8 SEO metrics you should be tracking
Dee Overfield - 16 May 2019
The beauty of SEO – on top of its ability to connect you with an engaged audience – is that you can easily measure and demonstrate its impact. Perhaps there are stakeholders in your business who are unwilling to invest in search engine optimisation, or maybe you just want to know how best to spend your time, to get the most for your efforts. However, you’ll never get the full picture by tracking just one metric. To gain valuable insights and show the difference that SEO is making to your business, you can use these eight key metrics to achieve search engine success.
1. Organic search traffic
SEO aims to increase the number of visitors to your website who get there through organic search engines including Google, Yahoo and Bing. Keep tabs on your organic search traffic using Google Analytics.
2. Keyword rankings
It’s the KPI that everyone associates with SEO. Boosting the performance of your keywords is a fundamental aim that can be easily demonstrated. Whether that’s ranking at number one or simply moving onto the first page of Google search results, you can measure your progress (and check out the competition) using tools such as, SEMRush and Google Rank Checker.
3. Backlinks
Good-quality links that point to your content are really important for a high-ranking site, so every SEO strategy will focus on this. Remember, high quality, relevant links from authoritative sources are the most valuable – so as well as measuring the number of backlinks, you also need to find out where they’re coming from. Use Google Analytics to see where your traffic is being referred from, and Link Explorer to find out more about the domain authority of your referring sites.
4. Domain Authority (DA)
Is your site an authority in its field? Google has its own opinion on that, and this will massively influence your search rankings. Use SEO tool Mozbar to get instant info on your domain authority, as well as the page authority of individual pages.
5. Bounce rate
Simply put, your bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who click through to your site, then immediately hit the back button and ‘bounce’ out again. This may imply to Google that your site isn’t delivering what users need. Keep tabs on your bounce rate using Google Analytics, especially on your main SEO service pages.
6. Returning visitors
At the other side of the coin, returning visitors are an indicator that your site is super-useful. It’s so good that people will make the effort to return! That’s fantastic news for your SEO and again, you can get all the data you need using Google Analytics.
7. Site speed
Today’s web users are impatient people. Many (if not most) of your visitors will be using a mobile device, and they don’t want to hang around. We’ve previously mentioned how site speed is a really important part of Google’s latest algorithm; measure it using GTMetrix.
8. Conversions
Strip it all away, and conversions are the only reason anyone really bothers with SEO. It’s all about meeting your goals, whether that’s by making more sales, getting clicks through to a particular page, or gathering email addresses for marketing. At Wagada, we specialise in conversion rate optimisation, converting visitors into valued clients.
At Wagada, we’re all about the data. Whatever your goals, we’ll report on your progress with cold, hard figures, to demonstrate the difference a good SEO strategy can make. Find out more about our SEO services today and speak to one of our specialists on 01727 260187!
