Nailing SEO and Marketing: 8 Project Management Software Companies You Can Learn From

Everyone needs it but not everyone nails it. In a market where every SaaS company wants the spotlight, what makes project management software the star performer?

Post-pandemic, SaaS marketers have become well-acquainted with three key concepts: productivity, effectiveness, and management. The best way to achieve them is through project management. But what do we know about it?

Project management is an established category for all SaaS businesses. Its software market is valued at USD 5.37 billion this year and is expected to reach USD 9.81 billion in the next five years, growing at a CAGR of 10.67%. We notice businesses increase in size and complexity, and so does the need to manage and coordinate an organization’s workflow of different projects with one tool! 

But where there’s light, there’s dark. Today, the project management software category is highly competitive where household names, such as Asana, Trello, ClickUp, and many others, constantly develop new tools and features to stay at the top. Even though these are established companies, they must reinvent themselves to stand out in this crowded marketplace and adapt to new ways of working, including remote work and the integration of AI.

So, what happens when a brand aims to resonate with the competitive concept of “project management”? How did they differentiate their startup? And how crucial is consistency? 

Here, we’ll answer all your questions. Let’s dive in! 

TL;DR:

• 1. Asana: SEO focus with backlink support and multi-language content
• 2. Monday.com: Tailored integrations for specific industries with a customer experience focus
• 3. ClickUp: Competitor comparison pages and educational courses
• 4. Wrike: Consistent regular webinars and guides
• 5. Todoist: Personalized productivity recommendations and a rich resource section
• 6. Basecamp: Engagement through content updates and a podcast.
• 7. MeisterTask: Use cases and regular webinars cater to team needs
• 8. Trello: Multi-language content and community templates 

1. Asana

SEO (Ahrefs): DR 90, 1 million ranking keywords, traffic growth in the last year, and 3.2 million backlinks.

Asana is an American software company focused on work management. Their platform was funded in 2008 in San Francisco, California.

Their success starts with its focus on English-speaking countries, particularly the USA, where it ranks for 5,893 project management-related keywords, outperforming Trello. However, their ability to adapt their SEO strategies goes beyond, due to their strong presence in other non-English markets such as Mexico, Germany, Japan, and Colombia. This is a massive commitment for Asana’s resources and time, considering they translated most of their pages to reach other languages and regions. 

With 157,158 backlinks from high-authority websites (DR over 80), Asana can establish a strong backlink foundation, enhancing its search engine rankings and overall visibility. Despite tough competition from other sites like The Digital Project Manager for the key term “project management software,” Asana remains competitive.

Asana’s content marketing strategy offers resources like ebooks, guides, and webinars in exchange for email addresses. Therefore, increase their visibility and aid in nurturing and converting leads.

Their SEO journey has shown consistent growth since 2021, proving the importance of a long-term strategy and establishing the business as a global leader in the project management software market.

Key takeaways: Prioritize backlinks from high-authority websites to enhance your search rankings. Not sure how to increase your backlinks? Check out these backlinking strategies!Compete by identifying and targeting niche keywords relevant to your industryCreate valuable content (like ebooks, guides, or webinars) to ensure sustained growth and engagement

2. Monday.com

SEO (Ahrefs): DR 90, 376K ranking keywords, traffic growth, and 2.7 million backlinks.

Monday.com is customizable work management for marketing, sales, PMO, product development, operations, IT, and HR industries. The company was founded in 2012.}

Monday’s focus is clear: content. They’re not focused on instant results but on long-term success. And they’re killing it!

FoundationInc recently revealed some secrets on their best-performing guides, integrating a wide variety of internal links, statistics from third-party experts, infographics, and other resources. 

Moreover, Monday’s resource section is led by a template center with over 200 templates designed to improve team organization. Categorized into different spaces, these template pages currently rank for 18.3K keywords and receive 7K backlinks!

Another marketing effort is focused on industries that rely on Monday’s integrations, such as GitHub, MailChimp, Zoom, Outlook, Gmail, HubSpot, Jira Cloud, Zendesk, and Slack. With the focus on connecting with businesses that use any of the 200 tools they integrated into their workflow, they will more likely consider them as a fit into their existing tech stack. If you rely on and trust these tools, you can also trust Monday.  

They also have a community platform to encourage a connective ecosystem among customers, where users can share ideas, collaborate, and learn. 

SEO performance has been a strong suit for Monday.com. With 6,541 keywords related to project management topics and more than half of their traffic coming from the US, they have captured and sustained an engaged audience. 

