding and Google returns:

• Wikipedia
• Government resources
• Academic articles
• How-to guides
• PDFs

that's a very different SERP, regardless of what a keyword tool labels it.

Ahrefs explicitly bases its intent classification on SERP data and notes that a keyword can have multiple intents. help.ahrefs.comwww.semrush.com

If I were setting up your agency's standard process

I'd make the pipeline:

Semrush/Ahrefs discovery → competitor gaps → intent filter → modifier/CPC filters → GSC validation → SERP inspection → business-value scoring → keyword clustering → page mapping

And I'd maintain three separate keyword buckets:

1. Revenue keywords — product/category, alternatives, comparisons, pricing, demo/trial
2. Problem/use-case keywords — searches from people experiencing the problem the SaaS solves
3. Authority/supporting keywords — informational content that can feed the commercial funnel

That prevents the classic SaaS SEO mistake of reporting 100k+ informational traffic as a win while generating very little pipeline.

For a SaaS client, I’d use a stack rather than one keyword tool. The key is separating “people searching around the problem” from “people evaluating or buying a solution.”

My recommended stack

The filtering framework I'd give the team

Start broad, then score keywords rather than simply deleting everything informational.

Tier 1 — Money keywords

• software
• platform
• tool
• solution
• pricing
• cost
• demo
• trial
• buy
• subscription
• alternative
• competitor
• [competitor] vs [client]
• [competitor] alternative

These tend to sit closest to evaluation/purchase. Semrush defines transactional intent as users looking to take an action/buy, while commercial intent captures people researching products/services before buying. www.semrush.com

Tier 2 — High-value commercial investigation

This is the bucket I'd be careful not to throw away:

• best [category] software
• best [category] tools
• [category] software for [industry]
• [category] for [use case]
• [competitor] alternatives
• [client] reviews
• [client] pricing
• X vs Y
• X alternatives

These may not contain an obvious “buy” modifier, but the SERP can reveal strong buying intent. Ahrefs specifically recommends looking at SERP features such as ads/product results as evidence of commercial intent. ahrefs.com

Tier 3 — Problem-aware informational

Don't automatically kill these:

• how to [solve problem]
• ways to [solve problem]
• [problem] software
• how to automate [use case]
• [use case] tools
• [problem] solution

I'd retain them when the SaaS product is a natural solution and there is a plausible path from the content → product page → trial/demo.

Tier 4 — Usually fluff

I'd deprioritize things like:

• what is [generic concept]
• [concept] definition
• [concept] meaning
• history of [topic]
• examples of [generic topic]
• statistics
• salary
• jobs
• course
• certification
• template / worksheet / pdf (unless the client monetizes these)
• queries where the SERP is dominated by Wikipedia, educational institutions, news, etc.

The important part: add a Business Intent score

I wouldn't rely on Semrush/Ahrefs' intent labels alone.

For every candidate keyword, score:

Buyer Intent = 0–5

• 5: pricing/demo/trial/buy
• 4: alternatives/comparison/best software
• 3: category + use case/industry
• 2: problem-aware but solution isn't explicit
• 1: broad informational topic
• 0: irrelevant/non-commercial

Then add:

Business Relevance = 0–5

• Does the SaaS actually solve this?
• Is the searcher likely to be the ICP?
• Is there a logical landing/product page?

And:

SERP Commerciality = 0–5

• Ads?
• Competitor SaaS landing pages?
• Review/comparison sites?
• Product/category pages?
• “Best software” lists?

Then prioritize something like:

Priority = Buyer Intent + Business Relevance + SERP Commerciality − Difficulty penalty

That produces a much better SaaS keyword set than simply exporting 100k keywords and filtering for “transactional.”

One workflow I'd use for onboarding

1. Seed from the product

• Product category
• Core use cases
• Pain points
• ICP/verticals
• Competitors
• Features
• Integrations

2. Expand in Semrush + Ahrefs

3. Immediately separate

• Commercial
• Transactional
• Informational
• Navigational

4. Apply modifier filters

Include:
best | software | platform | tool | solution | pricing | cost | demo | trial | alternative | comparison | vs | reviews | for [industry] | for [use case]

Exclude where appropriate:
definition | meaning | history | jobs | salary | course | certification | homework | free template | pdf

5. Run the survivors through Google Keyword Planner

Use CPC/bid data as a commercial-value signal, not an intent verdict. www.semrush.combusiness.google.comhelp.ahrefs.com

6. Manually inspect the SERP for the top ~100–300 terms

This catches the biggest problem with automated intent classification: the same wording can have radically different intent depending on the SERP. Ahrefs likewise notes that intent is inferred from what Google actually returns and that keywords can have mixed intent. help.ahrefs.com

7. Validate against GSC

Once you have access to the client's property, GSC gives you the most valuable dataset: what their actual audience is already searching for. support.google.com

If I were choosing only 3

For an SEO agency onboarding a SaaS account:

Semrush + Ahrefs + Google Search Console

Then use Google Keyword Planner + manual SERP analysis as validation layers.

The big strategic distinction I'd make to the client is “informational” ≠ “worthless.” For SaaS, I'd eliminate low-business-value informational keywords, not informational keywords wholesale. A query like “how to automate X” can be considerably more valuable than a high-volume “X definition” keyword if the SaaS is the obvious solution.

For a SaaS client, I’d use a stack rather than one keyword tool. The key is to separate keyword discovery from intent qualification.

My recommended stack

The big one: Ahrefs intent filtering

For an agency workflow, Ahrefs is particularly useful because its current Keywords Explorer lets you bulk-filter keywords by informational, navigational, commercial, and transactional intent, as well as branded/local attributes. help.ahrefs.com

I'd start with:

Keep

• Commercial
• Transactional
• Commercial + informational
• High-intent problem/solution queries
• Competitor/alternative/comparison queries

Usually deprioritize

• Pure informational
• "What is..."
• "How to..."
• "Why..."
• "Examples of..."
• Definitions/glossaries
• Academic/research-style queries
• Jobs/careers
• Free templates/downloads unless they're part of the funnel

But don't blindly delete informational keywords. For SaaS, some "how to" queries can have excellent product relevance—for example, someone searching "how to automate X" may be an excellent prospect even though the keyword is technically informational.

I'd add a second, stronger filter: business intent

This is where most SEO keyword research falls down.

Instead of asking:

"Is this keyword commercial?"

ask:

"If someone searched this, could our SaaS realistically be the solution they're looking for?"

For example, imagine the SaaS is an expense-management platform:

Very strong

• expense management software
• expense management platform
• corporate expense management
• expense management software for small business
• Ramp alternatives
• Brex alternatives
• automated expense reporting software

Potentially strong

• automate expense reports
• how to manage employee expenses
• business expense tracking

Usually weak

• what is an expense
• expense report definition
• expense report template
• how to calculate business expenses

The last group may generate traffic but isn't necessarily worth allocating a high-value SaaS content slot to.

Use Google Ads data as a reality check

I'd run your surviving keywords through Google Keyword Planner.

