Evaluating SEO value with Mergers & Acquisitions in SaaS

In 2025, a major software enterprise (Company A) acquired a rising AI design SaaS startup (Company B) with $20M ARR. The acquisition aligned product portfolios and strengthened innovation, but it also surfaced an often-overlooked question:

How do you combine two SEO ecosystems—over 2,500 unique pages—without losing organic visibility, rankings, and traffic?

This blog-style case study unpacks exactly what we did, how we did it, the key challenges we encountered, and the strategies that delivered a 40% increase in organic traffic within 6 months.

Background and Goals

Company A:

• Large brand with a global footprint
• Over 1.2M indexed pages
• High domain authority (DA 92+)
• Strong in enterprise design, creative, and development tools

Company B:

• High-growth unicorn with niche in AI-powered design automation
• 500 indexed pages, DA 65
• Built on product-led SEO and organic growth
• Monthly organic traffic: ~180K sessions

Core Goals:

1. Migrate all relevant Company B content to Company A’s ecosystem
2. Preserve or grow organic traffic and keyword rankings
3. Avoid cannibalization or content decay post-merger
4. Protect link equity and UX for legacy users

Step 1: SEO Discovery, Content Audit, and Page Mapping

We started with a full-scale audit of both sites to assess:

• Total indexed content (~2,500 combined pages)
• Duplicate or overlapping keyword coverage
• Technical SEO health (speed, schema, CWV)
• Backlink profile and anchor text diversity

We developed a content tagging framework with 4 buckets:

What We Did:

• Used Screaming Frog and custom crawlers for metadata mapping
• Tagged each page manually with support from AI-based clustering models
• Created a master migration spreadsheet with:
  
  • Old URL
  • New URL (if applicable)
  • Redirect type
  • Responsible team member

Challenge: Some URLs contained dynamically generated parameters or session IDs that weren’t crawlable.

Solution: We used log files + GA4 data to identify the true top-performing canonical URLs before mapping.

Step 2: Keyword Consolidation & Cannibalization Fixes

Both companies ranked for:

• “AI design tool”
• “online graphic template maker”
• “generate images with AI”

This raised the risk of keyword cannibalization post-merger.

What We Did:

• Ran overlapping keyword audits using Ahrefs and Semrush
• Grouped duplicate blog topics (8 major overlaps)
• Created single, authoritative posts using content from both sources
• Used canonical tags during interim period before full consolidation
• Audited SERPs to determine which brand’s page had stronger rankings and backlinks

Challenge: Google initially split rankings between old and new pages.

Solution: We applied temporary rel=canonical on legacy URLs pointing to the new versions. After 6 weeks, we executed 301s once rankings stabilized.

Step 3: Redirect Strategy and Technical SEO Execution

We implemented a phased redirect strategy for 500+ URLs:

• Product pages: /features/design-ai → /ai-tools/
• Blog posts: /blog/how-to-design-with-ai → /insights/design-ai-guide
• Resource centers and help docs

How We Did It:

• Created XML redirect maps and tested via staging
• Updated internal links across Company A’s content and navigation
• Submitted updated sitemaps and re-crawled URLs via GSC
• Added 410 Gone for sunset content to prevent crawl waste

Challenge: Company B’s CDN cached old URLs aggressively.

Solution: Cleared cache layers and worked directly with edge providers to force refresh of 301 behavior.

Step 4: Internal Linking and On-Site Content Optimization

To pass authority and create crawl pathways, we rebuilt the internal linking structure.

What We Did:

• Used in-house scripts to detect orphaned pages
• Linked new content into Company A’s existing content clusters
• Added breadcrumb schema and nav elements to integrate new sections
• Created topic hubs like /ai-design/ with spoke content under them

We also optimized all migrated content:

• Rewrote meta titles and descriptions for clarity and CTR
• Updated headers, images, and cross-links
• Ensured H1-H3 structure matched new topical maps

Challenge: Old blog content used inconsistent headings and internal anchors.

Solution: Built automated content scoring sheets to prioritize rewrites based on CTR, bounce rate, and depth.

Step 5: Backlink Reclamation and Domain Equity Transfer

Company B had 16,000+ backlinks, but many pointed to soon-to-be-dead URLs.

What We Did:

• Identified top 500 referring domains
• Prioritized backlinks by DR, traffic, and topical relevance
• Launched outreach campaign using AI-assisted personalization
• Secured 380 link updates to the new content URLs
• Built 30+ new backlinks to fresh post-merger AI content through PR campaigns

Challenge: Some referring domains were unresponsive or defunct.

Solution: Implemented permanent 301s, and used disavow tool for toxic backlinks to avoid dilution.

Step 6: Measurement, KPIs & Post-Migration Improvements

We tracked:

• Organic sessions
• Keyword rankings (top 3, top 10)
• Blog traffic
• Conversions from organic sources
• Bounce rate + average session time

Results After 6 Months:

Biggest Win: Our consolidated AI design content cluster became a top 5 traffic driver on the new domain within 90 days.

Final Thoughts & Takeaways

Merging two brands is not just a technical task—it’s a strategic SEO operation that impacts visibility, growth, and brand equity.

What Worked Well:

• Structured audit and tagging upfront
• Controlled, phased redirects
• Strong internal linking and topic hubs
• Link reclamation parallel to migration

What We’d Do Differently:

• Introduce UX and branding alignment sooner (early confusion cost conversions)
• Run parallel A/B tests on key product pages before canonicalization

SEO isn’t something you bolt on after an acquisition. It should be baked in from day one.

Need help planning your SEO migration? Reach out or leave a comment below — happy to share templates, frameworks, or insights tailored to your situation.