Strategy•9 min read

SEO for Startups: What to Do When You Have No Budget and No Authority

You're starting from zero. No domain authority, no backlinks, no content. Here's how to build organic traffic as a startup.

Benas Bitvinskas

Benas Bitvinskas

Co-Founder at Soro·

Startup SEO is a different game than established business SEO.

You have no domain authority. No backlinks. Probably no content. You're competing against companies with dedicated content teams and 10 years of accumulated SEO investment.

The traditional SEO playbook — "create great content and build links" — doesn't account for the startup reality of limited resources and urgent timelines.

Here's what actually works when you're starting from zero.

The honest truth about startup SEO

Most startup SEO advice pretends startups have more time and resources than they do. Let me be blunt:

What's hard for startups:

  • Competing for head terms (you can't outrank Salesforce for "CRM" anytime soon)
  • Building links without brand recognition
  • Producing content volume while building product
  • Waiting 12+ months for results when runway is 18 months

What's actually possible:

  • Winning long-tail keywords bigger companies ignore
  • Building topical authority in narrow niches
  • Using content for multiple purposes (SEO + sales + brand)
  • Accumulating SEO assets while focused elsewhere

The goal isn't to win SEO as a startup. It's to plant seeds that grow while you focus on product and customers, then harvest when you have resources to invest seriously.

When to start thinking about SEO

Too early: Before product-market fit

If you haven't validated that people want what you're building, SEO is premature. You might rank for keywords related to a product nobody wants. Focus on learning, not ranking.

Right time: After initial validation, before scaling

Once you know what you're building and for whom, start SEO foundations. It takes 6-12+ months to compound, so starting early means results arrive when you need them.

Too late: When you're ready to scale and realize you have no organic presence

By then, you're 12 months behind competitors who started earlier. Painful but recoverable.

The ideal sequence:

  1. Build MVP, get first customers
  2. Confirm product-market fit
  3. Start SEO content while doing other growth activities
  4. SEO matures as company grows
  5. Scale SEO when it's proven

Related reading:

The startup SEO strategy

1. Target what giants ignore

Funded competitors aren't competing for every keyword. They're focused on high-volume head terms. You can win the periphery.

Long-tail keywords:

Instead of "CRM software" (impossible), target:

  • "CRM for real estate solo agents"
  • "CRM for freelance consultants"
  • "simple CRM for teams under 10 people"

These have less volume but are winnable and convert well because they're specific.

Question keywords:

Instead of "email marketing" (impossible), target:

  • "how to write cold emails that get responses"
  • "what email marketing metrics actually matter"
  • "why do my emails go to spam"

Questions have clearer intent and less competition.

Comparison keywords:

  • "[Competitor A] vs [Competitor B]" — often underserved
  • "[Competitor] alternatives" — high intent, low competition
  • "[Your category] for [specific use case]"

You can rank for competitor comparison keywords even without authority because people search these exact phrases.

Problem keywords:

What problems does your product solve? Target those:

  • "how to track inventory without spreadsheets"
  • "why does scheduling take so long"
  • "managing remote team communication"

People searching problems are often early in buying journeys.

2. Create content that serves multiple purposes

Startups can't afford content that only serves SEO. Every piece should do multiple jobs:

Content that ranks AND enables sales:

  • Feature comparison pages (rank + help prospects evaluate)
  • Use case pages (rank + demonstrate product fit)
  • Integration guides (rank + reduce support questions)
  • Pricing explanation pages (rank + qualify leads)

Content that ranks AND builds thought leadership:

  • Industry trend analysis (rank + establish expertise)
  • Original research (rank + attract backlinks)
  • Framework introductions (rank + create branded concepts)
  • Founder expertise content (rank + build personal brand)

Example:

A project management startup writes "How to Run Effective Async Standups."

This content:

  • Ranks for "async standup" searches
  • Gets shared in remote work communities
  • Gets referenced in sales calls ("we wrote this guide...")
  • Demonstrates product philosophy
  • Can be repurposed for LinkedIn, newsletters, etc.

Single-purpose SEO content is a luxury startups can't afford.

3. Technical foundations (do once, forget)

Spend a few hours on technical SEO, then move on. Most startup sites don't have complex technical issues.

The essentials:

  • Fast hosting (Vercel, Netlify, or similar modern platforms are fine)
  • Mobile-friendly design (default with modern frameworks)
  • Google Search Console set up
  • XML sitemap submitted
  • Basic meta tags (title, description) on all pages
  • HTTPS enabled (standard now)

Don't waste time on:

  • Perfect Core Web Vitals scores (good enough is fine)
  • Structured data (nice to have, not critical early)
  • AMP (probably not relevant for startups)
  • Complex redirect strategies

Technical SEO matters for enterprise sites with thousands of pages. For a startup with 20-50 pages, content and strategy matter far more.