Google provides search-volume estimates, trends and bid estimates, and lets you filter keyword ideas. business.google.com

CPC isn't proof of SEO conversion intent, but it's a useful additional signal. If two otherwise similar keywords have:

• software X → $18 CPC
• what is X → $0.80 CPC

that's meaningful evidence that advertisers see substantially more commercial value in the first query.

The workflow I'd give the SEO team

1. Build the universe

• Ahrefs
• Semrush
• Competitor domains
• Google Keyword Planner
• GSC
• Sales/customer vocabulary

2. Normalize

• Deduplicate
• Singular/plural variants
• Brand variants
• Misspellings
• Near-identical queries

3. Filter
I'd score each keyword on something like:

Intent score

• 5 = transactional
• 4 = commercial
• 3 = strong problem/solution
• 2 = relevant informational
• 1 = generic informational
• 0 = irrelevant

Business-fit score

• 5 = directly describes the SaaS category/product
• 4 = strong use case
• 3 = adjacent problem
• 2 = weakly related
• 1 = audience overlap only
• 0 = irrelevant

SERP score

• 5 = SaaS/product pages dominate
• 4 = commercial content dominates
• 3 = mixed
• 2 = informational publishers dominate
• 1 = completely informational

Then prioritize something like:

Priority = Intent × Business Fit × SERP Fit

That is much more useful than sorting by search volume.

One rule I'd make mandatory

Never approve a keyword solely because a keyword tool labels it "commercial."

Ahrefs itself notes that intent is inferred from the SERP and that keywords can have multiple intents. help.ahrefs.com

So for your final shortlist, actually inspect the SERP:

• Are competitors ranking product/category pages?
• Are there comparison pages?
• Are there "best software" lists?
• Are SaaS vendors present?
• Are ads present?
• Are the top results solving the same problem your client solves?

If the SERP is 10 Wikipedia articles, Reddit discussions, and educational guides, that's a very different opportunity from a SERP dominated by SaaS landing pages and comparison sites.

If I were setting this up for an agency, my core stack would be: Ahrefs + Semrush + GSC + Keyword Planner, with SERP inspection as the final gate. Ahrefs would be the primary database; Semrush gives you a valuable second dataset; GSC gives you actual client-specific evidence; Keyword Planner gives you a commercial-value signal.

For a SaaS client, I’d avoid treating search volume as the primary filter. Build the workflow around intent → business fit → SERP validation → opportunity.

My recommended stack

The workflow I'd use for a SaaS account

1. Start with competitor URLs, not just seed keywords.

Put 5–10 genuine SaaS competitors into Semrush Keyword Gap and Ahrefs Site Explorer.

Look for terms where competitors rank and the client doesn't. Semrush specifically recommends using Keyword Gap this way, then filtering the resulting keyword set by transactional intent. www.semrush.com

For example, instead of starting with:

project management software

also mine competitors for:

project management software for agencies
asana alternative
project management software pricing
best project management tools
project management software demo
client project management software

That tends to surface considerably more commercially useful territory.

2. In Semrush/Ahrefs, bias toward Commercial + Transactional.

Don't simply delete every Informational keyword. I'd create three buckets:

• P0 — Transactional: pricing, demo, software, platform, buy, subscription, free trial, vendor
• P1 — Commercial investigation: best, top, alternative, vs, comparison, reviews, for [industry/use case]
• P2 — Informational: how, what, why, guide, tutorial, examples, ideas

Both Semrush and Ahrefs explicitly distinguish commercial investigation from transactional intent. www.semrush.comwww.semrush.comhelp.ahrefs.com

For SaaS, P1 is often enormously valuable. Someone searching "HubSpot alternatives" may not be ready to buy this minute, but they're much closer to a software decision than someone searching "what is CRM."

3. Build a negative/modifier filter

This is where you eliminate a lot of SEO fluff.

I'd maintain a shared exclusion list containing things like:

how · what is · definition · meaning · examples · template · tutorial · guide · course · training · certification · jobs · salary · career · free download · pdf · reddit · youtube

But don't blindly exclude them.

For SaaS, terms like template, examples, and even how to can sometimes be excellent acquisition plays. The question is whether the SERP reveals a software solution opportunity.

For example:

• ❌ how to create an invoice → probably informational fluff
• ✅ how to automate invoices → potentially strong SaaS intent
• ❌ crm definition → fluff
• ✅ best crm for small business → commercial
• ❌ project management template excel → probably low-fit
• ✅ project management software for construction → highly relevant commercial intent

Ahrefs itself recommends modifier-based filtering for finding transactional terms such as buy, coupon, order, purchase, cheap, and price. ahrefs.com

4. Add a business-intent score

This is the part I'd add beyond what Semrush/Ahrefs give you.

Score every candidate 0–3 on:

Product fit

• 3 = directly describes the SaaS category/use case
• 2 = adjacent problem
• 1 = loosely related
• 0 = irrelevant

Buyer proximity

• 3 = pricing/demo/software/vendor
• 2 = best/alternative/comparison/reviews
• 1 = problem-aware
• 0 = purely educational

ICP fit

• 3 = explicitly your target customer
• 2 = likely ICP
• 1 = broad market
• 0 = wrong audience

SERP fit

• 3 = SaaS/product pages dominate
• 2 = commercial content dominates
• 1 = mixed SERP
• 0 = purely informational SERP

Then prioritize something like:

Opportunity Score = Buyer Proximity + Product Fit + ICP Fit + SERP Fit

That gives you a much better shortlist than "volume > 500, KD < 40."

5. Use SERPs as the final arbiter

This is probably the most important step.

Suppose Ahrefs labels:

email automation

as commercial.

Don't automatically build a landing page.

Look at the SERP.

If the top 10 are mostly:

• educational guides
• definitions
• tutorials
• blog posts
• YouTube

then the keyword may not be a good product-page target.

Conversely, if you see:

• SaaS category pages
• competitor product pages
• comparison pages
• review sites
• pricing/product pages

that's strong evidence of commercial intent.

Ahrefs now supports both intent filtering and AI-assisted SERP intent analysis, while its traditional Keywords Explorer lets you inspect the actual SERP and metrics. help.ahrefs.com

The stack I'd actually buy

If you're an agency doing this repeatedly:

Best all-around: Semrush + Ahrefs + GSC

• Semrush → keyword universe + intent filtering + Keyword Gap
• Ahrefs → competitor research + SERP validation + traffic potential
• GSC → reality check against the client's existing demand

You don't necessarily need both Semrush and Ahrefs for every client, though. If budget forces a choice, I'd pick one primary suite and make GSC + manual SERP analysis mandatory.

The key mindset is: don't filter for "informational vs commercial"; filter for "does this query represent a plausible path to revenue for this specific SaaS?"

That distinction will save you from producing hundreds of high-volume blog posts that generate traffic but very little pipeline.

For a SaaS client, I’d use a stack rather than one keyword tool. The key is separating “people interested in the problem” from “people evaluating or buying a solution.”

My recommended stack

The filtering framework I'd give the SEO team

Don't simply say “remove informational keywords.” Some informational queries are excellent SaaS acquisition terms.

Instead, score each keyword on business intent.

