How this Start Up with $34 Million Should Focus on SEO

When a startup secures $34 million in Series A funding but still lacks a market-ready product, the clock starts ticking. Investors expect returns, competitors are moving fast, and the pressure to deliver mounts daily. This is exactly the situation Basis finds itself in – flush with capital but facing the critical challenge of building audience awareness before their AI accounting assistant officially launches.

What's particularly striking about Basis is their current traffic situation: just 179 monthly visitors despite their significant funding. This disconnect between financial backing and digital presence creates both a challenge and an opportunity. With the right SEO strategy, Basis could transform their online presence while their product development continues in parallel.

Let's explore how this AI accounting assistant startup could leverage strategic SEO to build a foundation for success, even before their product hits the market.

Understanding Basis: The Current Landscape

Basis has positioned itself as an AI assistant for accountants, aiming to revolutionize how financial professionals handle their daily workflows. While the product remains in development, their $34 million Series A funding signals strong investor confidence in both the team and vision.

Assuming their primary target market is the United States – the largest English-speaking market with a robust accounting sector – they face both significant opportunity and competition. The accounting technology space is increasingly crowded with both established players and innovative startups vying for attention.

Their current traffic of 179 monthly visitors reveals a critical gap in their go-to-market strategy. Without a strong digital presence, even the most revolutionary accounting AI will struggle to gain traction upon launch. This is where a strategic SEO approach becomes not just beneficial but essential.

The Strategic Assessment: Where Basis Stands

Before diving into specific tactics, we need to understand Basis' current digital foundation. A comprehensive analysis would likely reveal several key issues:

First, they likely lack topical authority in their space. Without established content clusters addressing key accounting challenges, regulations, and AI applications, search engines have little reason to view them as authoritative in this niche.

Second, significant content gaps exist across the accounting technology landscape. From tax preparation automation to regulatory compliance, financial reporting, and practice management – each represents an opportunity for Basis to establish expertise.

Third, with minimal content comes a nonexistent internal linking structure, eliminating one of the most powerful tools for establishing topical relevance and authority in search engines' eyes.

Finally, their technical SEO foundation may need strengthening to support the content ecosystem they'll need to build. This includes everything from site structure to page speed, mobile optimization, and schema implementation.

Building the SEO Foundation with Topical Authority

The first crucial step for Basis would be developing comprehensive topical authority maps. Using topical authority mapping techniques, they could identify the key subject areas where they need to establish expertise.

For an AI accounting assistant, these clusters might include:

Accounting regulation content by jurisdiction (US GAAP, IFRS, state-specific requirements)

Common accounting challenges and pain points (audit preparation, tax season workflows, client communication)

Technology integration topics (connecting AI assistants with existing accounting software)

Productivity and efficiency in accounting practices

Data security and compliance for financial information

Each of these clusters would then branch into dozens of specific topics, creating a comprehensive content ecosystem that signals expertise to both search engines and potential users. This approach mirrors successful strategies seen in other specialized B2B SaaS companies targeting professional services.

Implementing this strategy with a tool like Basis AI would allow them to systematically build authority while their product development continues. The beauty of this approach is that it creates value immediately while setting the stage for product launch.

Content Strategy Implementation

With topical clusters identified, Basis would need to implement a systematic content development strategy. Rather than random blog posts, they would create interconnected content pieces that collectively establish expertise.

For example, a cluster on tax preparation might include articles on automation opportunities, common pitfalls, jurisdiction-specific considerations, and how AI can streamline the process. Each piece would naturally reference their upcoming product as part of the solution narrative without feeling overly promotional.

This is where topical cluster case studies become particularly valuable, showing how similar approaches have driven significant growth. By studying successful implementations, Basis could accelerate their own progress while avoiding common pitfalls.

The content development process would need to balance depth with production efficiency. Using AI-assisted content creation tools could help scale production while ensuring quality and consistency. However, given the technical nature of accounting content, expert review would remain essential for accuracy and credibility.

The Power of Internal Linking for Authority Building

One often overlooked aspect of effective SEO is strategic internal linking. For Basis, implementing an automated internal linking strategy would significantly accelerate their authority building efforts.

By connecting related content pieces through contextual links, they would help search engines understand the relationships between topics and subtopics. This creates a semantic web that strengthens the entire site's authority and helps individual pages rank more effectively.

For example, an article about tax preparation workflows would naturally link to content about automation opportunities, regulatory requirements, and efficiency best practices. This creates a comprehensive resource that serves both users and search algorithms.

Technical Implementation and Optimization

Beyond content creation, Basis would need to ensure their technical SEO foundation supports their growth ambitions. This includes:

• Site architecture optimization to support their topical clusters

• Schema markup implementation for accounting-specific content

• Page speed optimization for both mobile and desktop experiences

• Structured data implementation to enhance SERP features

• Analytics configuration to track performance by cluster and topic

While these technical elements might seem secondary to content creation, they significantly impact how effectively search engines can crawl, index, and rank their content. Getting these foundations right from the beginning would prevent costly rework later.

