SEO for Cybersecurity: 9 Proven Strategies to Grow Pipeline
Cybersecurity SEO is more important than ever.
Today, 67% of the B2B buyer’s journey happens online. And according to Gartner, 75% of B2B buyers prefer a rep-free purchasing experience and rely on digital channels to educate themselves and make purchase decisions.
This is a problem for cybersecurity vendors because the average deal involves 11 stakeholders, both technical and non-technical, who may or may not come across your solution, understand it, and see its value.
So, if you want to capture leads and win deals, you have to be discoverable across multiple online touchpoints, explain complex technical concepts to non-technical decision makers, and demonstrate the value of your product to each decision maker.
But, search visibility isn’t as straightforward as it used to be. AI Overviews and other features now dominate the search engine results pages (SERPs), with 59% of searches ending without a single click, as more users find the information they need directly in the SERP.
In this guide, we'll explore how SEO can help cybersecurity companies generate predictable pipeline, even amidst AI disruption.
These are the same strategies we've used to generate the following results:
- 1,700+ demos and $2.8M in new ARR
- 20 to 120 SQLs per month
- 70,000+ monthly organic visitors and 7x new trial signups
Why should cybersecurity companies invest in SEO?
In short, SEO can help cybersecurity companies:
- Boost visibility across the entire buyer journey: SEO puts you in front of problem, product and solution-aware decision-makers.
- Build trust and position your brand as an authority: Insightful content positions your brand as a thought leader and builds trust.
- Increase pipeline activity: An effective SEO strategy will increase organic and LLM visibility, and drive new SQLs and revenue to your business each month.
9 SEO strategies for cybersecurity companies
Want a stronger search presence and a fuller pipeline? These nine strategies combine proven fundamentals with modern, AI-ready tactics to help your cybersecurity brand stand out.
1. Target each stage of the buyer’s journey
Begin by defining your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). A clear understanding of who your target buyers are and how they describe their challenges and search for solutions enables you to tailor messaging to their level of awareness and decision-making stage.
Problem-aware prospects (top-of-funnel):
The searcher knows something is off (e.g., unable to quantify their level of cyber risk), but don't know how to fix it yet. This is an opportunity to establish credibility by producing educational content that speaks directly to their challenges. Help them articulate their pain points and introduce the broader category of solutions that can address their needs, including your offering. Suitable content formats include educational guides and blog posts.
Solution-aware prospects (middle-of-funnel):
Prospects are now actively researching potential cybersecurity solutions. Your content should present the available options, and position your product as a viable solution.
At this stage, you'd target keywords with modifiers like best, software, tools, platforms, and solutions. For example: "best cyber risk management software" and "best endpoint protection software".
Product pages and listicle blog posts are common content types for this stage of the buyer journey.
Product-aware prospects (bottom-of-funnel):
At this stage, prospects are deciding between your solution and a small number of alternatives. This is where cybersecurity companies need to showcase why prospects should choose their solution over the competition.
Publish detailed comparison pages (e.g., “Your Product vs. Competitor X”) with differentiators, customer testimonials, case studies, and clear benefit statements.
Note: Solution and product-aware keyword targeting help increase high-intent traffic from both organic search and LLMs:
2. Take a product-led approach to SEO
Product-led SEO is a strategy that uses your product as the foundation for attracting and converting high-intent search traffic. Instead of focusing solely on blog posts or top-of-funnel content, this approach creates SEO-optimized pages around specific use cases, features, and integrations. This allows buyers to discover, evaluate, and engage with your cybersecurity solution directly from search.
By surfacing hands-on experiences such as live demos, free trials, or gated free tools, you enable prospects to realize value from the first interaction.
Product-led SEO is at the center of our client content production process. Every piece of content, no matter where it sits in the buyer journey, has to have a direct tie-in to a related feature or product use case.
Tie every piece of content back to a product feature or use case
For example:
- For "how to prevent ransomware attacks," explain general concepts and showcase how your product tackles this challenge.
- For "best practices for endpoint security," create a comprehensive guide that includes your product's unique approach.
Create interactive content
For example:
- Develop hands-on demonstrations of your product's features.
- Include interactive elements that allow users to explore your solution on their own.
Offer self-service options
For example:
- Provide limited-access demos of threat monitoring dashboards.
- Offer trial versions with guided tours of key features.
3. Build a solid technical SEO foundation
A winning SEO strategy starts with a strong technical foundation. Here’s what to focus on:
Fundamentals
- Optimize core web vitals: Improve page loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability.