Tier 1 — Bottom funnel

• [product] pricing
• [product] demo
• [category] software
• [category] platform
• buy [category] software
• [competitor] alternative
• [competitor] vs [competitor]
• [product] free trial
• [category] software for [industry]

Tier 2 — Commercial investigation

• best [category] software
• best [category] tools
• [category] software comparison
• [category] tools comparison
• [competitor] alternatives
• [category] for [use case]
• [category] for [industry]

These are often extremely valuable for SaaS even though they aren't technically “transactional.” Ahrefs notes that commercial-investigation searches are from users comparing options before purchase. help.ahrefs.comahrefs.com

Tier 3 — Problem-aware

• how to [solve problem]
• [problem] solution
• software to [solve problem]
• tool for [problem]
• automate [process]

Keep these only when the SaaS can naturally be positioned as the solution.

Tier 4 — Usually informational fluff

• what is [concept]
• [concept] definition
• history of [concept]
• examples of [concept]
• how does [concept] work
• statistics
• template
• calculator
• free [generic resource]
• educational queries with no plausible product connection

The killer filter: SERP inspection

I'd make this mandatory before approving a keyword.

For every promising keyword, inspect the SERP and ask:

Are people searching for information, or are they shopping for a solution?

For example:

“CRM” → ambiguous.
“best CRM for startups” → commercial.
“CRM software for SaaS companies” → strong commercial.
“CRM pricing” → strong transactional.
“what is CRM” → informational.

This matters because intent classifications aren't perfect. A keyword can have mixed intent, and the actual SERP is the best reality check. ahrefs.comhelp.ahrefs.com

I'd build one scoring model

Something like:

Buyer Intent Score =

• +3 transactional modifier
• +2 commercial modifier
• +2 explicitly contains software/platform/tool
• +2 contains competitor/alternative/comparison
• +2 contains pricing/demo/trial
• +1 strong CPC
• +1 product naturally solves the query
• −3 definition/“what is” intent
• −2 purely educational
• −2 free/template/statistics intent
• −3 no plausible product landing page

Then prioritize score ≥5 for money pages and commercial content.

The important distinction is that “informational” ≠ “bad.” A query like “how to automate invoice processing” could be more valuable to an automation SaaS than a generic high-volume keyword like “invoice”. Google's intent classification and keyword-tool labels should be treated as inputs, not the final decision. ahrefs.comhelp.ahrefs.com

If you're onboarding a SaaS client, my default workflow would therefore be:

Semrush/Ahrefs → competitor gap → intent filter → Keyword Planner CPC check → GSC validation → SERP manual review → CRM/sales-language overlay → final business-intent score.

That produces a much cleaner keyword universe than simply exporting 50k keywords and deleting anything labeled “informational.”

For a SaaS SEO client, I’d avoid relying on a single keyword tool. The strongest workflow is keyword database → SERP validation → first-party conversion data.

My recommended stack

Ahrefs is particularly useful because its current Keywords Explorer lets you filter keywords by informational, navigational, commercial, and transactional intent, as well as brand/local attributes. help.ahrefs.com Google Keyword Planner is useful as a second data source because it provides search-volume/trend data and advertising bid/forecast information. business.google.com

The important part: don't just filter for "commercial"

For SaaS, I'd create a buyer-intent scoring model rather than simply deleting everything tagged informational.

For example:

+3 — Strong purchase intent

• [product] pricing
• [product] demo
• [product] free trial
• [category] software
• buy [solution]
• [competitor] alternative

+2 — Commercial investigation

• best [category] software
• [category] tools
• [competitor] vs [competitor]
• [product] alternatives
• best [category] for [industry]

+1 — Problem/solution intent

• software for [pain point]
• how to automate [business process]
• [pain point] solution
• how to manage [business problem]

0 — Usually informational

• what is [concept]
• how does [concept] work
• [concept] definition
• [concept] examples
• guide to [concept]

−2 — Likely fluff

• jobs
• salary
• course
• certification
• template
• free download
• meaning
• definition
• reddit / forum (depending on strategy)
• purely educational queries unrelated to the product's buying journey

One especially valuable SaaS trick

Use competitor keyword gaps aggressively.

Take 5–10 competitors and look for queries where:

competitor ranks + your client doesn't + SERP contains commercial pages

Those tend to be much better opportunities than generating 100,000 keywords from a generic seed.

Then manually inspect the SERP for the top opportunities. The SERP is the final arbiter of intent. A keyword tool can call something "informational," but if Google consistently ranks product pages, comparison pages, pricing pages, and software directories, that's a strong commercial signal.

I'd also weight CPC/bid data, but not treat it as proof of SEO intent. Google's Keyword Planner specifically exposes bid/forecast data alongside keyword ideas and volume/trends, making it useful as a commercial-value cross-check. business.google.com

The agency workflow I'd use

1. Ahrefs/Semrush → generate the universe
Competitors + category terms + pain points + use cases + integrations + alternatives.

2. Apply hard exclusions
Remove obvious informational/non-buyer modifiers.

3. Score remaining keywords
Intent + CPC + SERP composition + relevance to ICP + product fit.

4. SERP-check the highest-value keywords
Look at what actually ranks. Don't trust the intent label blindly.

5. Cross-reference GSC
For existing clients, GSC is gold: identify queries where the site already gets impressions but isn't ranking strongly, then prioritize those with commercial relevance.

6. Map to funnel/page type

• Transactional → product / feature / pricing / demo pages
• Commercial → alternatives / comparison / category / use-case pages
• Problem/solution → solution pages + selected BOFU content
• Informational → only keep if it has a credible path toward the product

That last step is how I'd prevent the classic SaaS SEO failure mode: 10,000 visits/month from people researching a problem but almost nobody who could actually buy the software.

If you're onboarding the client now, I'd actually build the research sheet around “buyer intent score + ICP fit + SERP intent + business value”, rather than the conventional keyword / volume / KD spreadsheet.

For a SaaS client, I’d avoid treating keyword research as a “find high-volume terms” exercise. You want a stack that identifies commercial intent, category demand, competitor-converting terms, and then lets you aggressively prune informational noise.

A strong agency workflow would look like this:

My preferred SaaS keyword discovery process

1. Start with competitor revenue keywords

In Ahrefs/Semrush:

• Enter 5–10 direct competitors
• Export:
  • keywords ranking positions 1–20
  • keywords where competitors have dedicated landing pages
  • keywords with CPC above your niche average
  • keywords triggering ads
  • comparison terms

Look especially for:

• [competitor] alternative
• [category] software
• best [category] tools
• [category] platform
• [category] pricing
• [category] demo
• [category] free trial
• [problem] automation software
• [problem] management tool

Competitor gap analysis is usually where SaaS gold is found. www.semrush.com

2. Build an intent scoring model (better than tool labels)

I’d score keywords internally:

+5 Buyer modifiers

• software
• platform
• tool
• solution
• pricing
• demo
• trial
• buy
• vendor
• provider
• alternative
• comparison
• vs

+3 Pain/problem signals

• automate
• reduce
• manage
• optimize
• improve
• integrate
• replace

+2 ICP signals

• enterprise
• agency
• ecommerce
• SaaS
• healthcare
• finance
• developer

-5 Informational signals

• what is
• how to
• guide
• tutorial
• definition
• examples
• template
• checklist
• course
• certification

Then sort by score rather than volume.

