In the ever-evolving world of digital marketing, understanding how to measure and analyze your SEO performance is crucial for staying ahead of the competition.
Measuring and analyzing SEO metrics can be daunting but you can leverage the power of SEO tools:
However, using free SEO tools can be dicey. You might end up regretting using some free SEO tools, tread that path with care.
It’s not uncommon for SEO practitioners to fall into common traps or focus on the wrong SEO metrics. So, to help you avoid these pitfalls, we’ve brought together a group of seasoned professionals who will share their wisdom and strategies for effective SEO performance measurement. Join us as we uncover the secrets to unlocking meaningful insights and driving your website’s success.
What’s something that SEOs often get wrong in performance measurement?
There’s lots of somethings 😀 1) Not measuring 2) Focusing on “SEO” metrics, not Business ones 3) Using “base” metrics on their own (Bounce Rate etc.) 4) Not realising most tools are estimates 5) Trying to compare/use metrics from 2+ sources
Darth Autocrat (Lyndon NA)
A1: I ran across this the other day and it’s still in my head… “When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.” – Goodhart’s Law It’s easy to get overly focused on metrics and not on what’s being targeted.
Boyd Lake SEO
A1. Focus on rank instead of performance. Rank is mercurial, dependent on personalization by location or profile. On page performance metrics illustrate engagement and conversion performance.
Marianne Sweeny
What’s the first step in actionable performance measurement in SEO?
A2: Actionable performance measurement in SEO is to define clear, specific, and measurable goals aligned with business objectives. This help to focus SEO strategy on what is essential to your business, create a sense of purpose, and prioritize what to measure.
Megan Newman | eCommerce
a2. I like to pull a rank landscape and sort by visibility, Authority (1-5), Striking Distance (6-15), etc. This gives me a starting point to find out where client strong content is and what the search engines think client content is about.
Marianne Sweeny
Identifying Business Goal(s), then walking the chain backwards to identify SEO KPIs that match/reflect/correlate/contribute to the Business Goal(s)
Darth Autocrat
What are some metrics you always include in your SEO reports?
#/% of Branded queries/clicks (per period)
Darth Autocrat (Lyndon NA
#/% of Branded+Product/Service queries (p/p)
# of Traffic generating terms % of TGTs that are in the primary “keyword list”
# Traffic per period (coz I is not blind to “traffic erosion!” :D) % converting traffic
A3: The organic traffic and traffic source are the first and foremost. When you know how much organic traffic you’re getting, just learn what source worked and will work in the future.
Мartin Тolovski
A3/1: The metrics that should be included in your SEO report depend on your business goals and the metrics that best align with those objectives. However, some of the essential metrics that I always include in my reports are:
Megan Newman | eCommerce
How would you measure the success of a content program?
A5: A reduction in the number of tickets regarding FAQs about your product or service to start!
Sweepsify
1) If it achieved any defined goal
Darth Autocrat (Lyndon NA)
2) By the % contributed towards the defined goal (within whatever timeframe allotted) The actual metric and value vary.
A4: Measuring the success of a content program can be challenging since success is often subjective and depends on various factors specific to your business goals. – Traffic – Engagement – Conversion rate – Brand Awareness – Inbound Links – RoI
Megan Newman | eCommerce
How would you measure the success of an internal linking initiative?
Primarily – by completing linking between relevant pages (should be a list of “sources > target”). But the value can be measured by : * ranking improvements * terms ranked for * increased internal page views of target pages * increased time on site etc.
Darth Autocrat
A5: It depends on the KPI that you have set for success. Usually, these include pageviews, time on page, conversion rate, backlink growth, page ranking, etc.
Pavel Stepanov
A5: I’d focus on whether the site engagement is improved or not. The right internal linking initiative improves structure, UX, navigation, helping customers to reach to the targeted pages
Мartin Тolovski
Do you have any advice for people new to SEO performance measurement and reporting?
A6. Stay flexible: #SEO is dynamic, and measurement and reporting practices may evolve. Stay adaptable and be open to adopting new tools, techniques, and approaches as the SEO landscape evolves.
Serpstat
Yes 😀 1) Use your brain. None of it’s rocket science – most of it is obvious, common sense and very logical. 2) Always work backwards. From Business to SEO, from Site to Page etc.
Darth Autocrat
A6: Establish a baseline data to benchmark and track improvements. Capture relevant metrics before implementing SEO strategies to have a basis for comparison and to measure the impact of your efforts accurately.
Pavel Stepanov
It’s important for anyone new to SEO performance assessment and reporting to be able to adapt and eager to learn. However, SEO methods evolve, so be ready to accept new tools and approaches as they become available.
You can successfully assess and analyze your SEO performance, match your efforts with your company’s goals, and make data-driven decisions to enhance your SEO strategy by following the best practices in the chat above. But remember to prioritize using the assessment data to create a solid content strategy for your campaign’s success.