- Fix technical issues: Resolve broken redirects and remove duplicate content.
- Use schema markup: Use structured data to help search engines better understand and display your content in search results
- Optimize for mobile devices: Google uses mobile-first indexing, ranking websites based on the mobile version, not the desktop version.
Indexability and crawlability
- Submit XML sitemap: Submit an XML sitemap to Google Search Console to help search engines crawl and index key sections of your website.
- Check robots.txt: Ensure your robots.txt file isn't blocking important pages from being crawled and indexed.
Security and trust signals
- Prioritize security: Make sure your SSL certificate is up-to-date and the website is showing as HTTPS.
- Boost E-E-A-T signals: Incorporate Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness signals into your content (more on this later in this article.
These are the kinds of technical SEO steps that helped one of our SaaS clients recover organic traffic and pipeline:
To learn more, read: Technical SEO for SaaS: 3 Big Issues (And How To Fix Them)
4. Capture multiple SERP touchpoints
Today, B2B buyers search across multiple platforms.
And it’s noisier than ever!
Look at any search results page and it’s flooded with ads, AI overviews, aggregators such as G2 and Capterra, forums like Reddit, and multiple SERP features like video carousels and People Also Ask.
Your search marketing strategy can no longer rely on one channel or touch point to thrive.
Inventory SERP touchpoints
Rather than trying to target every keyword with a single touch point, inventory your most valuable targets and focus on owning the entire ecosystem with 𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 in the SERP.
Target third-party review platforms
Search engines and LLMs rank and reference sites like G2, Capterra, and Software Advice in search results. Strengthen your presence on these platforms by optimizing profiles with comprehensive details and encouraging satisfied customers to leave positive reviews. Consider sponsored placements to increase visibility among high-intent buyers.
Engage in discussions with your prospects
Participate in forums like Reddit or Quora that now rank highly for high-intent cybersecurity keywords. Share helpful, non-promotional insights to build trust and influence AI training data to improve your brand’s search visibility.
Create video content
YouTube is the world’s second-largest search engine. Optimize videos for keywords, embed them in related content, and get placed in video carousels ranking in the SERP for valuable keywords.
5. Optimize for AIO and LLM visibility
AI and LLMs are reshaping the way we search, and as a result, the way we optimize for search visibility.
Currently, LLM referral traffic accounts for 0.5-4% of total website traffic and conversions for our B2B SaaS clients.
I've written several posts on LinkedIn here and here that cover some of the ways Virayo is increasing LLM referral traffic and conversions for its clients.
6. Strengthen E-E-A-T signals
E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It is an important factor in Google's search algorithm that determines which websites should rank higher in search results. Let’s take a closer look:
- Experience: Refers to the extent to which the content creator has first-hand experience with the topic.
- Expertise: Reflects the author's level of knowledge or skill on the subject matter.
- Authoritativeness: Measures how well-established and respected the content creator or website is as a go-to source in their field.
- Trustworthiness: Assesses the accuracy, safety, and reliability of the website.
To strengthen your E-E-A-T signals, focus on each component:
Experience: Spotlight your team's practical experience
- Create detailed author bios that highlight your industry background. For example, "Jane Doe has 15 years of cybersecurity experience at Fortune 500 companies."
- Share case studies of successful projects, like: "How we saved XYZ Corp from a ransomware attack in 24 hours."
Expertise: Showcase your knowledge
- Publish deep-dive, technical content on the latest threats and solutions. Think, "The Ultimate Guide to Zero Trust Architecture."
- Display your team's certifications, like CEHs, CISSPs, and GIACs.
- Back up your claims with reputable sources and conduct original research. For instance, a “State of Cybersecurity Report” based on data from 100 CISOs.
Authority: Become a go-to information source
- Secure mentions and backlinks from respected industry publications. Target websites like Krebs on Security or Dark Reading.
- Present at major cybersecurity conferences and share the content online. Aim for events such as Black Hat, DEF CON, and RSA Conference.
Trust: Prove that you’re credible
- Clearly attribute content to authors and showcase their credentials: "Written by John Smith, CISSP, Former NSA Cybersecurity Expert."
- Be transparent about your privacy policies and security practices.
- Keep your content relevant by regularly updating it with the latest developments: "Last updated: March 28, 2025.”
- Develop a comprehensive "About" page that narrates your company's history and highlights your team's expertise.
7. Build backlinks strategically
Backlinks act as digital endorsements, signaling to search engines that your content is credible and valuable.
