AI & Automation
Personas
SaaS & Startup
Time to ROI
Medium-term (3-6 months)
OK, so most SaaS founders approach keyword targeting for template pages completely backwards. They start with their product features and work outward, instead of starting with what their prospects are actually searching for.
When I first started working with B2B SaaS clients on programmatic SEO, I made this exact mistake. I'd create beautiful use-case pages and integration templates, targeting keywords like "project management template" or "CRM integration guide." The pages looked great, but they weren't bringing in qualified traffic.
Then I discovered something that changed everything: your template pages should target the exact workflow problems your users are trying to solve, not your product features. This insight came from a specific client project where we built a programmatic SEO system that generated hundreds of pages automatically.
Here's what you'll learn from my experience:
The keyword research framework that actually finds profitable long-tail keywords
How to structure template pages for both users and search engines
The programmatic approach that scales without sacrificing quality
Real examples of keyword clusters that convert prospects into trials
Why embedding actual product functionality trumps static descriptions
If you're building a SaaS product and want to turn your template pages into a conversion machine, this playbook will show you exactly how I did it.
Conventional Wisdom
What every SaaS marketer thinks they know
Most SaaS companies approach template page keywords with the same tired strategy. They target obvious, high-competition terms and wonder why their pages don't rank or convert.
Here's the conventional wisdom you've probably heard:
Target your product name + "template" - Everyone tells you to go after "[Product] template" or "[Feature] template" keywords
Focus on industry-specific templates - Create pages like "Marketing template" or "Sales template" to capture broad categories
Copy competitor templates - Look at what successful SaaS companies are ranking for and recreate their approach
Optimize for volume over intent - Chase keywords with the highest search volumes regardless of user intent
Create static description pages - Build pages that explain what the template does rather than letting users interact with it
This advice exists because it's simple and seems logical. Template pages should target template keywords, right? And high search volume must mean more potential customers.
But here's where this falls apart: people don't search for "templates" when they have actual problems to solve. They search for solutions to specific workflow challenges. A marketing manager doesn't wake up thinking "I need a content calendar template." They think "How do I plan my content for Q4?" or "What's the best way to organize my editorial calendar?"
The conventional approach treats template pages like product catalog pages instead of solution-focused landing pages. It misses the fundamental truth about how your prospects actually search and think about their problems.
Consider me as your business complice.
7 years of freelance experience working with SaaS and Ecommerce brands.
When I started working with this B2B SaaS client, they had already built solid editorial foundations with their blog content. Good traffic, decent engagement, but we all knew something was missing - the quick wins that could accelerate growth without months of content production.
The client's product was a workflow management tool with tons of pre-built templates. Think project management workflows, content calendars, team onboarding checklists - the kind of stuff that every SaaS company creates but struggles to get discovered.
Their existing approach was exactly what I described in the conventional wisdom section. They had pages targeting keywords like "project management template," "content calendar template," and "onboarding checklist template." These pages were getting some traffic, but the conversion rates were terrible. People would land, look around, and leave without signing up for a trial.
The real problem became clear when I dug into their analytics. The pages were attracting people who were just browsing for templates, not people who had urgent workflow problems they needed to solve. It's the difference between someone window shopping and someone who needs to fix a specific problem today.
My first instinct was to explore alternative page strategies. We tested comparison pages and feature-specific landing pages. These performed better than the template pages, but the manual creation process meant we could only produce a handful each month. The ROI was there, but the scale wasn't.
That's when I realized we needed to think differently about what keywords template pages should actually target. Instead of thinking about our templates, we needed to think about the workflows and problems our prospects were trying to solve.
Here's my playbook
What I ended up doing and the results.
Here's exactly what I built for this client - a programmatic SEO system that turned their template pages into a lead generation machine.
Step 1: Problem-First Keyword Research
Instead of starting with our templates, I started with user problems. I analyzed support tickets, sales calls, and user research to identify the exact phrases people used when describing workflow challenges.
The keyword clusters that actually worked:
"How to" queries: "how to organize team projects," "how to track content deadlines"
Problem-solving queries: "team project management issues," "content planning problems"
Workflow-specific searches: "agile sprint planning process," "editorial calendar workflow"
Tool comparison queries: "best way to manage projects," "content calendar vs spreadsheet"
Step 2: Use-Case Pages with Embedded Templates
Here's where it gets interesting. Instead of creating static template description pages, we built use-case pages that embedded actual product templates directly into the content.