A keyword like:

"customer onboarding software for SaaS companies"

with 200 searches/month may be worth far more than:

"customer onboarding checklist"

with 8,000 searches/month.

3. Use SERP analysis to remove fluff

For every candidate keyword, inspect the top 10 results.

Buyer intent SERP signals:
✅ SaaS landing pages ranking
✅ pricing pages ranking
✅ review sites ranking
✅ comparison pages ranking
✅ ads present
✅ product pages ranking

Informational SERP signals:
❌ Wikipedia
❌ blogs only
❌ definitions
❌ tutorials
❌ templates
❌ forums only

A keyword tool’s intent label is useful, but the SERP is the final judge. ahrefs.com

4. Add “conversion proximity” buckets

For SaaS clients, I’d classify into:

Tier 1 — Money pages

• [category] software
• [category] platform
• [category] pricing
• [category] demo
• [competitor] alternative

Tier 2 — Evaluation

• best [category] tools
• [tool A] vs [tool B]
• alternatives to [tool]
• reviews of [category]

Tier 3 — Problem awareness

• how to solve [problem]
• ways to improve [process]

Tier 4 — Pure awareness

• what is [concept]
• definition of [concept]

Most SaaS SEO programs over-invest in Tier 3/4 because those keywords look bigger.

5. Add paid search data if available

If the SaaS company runs Google Ads, pull:

• converting search terms
• highest assisted-conversion terms
• highest pipeline-value campaigns

Organic SEO should steal from paid search insights. The PPC team has already paid to discover intent.

If I were setting up an agency stack

Lean stack

• Ahrefs
• Google Search Console
• Google Keyword Planner
• Google Sheets + custom scoring

Agency stack

• Semrush (client reporting + competitive workflows)
• Ahrefs (deep research)
• GSC
• G2/Capterra mining
• Looker Studio dashboards

Enterprise SaaS stack

• Semrush + Ahrefs
• Similarweb for market/category analysis
• G2 buyer intelligence
• CRM attribution (HubSpot/Salesforce) tied back to landing pages

The biggest mistake I see agencies make with SaaS SEO is delivering a keyword list. The deliverable should be a revenue keyword map: keyword → intent → SERP type → recommended page → funnel stage → expected conversion action.

For a SaaS client, I’d use a stack rather than one keyword tool. The key is to distinguish commercial intent from merely “high volume.”

My recommended stack

The workflow I'd give an SEO team

1. Start with the SaaS's money pages

Build seed sets around:

• product category
• software
• platform
• tool
• solution
• vendor
• app
• alternative
• competitor
• pricing
• demo
• free trial
• implementation
• integrations

For example, if the client sells project-management software:

project management software
project management platform
project management tool
jira alternative
project management software pricing
project management software for agencies

Then expand those seeds in Ahrefs/Semrush.

2. Score intent instead of simply filtering by volume

I'd create an internal Buyer Intent Score from 0–5.

5 — Extremely commercial

• [product] pricing
• [product] demo
• [product] free trial
• buy [product]
• [competitor] alternative
• [category] software
• [category] platform

4 — Strong commercial investigation

• best [category] software
• [category] software comparison
• [product] vs [competitor]
• best [category] tools
• [category] vendors

3 — Problem-aware

• software for [specific problem]
• how to choose [category] software
• [category] solution
• [problem] management software

1–2 — Mostly informational

• what is [category]
• how does [concept] work
• [concept] examples
• [concept] definition
• benefits of [concept]

0 — Usually fluff for a SaaS acquisition program

• [concept] meaning
• [concept] history
• what does [term] stand for
• generic educational queries with no obvious product path

The important distinction is that informational ≠ useless. Some informational keywords are excellent TOFU opportunities. You're trying to filter them out from a buyer-intent keyword set, not necessarily delete them from the entire SEO strategy.

3. Use CPC as a secondary intent signal

This is one of my favorite filters.

If you have:

inventory management software — $X CPC
what is inventory management — $0 CPC

the CPC differential gives you a useful commercial signal.

Google Keyword Planner explicitly provides search-volume estimates and cost/bid information. support.google.comsupport.google.com

But don't make CPC > $X = buyer intent your rule. CPC reflects advertising economics, not necessarily organic conversion intent.

4. Use SERP composition as the final filter

This is the step I'd make mandatory for your agency.

Take your candidate keyword and inspect the SERP.

For example:

“CRM software for startups”

If the SERP contains:

• SaaS landing pages
• software directories
• comparison pages
• vendor pages
• pricing pages

→ Very strong commercial SERP.

Whereas:

“what is CRM”

If the SERP is dominated by:

• Wikipedia
• educational articles
• definitions
• universities
• general guides

→ Informational.

I'd actually give the SERP a Commercial SERP Score from 0–3:

• 3: Vendors/product pages dominate
• 2: Mix of vendors + editorial/comparison content
• 1: Mostly informational publishers
• 0: Essentially no commercial results

That catches cases where keyword-tool intent classifications are misleading.

The SaaS keyword sheet I'd build

I'd have your research export end up with something like:

I'd also add Traffic Potential, rather than using volume alone. Ahrefs defines Traffic Potential as the organic traffic the current #1 page receives from all the keywords it ranks for, which can be substantially higher than the target keyword's own search volume. help.ahrefs.comhelp.ahrefs.com

If I had to choose only 3 tools

For an agency onboarding a SaaS client, I'd pick:

1. Ahrefs → discovery, competitor gaps, intent, SERPs, difficulty, Traffic Potential
2. Google Keyword Planner → demand/CPC sanity check
3. Google Search Console → actual query data once you have access

Then use Google SERPs themselves as the ground truth for intent.

The biggest mistake I'd avoid is giving the client a giant spreadsheet of “high-volume keywords.” For SaaS, I'd rather deliver 200 keywords with demonstrable commercial relevance than 5,000 queries dominated by “what is…”, “how to…”, definitions, templates, examples, and other low-propensity traffic.

For a SaaS SEO onboarding, I’d use a stack rather than one keyword tool:

1. Google Search Console — mine existing queries that already generate impressions/clicks, especially commercial queries where the client is ranking positions 4–20.
2. Google Keyword Planner — useful for validating commercial demand and CPC; high CPC can be a useful signal of advertiser/commercial value, though it isn’t a pure buyer-intent metric.
3. Ahrefs — strong for competitor keyword discovery, SERP analysis, and filtering by terms/parent topics. Its SERP data is particularly useful for determining whether a query actually produces product/service pages.
4. Semrush — good for large-scale keyword discovery, competitor gaps, intent classification, and clustering.
5. AlsoAsked / People Also Ask data — useful for understanding informational subtopics, but I’d primarily use it to separate informational content from commercial targets.
6. Google itself — underrated: inspect the actual SERP for every important cluster. If the results are dominated by product pages, comparison pages, pricing pages, demos, marketplaces, or solution pages, that's much stronger evidence of buyer intent than a tool's commercial label.