Key takeaways: Tailor your offerings to meet the specific needs of various sectorsIntegrate widely used tools to increase user satisfaction, for example, Google tools for SEO.Provide valuable resources to support retention

3. ClickUp

SEO (Ahrefs): DR 86, 457K ranking keywords, traffic growth, and 52.1 million backlinks.

ClickUp is an all-in-one productivity platform designed for SaaS businesses. The company was founded in 2017 in San Diego, California.

One of ClickUp’s strategic marketing efforts is its SEO focus, ranking for 5,813 project management-related keywords. With over 39K backlinks from websites with a Domain Rating (DR) higher than 80, ClickUp has established a strong online presence and credibility. This high-quality backlink profile increases its search engine rankings and visibility.

The “Compare” page is a strategic component of ClickUp’s SEO strategy. By creating detailed comparison pages for each competitor like Asana, Jira, Monday, Trello, Notion, SmartSheet, Airtable, and Wrike, they target high-traffic keywords and provide bottom-of-the-funnel (BOFU) content for potential customers evaluating different options.

Furthermore, ClickUp University offers a range of courses for those looking to master productivity and management skills, favoring their customers’ retention through continuous learning opportunities.

Key takeaways: Create detailed comparison pages for competitors to target high-traffic, BOFU keywords to increase potential conversionHighlight real stories to build social proofConsider courses and tutorials as educational resources you might include to go beyond! Read our thought leadership post to create in-depth content on your expertise.

4. Wrike

SEO (Ahrefs): DR 84, 253K ranking keywords, traffic growth in the last year, and 1.4 million backlinks.

Wrike is a platform designed to streamline workflows for professional services, PMO, marketing, and creative teams. It was founded in 2006 and has a Series B.

In terms of SEO, Wrike ranks for 7,504 keywords related to project management topics. Additionally, they have a webinar section where they regularly publish past and future events. These webinars, typically less than an hour long, are searchable by topic or team, providing learning opportunities for users.

Wrike’s collection of educational guides on topics like project management, remote work, Agile, return to work, marketing, professional services, Scrum, Kanban, and product management is another key aspect of its marketing strategy, considering these are responsible for 9.8K backlinks from their total number of links!

The platform also boasts a content strategy through its blog, which ranks for 76,530 keywords, focused on marketing, project management, collaboration, leadership, and productivity.

And last,  Wrike’s YouTube channel, with 16.5K subscribers and 315 videos. Publishing 2-3 videos per month on a variety of topics, they further engage and educate their audience while driving traffic to the platform.

Key takeaways: Webinars can favor engagementCreate comprehensive guides to boost SEO and attract backlinksMaintain an active YouTube channel to engage and educate your audience continuously

5. Todoist

SEO (Ahrefs): DR 85, 102K ranking keywords, traffic growth, and 311K backlinks.

Todoist is a project management software, focused on task management and to-do lists, for remote teams that rely on collaboration apps for productivity. The business was founded in 2007 in London, UK. 

One of its marketing approaches is the Productivity Methods page, which provides unique recommendations to users based on their goals. This includes a quiz that advises teams on the best productivity strategies and a variety of guides tailored to specific objectives.

Todoist features an Inspiration resource section where users can find articles on collaboration, goals, productivity, remote work, and time management. In this section, they also encourage to subscribe to their newsletter, fostering an engaged community. And today, 14,677 of Todoist’s current ranking keywords come from the inspiration section!

Some of their highest traffic keywords ranking on Google’s first position are: how to organize your life, Feynman technique, how to read more books, and temptation bundling. 

Todoist also offers free templates designed to inspire and assist customers in various aspects of their work and personal lives. These templates are searchable by topic, making it easy for users to find exactly what they need. 

The platform’s YouTube channel has over 30K subscribers and more than 125 videos. With more than 10 videos published per month, Todoist maintains a consistent flow of educational content. Moreover, their recent Shorts strategy has proven effective too, with each short video receiving around 2-3K views!

Key takeaways:Offer tailored recommendations and guides based on user goalsA resource-rich section instead of a traditional blog could work!Maintain a regular publishing schedule on YouTube. Shorts are the hottest trend now! Check out our weekly publications for more data.

6. Basecamp

SEO (Ahrefs): DR 88, 22.1K ranking keywords, traffic growth in the last year, and 634K backlinks.

Basecamp is a project management platform designed for small teams to move faster. The business was founded in 1999.