For example, instead of a page about "Content Calendar Template," we created "How to Plan Your Content Calendar for Maximum Engagement" with our actual content calendar template embedded right in the page. Visitors could click and instantly try our pre-made template without signing up initially.
This approach worked because it solved the user's immediate problem while demonstrating our product's value. It's the difference between telling someone about a solution and letting them experience it firsthand.
Step 3: Integration Pages Without Native Integrations
This was perhaps our most creative solution. While we weren't Zapier with thousands of native integrations, users still wanted to connect our tool with their existing stack.
We built programmatic integration pages for popular tools, even when no native integration existed. Each page included clear manual setup instructions using API requests, step-by-step webhook configuration guides, and custom scripts when applicable.
Keywords for these pages: "how to connect [our tool] with Slack," "[our tool] Google Sheets integration," "sync [our tool] with Trello."
Step 4: Programmatic Scale
The programmatic approach allowed us to launch hundreds of pages in the time it would have taken to create dozens manually. We built templates for different use cases and automatically generated pages for various combinations of:
Industry + workflow type + tool integration
Team size + project type + management method
Business function + problem type + solution approach
Each generated page followed our proven structure: problem identification, solution explanation, embedded template, and clear next steps.
Keyword Strategy
Target problems, not products. Research what users actually search for when facing workflow challenges.
Template Integration
Embed working templates directly in content. Let users experience value before requiring signup.
API Documentation
Create integration guides even without native connections. Provide manual setup instructions and code examples.
Programmatic Scale
Build template systems that generate hundreds of targeted pages automatically while maintaining quality.
The programmatic approach delivered results that manual content creation never could have achieved. We launched hundreds of pages targeting long-tail keywords that our competitors weren't even thinking about.
The biggest win wasn't just traffic - it was the quality of that traffic. People landing on our problem-focused template pages were actively looking for solutions. They weren't just browsing; they had urgent workflow challenges they needed to solve.
Our conversion rates improved significantly because visitors could experience our product's value immediately. Instead of reading about templates, they could actually use them. This hands-on experience made the transition from free user to paid customer much more natural.
The integration pages became particularly valuable for enterprise sales. When prospects searched for ways to connect our tool with their existing systems, they found detailed guides that positioned us as the obvious choice. Even without native integrations, we appeared more connected and enterprise-ready than competitors.
Most importantly, this approach created a sustainable competitive advantage. While competitors focused on obvious, high-competition keywords, we owned entire categories of long-tail, problem-focused searches that converted at much higher rates.
What I've learned and the mistakes I've made.
Sharing so you don't make them.
Here are the key lessons I learned from this programmatic SEO experiment:
User problems trump product features - Always start keyword research with the problems your users are trying to solve, not the features you want to promote
Experience beats explanation - Letting users interact with your templates converts better than describing them
Long-tail keywords compound - Hundreds of low-competition, high-intent keywords outperform a few competitive ones
Integration pages create enterprise credibility - Even manual integration guides position you as a serious, connected platform
Programmatic doesn't mean low-quality - With the right templates and processes, you can scale content without sacrificing value
Problem-solution fit matters more than SEO-content fit - If your page solves a real problem, the SEO will follow
Manual validation before automation - Always prove the concept with hand-built pages before scaling programmatically
The biggest mistake I see SaaS companies make is treating template pages like product catalogs instead of solution demonstrations. Your template pages should feel like helpful tools that happen to showcase your product, not product pages that happen to include templates.
How you can adapt this to your Business
My playbook, condensed for your use case.
For your SaaS / Startup
For SaaS companies looking to implement this strategy:
Start with user research and support ticket analysis to identify real workflow problems
Build 5-10 hand-crafted problem-focused pages before investing in programmatic scaling
Embed actual product functionality in template pages rather than static descriptions
Target "how to" and problem-solving queries instead of product feature keywords
For your Ecommerce store
For ecommerce stores adapting this approach:
Create product guides and use-case pages instead of just product descriptions
Target "how to use" and "best way to" keywords related to your products
Build comparison pages for different product configurations and use cases
Focus on solving customer problems rather than listing product features