The filtering framework I'd use

Don't simply filter out everything labeled “informational.” Build an intent score from several signals:

The important caveat: don't automatically discard informational keywords. For SaaS, some “informational” searches are excellent bottom-of-funnel opportunities when the problem they're researching maps directly to the product.

For example:

• what is workforce management → informational
• workforce management software → commercial
• best workforce management software → commercial investigation
• workforce management software pricing → transactional
• workforce management software for restaurants → highly relevant commercial
• how to manage employee scheduling → informational, but potentially valuable for the funnel

My recommended agency workflow

Ahrefs/Semrush → competitor gap → keyword universe → SERP validation → intent scoring → clustering → GSC validation → final content map.

I'd make SERP intent the final arbiter, not the tool's intent label. That's especially important for SaaS because a keyword can have a “commercial” label but still have SERPs dominated by blogs, while a seemingly informational query can have surprisingly strong product intent.

If you tell me what type of SaaS it is and who the buyer is, I can give you a concrete keyword-discovery + intent-filtering workflow, including the exact filters I'd configure in Ahrefs/Semrush.

For a SaaS client, I’d avoid relying on a single keyword tool. The best setup is keyword database + first-party data + SERP validation + a commercial-intent scoring layer.

My recommended stack

Ahrefs and Semrush are particularly useful because both now expose search-intent data directly; Ahrefs lets you bulk-filter keywords by intent attributes, while Semrush's Keyword Magic Tool includes intent, volume, trend and difficulty data. help.ahrefs.com

The important part: don't trust the "intent" label blindly

For SaaS, I'd build your own buyer-intent filter on top of the tools.

1. Start with high-intent modifiers

Look for combinations such as:

Product/category

• project management software
• accounting software for SaaS
• employee scheduling software

Commercial investigation

• best [category] software
• [category] tools
• [category] platforms
• [competitor] alternatives
• [competitor] vs [competitor]
• best [category] for [ICP]

Transactional

• [product] pricing
• [product] demo
• [product] free trial
• [category] software pricing
• buy [category] software
• [product] sign up

Problem + solution

• software to [solve expensive problem]
• [problem] automation software
• how to automate [business process]

That last category is particularly valuable for SaaS because a query doesn't need words like "buy" or "pricing" to indicate a potential customer.

2. Build a "fluff exclusion" list

I'd automatically flag/review terms containing things like:

• what is
• definition
• meaning
• examples
• how to
• why
• guide
• tutorial
• template
• checklist
• free
• course
• certification
• jobs
• salary
• reddit
• pdf

But don't automatically delete them.

For example:

"how to automate employee onboarding"

could be extremely valuable for an HR SaaS, whereas:

"what is employee onboarding"

is much more top-of-funnel.

So I'd use these as intent flags, not hard exclusions.

3. Use CPC as a surprisingly useful second filter

This is where Keyword Planner helps.

Google provides keyword ideas, monthly searches, and advertising cost data. support.google.com

For an SEO agency, I like the combination:

High volume + low CPC → potentially informational
Low/moderate volume + high CPC → potentially commercially valuable
High CPC + product/category language → investigate aggressively

Don't treat CPC as a direct measure of SEO conversion value—it isn't—but it's a useful signal that advertisers believe the query has economic value.

4. Make SERP intent the final judge

This is probably the most important step.

Take your candidate keyword and inspect the first page.

If Google shows:

• SaaS product pages
• comparison pages
• review pages
• pricing pages
• category landing pages
• vendors
• software directories

→ strong commercial intent

If it shows:

• Wikipedia
• educational articles
• definitions
• university pages
• how-to guides
• forums
• generic informational blogs

→ probably informational

Ahrefs explicitly recommends using the SERP to understand the actual intent behind a keyword, rather than assuming intent from the wording alone. www.youtube.com

The workflow I'd actually give your SEO team

Ahrefs/Semrush → GSC → Keyword Planner → SERP review → scoring

For every candidate keyword, put this into your master sheet:

I'd actually score each keyword something like:

Priority = Intent × ICP fit × Product fit × SERP opportunity × business value

That prevents the classic agency mistake of delivering a giant list of 10,000 "relevant" keywords that generate traffic but very little pipeline.

One SaaS-specific tactic I'd strongly recommend

Don't just research the category.

Build separate keyword buckets for:

1. Category — CRM software
2. Use case — CRM for sales teams
3. Pain point — reduce sales admin
4. Feature — automated lead routing
5. Integration — Salesforce alternative
6. Competitor — HubSpot alternatives
7. Comparison — HubSpot vs Salesforce
8. Commercial — CRM software pricing
9. Audience/ICP — CRM for B2B SaaS
10. Switching intent — migrate from HubSpot

The competitor, alternative, comparison, pricing, use-case and ICP-specific buckets often produce much more actionable commercial opportunities than simply chasing high-volume informational keywords.

If you're onboarding the client now, I'd make Ahrefs + GSC + Keyword Planner the minimum stack, with Semrush added if you want stronger competitor/intent workflows. Ahrefs also provides traffic potential and parent-topic data, which is useful for deciding whether multiple keywords deserve one page or separate pages. ahrefs.com

For a SaaS SEO onboarding, I’d use a stack rather than one keyword tool. The key is to combine keyword discovery with SERP validation + commercial signals; “commercial intent” labels alone will still let plenty of informational fluff through.

My recommended stack

Ahrefs currently lets you bulk-filter keywords by search-intent attributes and also analyze SERPs for actual intent, which makes it particularly useful for this workflow. help.ahrefs.com Google Keyword Planner is especially useful as a second data point because it provides keyword ideas plus bid estimates. business.google.com

The important part: don't filter on "commercial" alone

For SaaS, I'd create an intent score rather than simply accepting/rejecting based on a tool's intent label.

Strong buyer-intent signals

Prioritize keywords containing concepts such as:

• software
• platform
• tool
• solution
• app
• SaaS
• pricing
• cost
• plans
• demo
• trial
• free trial
• alternative
• vs
• comparison
• competitor
• for [industry]
• for [use case]
• [competitor] alternative
• [category] software
• best [category] software

For example:

High priority

• project management software
• project management software for agencies
• asana alternatives
• project management software pricing
• best project management tools for startups

Usually lower priority

• what is project management
• project management definition
• how to manage a project
• project management examples
• project management methodology

But don't blindly throw the latter category away. Some informational queries can be excellent top-of-funnel → product-led content opportunities. The question is whether they belong in the client's SEO strategy now.

I'd add a SERP-intent check

This is probably the most important step.

For every keyword that survives your initial filters, inspect the top 10.

Ask:

"What is Google currently rewarding for this query?"

If the SERP is dominated by:

• SaaS product pages
• comparison pages
• category/software roundups
• pricing pages
• vendor landing pages
• review sites
• alternatives pages

→ strong commercial opportunity.

If it's dominated by:

• Wikipedia
• universities
• government sites
• definitions
• tutorials
• Reddit discussions
• YouTube explainers
• "how to" guides

→ probably informational, regardless of what a keyword tool says.