Projected Results and Timeline

With consistent implementation of these strategies, Basis could realistically expect to grow from their current 179 monthly visitors to approximately 30,000 monthly visitors within 12 months. This growth would likely follow a hockey stick pattern, with modest gains in the first 3-4 months followed by accelerating growth as their authority strengthens.

This traffic increase would deliver several critical benefits beyond raw numbers:

• Building an engaged audience of accounting professionals before product launch

• Creating opportunities for beta user recruitment from their most engaged readers

• Establishing thought leadership that differentiates them from competitors

• Generating valuable market intelligence through content engagement patterns

• Reducing customer acquisition costs post-launch through organic traffic channels

The SEO foundation they build now would continue paying dividends long after their product launches, creating a sustainable competitive advantage in a crowded market.

Implementation Priorities and Next Steps

If Basis were to implement this strategy, they should prioritize their efforts in this sequence:

First, develop comprehensive topical authority maps covering the full accounting technology ecosystem. This becomes their content roadmap for the next 12-18 months.

Second, create cornerstone content for each major cluster, establishing the foundational expertise upon which they'll build. These pieces should be comprehensive, authoritative, and optimized for both users and search engines.

Third, implement technical SEO foundations including site architecture, schema, and analytics to support their content ecosystem.

Fourth, systematically build out subtopics within each cluster, creating a comprehensive resource library while establishing internal linking patterns.

Fifth, develop a content refresh and optimization schedule to ensure existing content remains current and competitive as search landscapes evolve.

Leveraging Decipher SEO's Capabilities

For a company like Basis with significant funding but limited current traffic, Decipher SEO's platform offers particularly valuable capabilities. The automated internal linking feature would allow them to create a cohesive content ecosystem without manual intervention as their library grows.

The topical cluster planning tools would streamline their authority map development, ensuring comprehensive coverage of their domain expertise. This systematic approach prevents the common startup problem of scattered, disconnected content that fails to build cumulative authority.

The AI content generation capabilities would allow them to scale production efficiently while maintaining quality standards. For technical topics like accounting regulations and practices, this balance of efficiency and expertise is particularly valuable.

Beyond Traffic: Conversion and Engagement

While growing from 179 to 30,000 monthly visitors represents tremendous progress, the ultimate goal extends beyond traffic numbers. Basis would need to focus on engagement metrics and conversion pathways from the beginning.

This includes developing lead capture mechanisms like newsletter subscriptions, whitepaper downloads, and webinar registrations. Each piece of content should include contextually relevant conversion opportunities that align with the reader's interests and stage in their journey.

By segmenting their growing audience based on content engagement patterns, Basis could develop targeted nurture sequences that move prospects toward product adoption once launched. This approach transforms their SEO investment from a traffic generation tool to a comprehensive marketing engine.

Competitive Differentiation Through Content

As Basis builds their SEO foundation, they have an opportunity to establish unique positioning through their content approach. Rather than generic accounting technology content, they could develop a distinctive perspective that aligns with their product vision.

For example, if their AI assistant emphasizes collaboration between human accountants and AI tools (rather than replacement), their content could consistently reinforce this philosophy. This creates both SEO value and brand differentiation simultaneously.

Measuring Success: Beyond Traffic Metrics

For Basis to truly maximize their SEO investment, they'll need comprehensive measurement frameworks that go beyond basic traffic metrics. This includes:

• Topical authority scoring to track their growing expertise footprint

• Engagement metrics segmented by content cluster and topic

• Conversion rates for different audience segments and content types

• Competitive visibility metrics across their key topical areas

• Search visibility for product-relevant terms as they approach launch

These nuanced metrics would allow them to continuously refine their strategy, doubling down on what works while adjusting underperforming areas. This data-driven approach maximizes ROI while building a sustainable competitive advantage.

The Long-Term Vision: SEO as Strategic Asset

For Basis, implementing these SEO strategies represents more than just a traffic growth tactic – it's building a strategic asset that will continue delivering value throughout their company's lifecycle.

The authority they establish now will make future product launches easier, customer acquisition more efficient, and competitive differentiation stronger. In essence, they're not just building traffic but creating a moat around their business that becomes increasingly valuable over time.

For Basis, with $34 million in funding but a product still in development, this approach offers the perfect opportunity to build momentum while their engineering team finalizes their offering. By the time their AI accounting assistant launches, they'll have not just a product but an engaged audience ready to adopt it.

The journey from 179 to 30,000 monthly visitors won't happen overnight, but with systematic implementation of these strategies, it's an achievable goal that transforms their market position and launch potential. For a company at their stage, that's an investment worth making.