Tracking SEO performance is an essential part of every digital marketing strategy. When you use efficient tracking tools and targeted analysis, you’ll gain a better understanding of which SEO methods work most effectively and what helps your website rank in search engines.
So what metrics are the most important in auditing websites for SEO performance? We list our top five below.
1. Organic Traffic
An SEO campaign usually focuses on increasing your site’s organic traffic, so that’s one of the first metrics you should check. Organic traffic shows how many visitors land on your site using organic search (as opposed to other traffic sources, like paid ads).
If your SEO efforts are on the right track, you should see a steady increase in organic traffic over time. You can easily access this data in Google Analytics.
2. Domain Authority
Domain authority is a number between 0 and 100 that indicates overall SEO strength score. SEO tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs use this number to measure a website’s overall SEO power.
Several factors go into calculating a domain authority rating, including your number of backlinks and the quality of domains that link to your site. Higher-scoring sites will rank better in Google for relevant search queries.
You should also look at Page Authority to gauge the authority of specific key pages on your site.
3. Keyword Rankings
A potent SEO strategy always starts with keyword research to discover which keywords your target customers are using. A successful SEO strategy should help your website rank higher for these keywords and queries.
A simple Google search can give you an indication of how well your website ranks for relevant keywords (do you appear on the first results page? Does Google’s 3-Pack feature your business?), but you can also use SEMrush and other tools to see your site’s exact ranking position.
4. CTR (Clickthrough Rate)
CTR is your sites view-to-click ratio. In SEO campaigns, this metric shows how many of the users who saw your site in their search results clicked through to your page. For example, if 10 users out of a 100 who saw your listing clicked through, your CTR is 10%.
Higher-ranking websites naturally enjoy a higher CTR. Compelling titles and meta descriptions that match your target user’s search intent will help you improve clickthrough rates.
5. Conversion Rate
While tracking SEO performance typically centers on traffic, your end goal is conversion—that is, turning visitors into clients. You want to find out how many leads and sales your SEO campaign generated.
You can achieve this by using Google Analytics to measure custom goals, like sign-ups, form submissions, or purchases.
Results Digital: Promote Business Growth With High-Powered SEO and Digital Marketing
At Results Digital, we help businesses thrive with strategic SEO services. Our talented, highly trained team will custom-tailor a marketing strategy that targets your company’s needs and also use advanced SEO tools for tracking SEO success.
Request your local SEO report today and schedule a consultation to learn more about our services.