Ahrefs itself recommends using the actual SERP to understand search intent, rather than relying solely on keyword characteristics. www.youtube.com

One metric I'd definitely include: CPC

CPC isn't a direct measure of organic buyer intent, but it's a useful commercial proxy.

For example:

crm — huge volume, ambiguous intent
crm software — more commercial
crm software pricing — very commercial
best crm for small business — very commercial

If advertisers are willing to pay materially more for a query, that's useful evidence that the query has economic value.

I'd therefore combine:

Intent + CPC + SERP composition + business relevance

rather than treating any single metric as authoritative.

For an agency, I'd build this pipeline

1. Seed terms

Get these from:

• client's product/category
• use cases
• features
• industries served
• competitors
• sales team's vocabulary
• customer interview language

↓

2. Expand

Use Ahrefs/Semrush + competitor domains + Keyword Planner.

↓

3. Remove obvious noise

Filter things like:

what is
definition
meaning
examples
template
tutorial
course
certification
jobs
salary
career
how to

—with exceptions where the client explicitly wants TOFU content.

↓

4. Score commercial intent

I'd use something like:

Buyer Intent Score = 0–5

• 5: pricing / demo / trial / alternative / competitor comparison
• 4: software / platform / tool + relevant category
• 3: "best X", use-case queries, category comparisons
• 2: problem/use-case query with weak product signal
• 1: broad informational query
• 0: irrelevant/non-buyer intent

↓

5. Validate the SERP

Manually review the top results for the highest-value keywords.

↓

6. Add business-fit scoring

This is crucial for SaaS.

A keyword can have fantastic buyer intent but still be worthless if the client doesn't serve that audience.

I'd score:

Intent × Business Fit × Opportunity

rather than simply sorting by volume.

Example

If you're onboarding several SaaS clients

I'd actually make Ahrefs + Google Keyword Planner + GSC the core stack.

Then add Semrush if your agency already uses it for competitive research, and DataForSEO if you want to automate the process at scale. DataForSEO currently provides very large keyword databases and APIs with volume, CPC and competition data, making it more appropriate for agency-scale pipelines than manual research. dataforseo.com

The big takeaway: don't try to "find buyer-intent keywords" with a single filter. Build a keyword qualification system that combines lexical intent, CPC, SERP intent, and ICP/business fit. That's what will keep your SaaS content roadmap from filling up with high-volume informational garbage.

For a SaaS SEO agency onboarding a client, you’ll want a stack that combines keyword discovery, intent classification, SERP analysis, and commercial validation. No single tool reliably separates buyer intent from informational fluff, so the best workflow layers several.

Core keyword discovery tools

Ahrefs

Best for:

• Competitor keyword mining
• Finding keywords already driving SaaS traffic
• Identifying “money pages” ranking for competitors
• Filtering by traffic potential, KD, SERP features

Useful filters:

• Include terms like:
  • software
  • platform
  • tool
  • solution
  • pricing
  • cost
  • demo
  • alternative
  • vs
  • review
  • best
  • enterprise
  • integration
  • API
• Exclude:
  • what is
  • how to
  • guide
  • template
  • example
  • definition
  • tutorial

Semrush

Best for:

• Intent labels
• Keyword clustering
• Competitor gap analysis
• Position tracking

Semrush’s intent classification is especially useful because it labels keywords as:

• Transactional → strongest buying signals
• Commercial → evaluation/research phase
• Informational
• Navigational

For SaaS, prioritize:

1. Transactional
2. Commercial
3. High-value informational supporting conversion pages

Google Keyword Planner

Best for:

• Validating commercial demand
• CPC signals
• Paid search competition

A useful heuristic:

• High CPC + decent volume = often valuable SaaS intent
• High volume + $0 CPC = often informational

SaaS-specific intent mining

G2

Great for discovering buyer language.

Look at:

• Category pages
• Competitor comparison pages
• Review terminology
• Feature complaints

Example:
Instead of targeting:

"customer relationship management"

You may discover buyers search:

"CRM with email automation"
"HubSpot alternative for startups"
"CRM with LinkedIn integration"

Capterra

Similar to G2, but often exposes:

• Feature-specific searches
• Category modifiers
• Smaller SaaS niches

Exploding Topics

Useful for:

• Emerging SaaS categories
• New workflows
• Rising pain points before keyword competition spikes

SERP-based filtering (critical)

Keyword tools often misclassify intent. The SERP tells you what Google believes the query means.

Use:

Surfer SEO

or

Frase

Check:

• Are ranking pages product pages?
• Are there pricing pages?
• Are comparison pages ranking?
• Are software directories ranking?

A query is usually commercial if the SERP contains:

• SaaS landing pages
• Vendor comparison pages
• Reviews
• “Best X software” lists

A query is usually informational if the SERP contains:

• Wikipedia
• How-to guides
• Definitions
• Tutorials

Tools for keyword clustering

Keyword Insights

Good for:

• Automating clusters
• Finding search intent groups
• Preventing cannibalization

AlsoAsked

Good for:

• Finding supporting questions
• Building topic clusters around money pages

Use these mostly for content planning, not primary keyword selection.

Recommended SaaS SEO workflow

Step 1: Start with competitors

Use Ahrefs/Semrush:

Export competitor keywords where they rank:

• Positions 1–20
• CPC > your threshold
• Commercial/transactional intent

Look for:

• Alternatives
• Comparisons
• Integrations
• Features
• Pricing
• Use cases

Step 2: Create an intent scoring model

Example internal scoring:

Anything above ~8–10 becomes a priority candidate.

Step 3: Separate keywords by funnel

Bottom funnel (build first)

Examples:

• "[category] software"
• "[competitor] alternative"
• "[product] pricing"
• "[category] platform"
• "[feature] tool"

Pages:

• Landing pages
• Comparison pages
• Pricing pages
• Use-case pages

Mid funnel

Examples:

• "best [category] tools"
• "[category] software comparison"
• "[category] for startups"

Pages:

• Comparison articles
• Buyer guides
• Review pages

Top funnel (only if it supports conversion)

Examples:

• "how does [process] work"
• "[industry] trends"
• "what is [concept]"

Pages:

• Blog
• Guides
• Research content

My preferred SaaS agency stack

Keyword discovery

• Ahrefs
• Semrush

Intent validation

• Semrush intent labels
• SERP review

Buyer language

• G2
• Capterra
• Reddit/customer reviews

Clustering

• Keyword Insights
• Ahrefs parent topics

Tracking

• Google Search Console
• Semrush Position Tracking

For an agency onboarding SaaS clients, I’d avoid building a 10,000-keyword list first. A tighter list of 200–500 high-intent terms tied to revenue pages usually produces much better early results.

For a SaaS SEO engagement, the objective isn't just to find high-volume keywords—it's to identify searches from people who are evaluating, comparing, or actively looking to buy. The best workflow combines several data sources, because no single tool captures buyer intent well.