Startup SEO on autopilot

You're busy building. Soro handles SEO content automatically — keyword research, writing, and publishing — so organic traffic compounds while you focus on product and customers.

See how it works →

Programmatic SEO for startups

Some startups have a unique opportunity: using structured data to create many pages at once.

What programmatic SEO is:

Creating templated pages for every instance of something in your database:

  • A job board creates pages for every job posting
  • A real estate site creates pages for every listing
  • A directory creates pages for every business listed
  • A SaaS creates pages for every integration/use case

When it works for startups:

  • You have structured data users would search for
  • Each page can have genuine unique value
  • The scale justifies the template investment

Examples:

  • A marketplace startup creates pages for every category + location combination
  • A developer tools startup creates pages for every language/framework integration
  • An analytics startup creates pages for benchmarks in every industry

When it doesn't work:

  • Thin content generated just to have pages
  • No real value beyond keyword targeting
  • Better served by fewer, higher-quality pages

Programmatic SEO can be a cheat code for startups with the right data structure. But it's not for everyone.

Traditional link building advice ("reach out to sites for guest posts") is difficult when nobody knows who you are.

What actually works for startups:

1. Create genuinely useful resources

Build something people want to reference:

  • Calculators relevant to your space
  • Original research with data
  • Comprehensive guides that become reference materials
  • Open-source tools or templates

These attract links naturally because people need to cite them.

2. Founder personal brand

Your founder(s) can build authority faster than your brand:

  • LinkedIn content that demonstrates expertise
  • Podcast appearances (hundreds of niche podcasts want guests)
  • Industry publication contributions
  • Speaking at relevant events

Founder visibility leads to brand visibility leads to links.

3. Strategic partnerships

Other startups are in the same position:

  • Integration partners (you link to each other)
  • Complementary products (co-create content)
  • Startup communities and directories

4. Product-led links

If your product does something impressive or useful, people share it:

  • "Powered by [Your Product]" badges
  • Public dashboards or examples
  • Free tiers that attract users who write about you

What to prioritize with limited resources

If you have 5 hours weekly for SEO, spend it:

Highest ROI activities:

  1. Publishing content — 60% of time. Volume matters. Even imperfect content published beats perfect content planned.

  2. Keyword research — 20% of time. Make sure you're targeting winnable keywords.

  3. Basic optimization — 10% of time. Title tags, meta descriptions, internal links on new content.

  4. Monitoring — 10% of time. Check Search Console monthly, track what's working.

Skip or defer:

  • Complex technical audits
  • Link outreach campaigns
  • Comprehensive site restructuring
  • Perfect on-page optimization

These matter eventually. They don't matter when you have 30 pages and no rankings.

The realistic startup SEO timeline

Months 1-3: Foundations

  • Basic technical setup (1-2 hours)
  • Keyword research for 20-30 targets (2-3 hours)
  • First 10-20 pieces of content published

Months 4-6: Accumulation

  • Continue publishing (2-4 pieces monthly minimum)
  • First rankings appearing for easy keywords
  • Starting to see some organic traffic

Months 7-12: Early traction

  • 50+ pages of content
  • Ranking for multiple long-tail keywords
  • Organic becoming a visible (if small) traffic source

Year 2: Growth

  • SEO compounds noticeably
  • Medium-difficulty keywords becoming winnable
  • Time to consider scaling investment

When SEO isn't right for your startup

Sometimes SEO isn't the right channel:

Skip SEO (at least initially) if:

  • You're pre-product-market fit (focus on learning)
  • Your customers don't search for solutions (some B2B, some consumer)
  • Your runway is under 12 months (won't see results in time)
  • Your market is too small for search volume to matter
  • Paid channels are clearly more efficient for your unit economics

Double down on SEO if:

  • Customers actively search for solutions in your category
  • You have 18+ months to let it compound
  • Content creation is a strength of your team
  • You're in a space where trust/expertise matters
  • Competitors are winning with SEO and you need to compete

The bottom line for startup SEO

Startup SEO isn't about winning today. It's about building an asset that produces returns while you focus on product, customers, and fundraising.

The approach:

  1. Start after product-market fit, not before
  2. Target what funded competitors ignore
  3. Create content that serves multiple purposes
  4. Keep technical SEO simple
  5. Build links through useful resources and founder brand
  6. Be patient — expect 12+ months for meaningful results

The startups that win at SEO are the ones that start early, stay consistent, and don't quit when results are slow. By year 2-3, they have organic traffic moats that new competitors can't easily replicate.

That's the asset worth building.

Related reading:

SEOStartupsGrowthContent Marketing
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