High-quality backlinks can improve rankings, drive targeted referral traffic, and drive LLM visibility.
Set realistic backlink targets
Prioritize Conversion Content
Identify existing content assets with high conversion potential that are already performing moderately well in search. These pages are strong candidates for backlink building and can often achieve higher rankings with targeted link acquisition.
Analyze Competitor Backlink Profiles
Review backlink profiles of top-ranking competitors to uncover high-quality link opportunities. Focus on replicating links from credible sources that are likely to improve your own search visibility.
Learn more: How We Set Accurate Backlink Targets For Our SaaS Clients
Target "best software for X" listicles
- Secure mentions in curated listicles cited by LLMs.
- Create your own listicles showcasing your product as the best solution.
Build linkable assets
Develop content that naturally attracts backlinks. For example, a well-researched, data-driven blog post can passively generate hundreds of high-quality backlinks. You could also create:
- Industry reports featuring cybersecurity original research and statistics
- Visual infographics that simplify complex ideas
- Interactive tools or calculators for cybersecurity professionals
- Stats or trends articles on emerging topics
We created a stats-based asset for a client that has generated 927 from sites like Shopify, Zendesk, and HubSpot.
Zero emails sent.
No begging for links.
Just high-quality backlinks on autopilot.
Land brand mentions in trusted publications
- Secure mentions in authoritative cybersecurity publications.
- Ensure your brand is mentioned in the context that best describe your product.
- Get trusted sources to discuss your brand in the right context.
8. Refresh and optimize content
Outdated content can lead to:
- Ranking decline
- Traffic loss
- Lower user engagement
- Decreased conversion rate
- Negative impact on site health
Here's how to stay relevant and engaging, and maintain a healthy body of content:
Capitalize on low-hanging keywords
Use SEO tools like Ahrefs or Semrush to find keywords where your site ranks just outside the top spots (positions 4-15) in search results, and make targeted improvements to boost rankings .
Optimize for conversion
Focus on content that's already attracting quality organic traffic.
- Add strategic CTAs that guide users to take the next step in the buyer journey
- Incorporate social proof like client testimonials and case studies
Update outdated pages
Make sure your content is up to date and includes:
- New data and statistics
- Recent examples and case studies
- Regulatory updates
- Expert insights
- Up-to-date product information
Test different title tags and meta descriptions
Small changes in your content’s metadata can significantly impact click-through rates (CTRs). Experiment with:
- Headline formats (e.g., questions, numbers, power words)
- Meta description styles (e.g., benefit-focused, problem-solution)
- Relevant cybersecurity keywords
9. Track KPIs and refine your strategy accordingly
If you don’t track KPIs, you're throwing darts in the dark. You may hit the bullseye occasionally, but more often than not, you'll miss the board entirely, wasting resources on strategies that don’t work and losing search visibility to competitors.
Here are some KPIs to measure SEO performance:
- Priority keyword rankings
- Organic search traffic (brand and non-brand)
- Conversions (trials and demos)
- SQLs
- Attributed revenue
- AI Overview mentions
- LLM referral traffic and conversions
SEO for cybersecurity: A sustainable growth engine
Investing in SEO for your cybersecurity solution is a long-term strategy that can deliver sustained results. It helps drive consistent pipeline growth and increase annual recurring revenue (ARR). To succeed, focus on these nine core strategies:
- Align Content to the Buyer’s Journey: Create targeted content for each stage, from problem awareness to final decision-making.
- Adopt a Product-Led Approach: Showcase your solution through interactive demos, free trials, and feature-rich experiences that allow prospects to explore value early.
- Strengthen Technical SEO: Optimize your site for speed, mobile performance, security, and crawlability to ensure a strong technical foundation.
- Expand Your Digital Footprint: Improve visibility across high-impact online channels, including review platforms, directories, and integration pages.
- Optimize for AI and LLMs: Use schema markup and natural language content to increase your chances of being cited or surfaced by AI-driven search results.
- Demonstrate E-E-A-T: Highlight real-world experience, publish authoritative content, and build trust through transparency and credibility.
- Build a High-Quality Backlink Profile: Earn backlinks from reputable websites by offering valuable resources, original insights, or collaboration opportunities.
- Keep Content Fresh: Regularly update and refine existing content to maintain accuracy, relevance, and engagement.
- Track KPIs and Refine Your Strategy: Monitor key performance indicators and continuously optimize your approach to maintain a competitive edge.
Would you like SEO to feed your pipeline? Book a strategy call.