A practical stack looks like this:

1. Start from bottom-of-funnel modifiers

Instead of broad topics like:

• project management
• CRM
• email marketing

Start with modifiers such as:

• software
• platform
• tool
• solution
• pricing
• demo
• trial
• alternatives
• vs
• compare
• best
• enterprise
• for teams
• for agencies
• API
• integration

For example, if your client sells customer support software:

Low intent:

• customer service tips
• how to improve support
• what is customer success

High intent:

• customer support software
• Zendesk alternatives
• best help desk software
• Freshdesk vs Zendesk
• customer support software pricing
• help desk software for SaaS

Those are the keywords worth prioritizing.

2. Reverse-engineer competitors

This is usually the fastest source of buyer keywords.

Look at:

• Competitor organic keywords
• Pages driving the most traffic
• Pages with "Money" intent

Specifically identify:

• /pricing
• /compare
• /alternatives
• /integrations
• /solutions/
• /industry/
• /enterprise/

These page types almost always target commercial searches.

3. Build an intent scoring model

Instead of manually deciding, assign scores.

Example:

+5

• pricing
• cost
• quote
• demo
• trial

+4

• alternatives
• competitors
• compare
• vs

+3

• software
• platform
• tool
• solution

+2

• best
• top
• reviews

0

• guide
• examples
• tips
• ideas
• tutorial
• template

-3

• definition
• meaning
• history
• what is

Now every keyword gets an intent score.

For example:

This makes prioritization much easier.

4. Use SERP analysis as the truth

Sometimes keywords look informational but aren't.

Examples:

• best CRM
• best project management software
• best payroll software

These often convert exceptionally well because Google ranks:

• product pages
• comparison pages
• review sites
• vendor landing pages

Conversely, a keyword like "CRM process" may have decent volume but mostly returns educational articles, indicating lower purchase intent.

5. Mine Google Search Console

After onboarding, review Search Console for queries with:

• impressions
• high average position (8–20)
• existing conversions

Many SaaS companies already rank for commercial terms without dedicated pages.

These often represent quick wins.

6. Separate keywords into funnels

Instead of one massive keyword list, classify them by buying stage.

Bottom of funnel (highest priority):

• product keywords
• pricing
• demo
• trial
• alternatives
• comparisons
• integrations
• implementation
• enterprise

Middle of funnel:

• best X software
• software for industry Y
• workflow
• automation
• platform

Top of funnel:

• guides
• templates
• examples
• how-to content
• definitions

For a new SaaS client, I'd typically spend 70–80% of the initial effort on bottom- and middle-funnel opportunities before investing heavily in informational content.

7. Filter out informational fluff

Exclude keywords containing terms like:

what is
meaning
definition
history
tutorial
guide
tips
ideas
examples
template
free template
checklist
course
certification
salary
job
career
PDF

Be cautious with words like best, review, and comparison—they often indicate strong commercial intent even though they can look informational at first glance.

8. Connect keywords to revenue

The highest-value keywords aren't necessarily those with the most traffic. Track:

• SQLs
• demo requests
• free trial signups
• pipeline generated
• closed-won revenue

Over time, you'll identify patterns—for example, "alternatives" pages may generate fewer visits than "what is" articles but produce substantially more qualified leads.

A scalable workflow for an SEO agency

1. Export competitor keywords from Ahrefs or Semrush.
2. Remove branded queries and obvious informational terms.
3. Score remaining keywords using commercial modifiers (pricing, demo, alternatives, vs, software, etc.).
4. Validate high-scoring keywords by reviewing the search results to confirm commercial intent.
5. Group keywords into clusters (product, alternatives, comparisons, industry-specific, integrations, features).
6. Prioritize clusters based on a combination of business relevance, estimated traffic, ranking difficulty, and commercial intent.

This process consistently surfaces the keywords most likely to drive qualified pipeline, while avoiding the common trap of chasing high-volume informational traffic that rarely converts for B2B SaaS.

For a SaaS client, the goal is usually not "find the highest-volume keywords." It's to identify keywords that correlate with purchasing decisions, evaluation, and switching intent.

A practical stack looks like this:

What actually uncovers buyer intent

Rather than starting with seed keywords like:

• project management
• CRM
• HR software

Start with commercial modifiers.

Examples:

Comparison

• product A vs product B
• alternative to X
• X competitors
• X review

These convert exceptionally well because users are evaluating vendors.

Purchase

• best CRM for startups
• enterprise payroll software
• HIPAA compliant scheduling software

Implementation

• CRM pricing
• CRM implementation services
• CRM onboarding

Problem-aware

• reduce customer churn software
• automate invoice approvals
• SOC 2 compliance platform

These are often much closer to revenue than broad educational terms.

Filter out informational fluff

Build a scoring framework.

Anything above a threshold (say 10+) becomes a priority for sales-focused landing pages.

Use CPC as a proxy

One of the fastest ways to filter fluff is by CPC.

Generally:

• High CPC = advertisers make money there
• Low CPC = educational or hobby traffic

This isn't perfect, but it's surprisingly effective.

Reverse-engineer competitors

Instead of asking:

What keywords should we target?

Ask:

What keywords send leads to competitors?

Use Ahrefs or Semrush to identify pages ranking for:

• /pricing
• /compare/
• /alternatives/
• /vs/
• /enterprise/
• /demo/
• /solutions/

Those page types often reveal high-converting keyword patterns.

Build keyword buckets by funnel

Avoid organizing by topic alone.

Instead, use intent:

Bottom of Funnel (highest priority)

• pricing
• demo
• free trial
• alternatives
• competitors
• reviews
• comparison
• implementation
• integrations

Middle of Funnel

• best software
• software for X
• platform for Y
• enterprise solution

Top of Funnel

• what is...
• guide
• examples
• template
• checklist

Only create TOFU content if it clearly supports product adoption or internal linking to commercial pages.

Don't ignore Search Console

After a few months, Search Console often reveals unexpected commercial queries like:

• "acme crm pricing"
• "best crm for insurance agencies"
• "crm with sms integration"

These are frequently easier wins than chasing generic head terms.

A scalable agency workflow

1. Export competitor keywords from Ahrefs or Semrush.
2. Remove branded navigational queries (unless targeting comparison pages).
3. Classify keywords by search intent using AI.
4. Score keywords using commercial modifiers and CPC.
5. Cluster by SERP similarity with Keyword Insights or equivalent methods.
6. Map each cluster to a landing page, comparison page, industry page, integration page, or pricing page.
7. Measure success using pipeline, demos, trials, and revenue—not just rankings or traffic.

For B2B SaaS, agencies that prioritize high-intent keywords over informational volume often see stronger business outcomes because they align SEO efforts with evaluation and purchase behavior rather than maximizing visits alone.

For a SaaS client, the fastest way to separate high-intent keywords from top-of-funnel informational content is to combine multiple data sources rather than relying on a single SEO platform.

A practical onboarding stack looks like this:

Focus on buyer-intent modifiers

Instead of starting with broad topics, build your keyword universe around commercial modifiers.

High-intent examples:

• best CRM for real estate
• HubSpot alternatives
• Salesforce vs HubSpot
• CRM pricing
• CRM software for startups
• CRM with Gmail integration
• HIPAA compliant CRM
• enterprise CRM
• CRM demo
• CRM free trial

These typically indicate someone evaluating or purchasing software.