With 660 keywords related to project management, Basecamp ensures it ranks for relevant search terms. Their SEO performance has underscored the consistency and results of a long-term strategy.

A contributor to Basecamp’s online authority is its backlink profile, with 66K backlinks coming from websites with a Domain Rating (DR) higher than 80. These high-quality backlinks enhance Basecamp’s overall visibility. Additionally, the “What’s New” section keeps users informed about the latest app features and updates, maintaining engagement and interest among current and potential customers.

But Basecamp extends its reach through the Basecamp Podcast, available on various platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify. With around three episodes published each month, the podcast focuses on promoting better ways to work and run businesses, aligning with Basecamp’s mission to improve workplace productivity.

Key takeaways: Keep users informed and engaged with regular product and company updatesUse podcasts to reach a broader audience and establish your brand as a leader in your industry

7. MeisterTask

SEO (Ahrefs): DR 74, 11.2K ranking keywords, sustained traffic growth in the last year, and 56.5K backlinks.

MeisterTask is a task management platform for enterprises that aims to maintain teams organized. They were funded in 2015, in Germany.

MeisterTask stands out with its use cases section for task management, remote teams, communication and teamwork, agile project management, workflow management, and self-management. This diverse range of use cases ensures that they cater to the specific needs of different teams and industries. These pages are responsible for 78 keywords positioned on Google’s first page. Some of these with the highest traffic are: project management documentation tools, personal task management tool, and how to improve productivity in the workplace.

The company offers a webinar section where they regularly publish upcoming events and archives of past ones. Users can search for old events by topic or sign up for upcoming webinars, with the next sessions scheduled for May 2024. The availability of webinars in German also caters to a broader audience, providing educational content in multiple languages. 

MeisterTask’s blog is another key component of its content strategy. They publish in-depth posts, such as their popular article on How to Create a Powerful Team Mission Statement + Examples, which received around 50-60 shares on social media per post. 

And last, the company supports its users through an online community that includes resources like a help center, tutorial videos, FAQs, and a community forum where customers can connect and interact with the support team.

Key takeaways:Amplify different use cases with designated pages to satisfy search intent for each to cater the specific needsRegularly publish and archive webinars to provide ongoing educational contentMaintain a blog with in-depth posts on trending topics to drive social media shares

8. Trello

SEO (Ahrefs): DR 91, 81.2K ranking keywords, traffic growth, and 36.7 million backlinks.

Trello is a project management software for team collaboration. It was funded in 2011 in the United States. 

Trello has established a strong presence in the global markets, performing exceptionally well in Brazil, followed by the US, France, Spain, and the UK. In the USA alone, Trello ranks for 41.7K keywords, with 957 related to “project management” and 470 to “Kanban.” Moreover, Trello ranks for 1,020 keywords including the modifier “software,” indicating a high level of purchasing intent among searchers. 

Trello’s multi-language approach is another aspect of their SEO strategy, offering native content in markets such as Vietnam, Brazil, France, Germany, Mexico, Spain, and Russia. This internationalization effort helps Trello rank more easily in non-English markets compared to the highly competitive US market. 

Asana’s approach vs. Trello’s might look the same, but they’re completely different. While the first company is hyper-focused on brand products and content pages, ranking them in their top positions, Trello focuses on a programmatic SEO strategy. These are user-generated pages, based on the same layout, that are set automatically and potentially take your website to the highest positions, through a different approach. For example, Trello’s successful public boards or templates, leverage the power of online communities that share content via these. Today, 24.9K keywords ranking come from Trello’s template page, showcasing the effectiveness of this strategy. 

Key takeaways: Expand your reach by offering native content in multiple languagesUtilize public or community-generated content to boost organic trafficHighlight real-world applications and recommendations

Let’s Wrap Up!

Becoming an expert in SEO and content marketing is crucial if you strive for a spot in a competitive field.

The need for project management created companies that today constantly innovate their approaches to the market to stand out and remain in the spotlight. The examples we’ve discussed have navigated challenges by focusing on what matters: the quality and relevance of your message, not the quantity of content.

These companies transformed their platforms into knowledge hubs by merging different optimization strategies and ensured to continuously reinvent themselves by adapt to new ways of working, including remote work and AI integration.

The establishment of project management software companies allowed them to shape the conversation and lead toward a more informed, user-focused digital landscape. And today, you can take inspiration from them to create your brand story.

Are you ready to take the next step?