Filter out informational fluff

Create a negative keyword list before clustering.

Common informational modifiers:

• what is
• definition
• examples
• tutorial
• guide
• template
• tips
• history
• statistics
• jobs
• salary
• certification
• interview questions
• PDF
• free download

These aren't always bad, but they usually belong to a separate content strategy rather than a revenue-focused SEO roadmap.

Use CPC as an intent filter

One of the quickest heuristics:

• High CPC + commercial SERP = usually strong buying intent
• Low CPC + mostly blogs/Wikipedia = informational
• Medium CPC + product pages = likely commercial investigation

For SaaS, a keyword with 200 monthly searches and a $40 CPC is often more valuable than one with 20,000 searches and a $0.30 CPC.

Reverse-engineer competitors

Start with 5–10 competitors.

Export keywords from Ahrefs or Semrush, then filter for:

• URLs containing /pricing
• /compare
• /vs
• /alternatives
• /enterprise
• /features
• /integrations
• /solutions

These pages tend to rank for bottom-of-funnel searches.

Categorize by search intent

Instead of organizing by topic, organize by buying stage.

For a new SaaS engagement, many agencies spend 70–80% of their initial SEO effort on the first three categories because they are more closely tied to pipeline and revenue.

Useful AI workflow

A scalable workflow looks like this:

1. Export 10,000–50,000 keywords from Ahrefs or Semrush.
2. Add CPC, keyword difficulty, and search volume.
3. Use an LLM (or your own classification pipeline) to label each keyword as:
   • Transactional
   • Commercial investigation
   • Problem-aware
   • Informational
   • Navigational
4. Filter out informational queries for your revenue roadmap.
5. Cluster the remaining keywords by SERP similarity.
6. Map clusters to landing pages, feature pages, integration pages, comparison pages, and industry-specific solution pages.

If you could only buy three tools

For most SaaS SEO agencies, a high-ROI combination is:

1. Ahrefs for keyword research and competitor analysis.
2. Google Search Console for first-party performance data.
3. Keyword Insights for clustering and intent analysis.

That combination covers keyword discovery, competitive intelligence, clustering, and prioritization without requiring a large enterprise SEO stack.

For a SaaS client, the goal isn't to find the most keywords—it's to find the keywords that correlate with revenue. I'd build the workflow around three buckets:

1. High commercial intent (bottom of funnel)
2. Product-aware comparison intent (middle of funnel)
3. Jobs-to-be-done/problem intent (qualified top of funnel)

A practical agency stack looks like this:

1. Start with competitors—not seed keywords

Instead of asking "What keywords exist?"

Ask:

• Which keywords send traffic to competitors?
• Which pages convert visitors?
• Which pages have product CTAs?

Run 5–10 direct competitors through Ahrefs or Semrush.

Export:

• Organic keywords
• Top pages
• Traffic by URL
• Keyword difficulty
• Business Potential (Ahrefs)
• Intent

Immediately remove:

• definitions
• history
• examples
• tutorials
• certifications
• salary
• jobs
• courses
• interview questions

Those are rarely pipeline generators for SaaS.

2. Build a buyer-intent modifier list

This is where most agencies gain an advantage.

Create a filter containing modifiers like:

Commercial

• software
• platform
• tool
• solution
• system
• app

Purchase

• pricing
• cost
• demo
• free trial
• quote
• enterprise
• implementation

Comparison

• best
• alternatives
• vs
• compare
• comparison
• competitors

Evaluation

• reviews
• G2
• Capterra
• features

Job-to-be-done

Instead of:

CRM

Look for:

CRM for manufacturers

CRM for nonprofits

CRM for solar installers

CRM for agencies

Those convert dramatically better.

3. Mine comparison keywords

These often produce the highest ROI.

Look for:

competitor vs competitor

your client vs competitor

competitor alternatives

best competitor alternatives

switch from X

replace X

migration from X

Example:

Asana alternatives

Monday vs ClickUp

HubSpot vs Salesforce

Linear alternative

These visitors are already shopping.

4. Filter out informational fluff

Create exclusion patterns.

Examples:

what is

definition

meaning

history

benefits of

examples

types of

guide

tutorial

template

PDF

checklist

course

training

certification

salary

jobs

interview questions

reddit

Not every informational keyword is bad.

Instead ask:

Could someone reasonably buy software after reading this?

If the answer is "probably not," deprioritize it.

5. Use Google's SERPs to validate intent

Keyword tools frequently misclassify intent.

Look at page one.

If you see:

• product pages
• pricing pages
• comparison pages
• category pages
• landing pages

→ High commercial intent.

If page one is:

• Wikipedia
• blogs
• universities
• definitions

→ Informational.

SERPs are a better intent classifier than most SEO tools.

6. Use Search Console before external tools

Many SaaS sites already rank on page 2–3 for money keywords.

Export queries.

Look for:

Average Position:

8–25

High impressions

Medium CTR

Commercial intent

Those often become the quickest wins.

7. Mine customer language

Most keyword research misses the actual language buyers use.

Gather:

• sales call transcripts
• demo recordings
• support tickets
• onboarding calls
• customer interviews
• win/loss analysis

Extract recurring phrases.

Customers don't search for features.

They search for outcomes.

Example:

Instead of

workflow automation platform

they search

automate client onboarding

That difference matters.

8. Score keywords by revenue, not traffic

A simple scoring model:

Notice search volume is the smallest factor.

A 150-volume keyword with 8% demo conversion is usually worth more than a 15,000-volume informational keyword.

9. Build topic clusters around buying journeys

Instead of isolated keywords, organize around decision stages:

Category page

• CRM software for nonprofits

Supporting pages:

• Best CRM for nonprofits
• Salesforce alternatives for nonprofits
• HubSpot vs Salesforce for nonprofits
• Nonprofit CRM pricing
• CRM implementation for nonprofits
• Nonprofit donor management software

This builds topical authority while keeping every asset tied to commercial intent.

10. Use AI after collecting data—not before

Once you've exported keywords, AI is excellent for:

• clustering by search intent
• removing duplicates
• labeling funnel stage (TOFU/MOFU/BOFU)
• identifying comparison opportunities
• mapping keywords to landing pages
• spotting content gaps
• prioritizing based on custom scoring

The human work is deciding what matters to the business; AI accelerates organization and analysis.

A repeatable agency onboarding workflow

1. Export competitor keywords from Ahrefs or Semrush.
2. Export the client's Google Search Console queries.
3. Build a master keyword sheet.
4. Tag each keyword by funnel stage (TOFU, MOFU, BOFU).
5. Filter using commercial modifiers and exclusion patterns.
6. Manually review SERPs for the remaining keywords to confirm intent.
7. Cluster keywords into product, feature, industry, comparison, and alternative themes.
8. Score each cluster by revenue potential rather than search volume.
9. Prioritize landing pages and comparison pages first, then create supporting content where it strengthens those commercial pages.

For most B2B SaaS engagements, this process typically produces a focused list of 200–500 high-intent keywords instead of thousands of low-value terms, making it much easier to align SEO efforts with pipeline and revenue goals.