Whether you're a freelance photographer or a digital freelancer, having an online presence is a super important part of your client acquisition strategy.
And this is where SEO comes into play!
SEO is the process of optimizing your online presence to rank higher on search engines like Google and Bing.
Overall, you want your site to rank at the top of search results for keywords relevant to your products or services.
However, having a SEO checklist and implementing it is just the first step. You need to track the results - on a regular basis.
SEO results tracking is essential for your site’s success - eventually your business’s success.
In this article, we'll go over the key SEO performance metrics that you can use to track your SEO results - like a pro.
Metrics To Track SEO Results
Google uses more than 200 ranking factors.
There are hundreds of metrics that you can track to measure your SEO results.
However, it is best to focus on a few at first.
Let's explore the most important metrics to consider:
1. Organic Traffic
Organic traffic is one of the most important metrics to measure SEO results. This metric serves as the number of visitors your site receives solely from organic search or SERPs.
A key goal of any SEO strategy is to increase your visibility in search results for relevant keywords - and it follows that if you're achieving success, the number of visitors you attract from search results should rise gradually.
And getting this data is super simple.
Just open Google Analytics > Navigate to “All Traffic” > Channels > See the number of “Organic Search”.
You might alter the date and time frame to get a clearer overview of your organic traffic performance over time and see if it reflects the results of your SEO efforts.
2. Keyword Rankings
Your organic rankings are an excellent measure of whether your SEO strategy is working.
You want your site to rank on the first page of Google or as close to its top as possible, where you will get the most opportunity to earn more organic traffic.
A very normal Google search can help you track your Google ranking. Results will show you how your website ranks for competitive keywords.
Alternatively, you can use our keyword rank checker tool to verify the rankings of your target keywords.
3. Click Through Rate (CTR)
You can analyze your CTR from search results to a particular page to determine how well your page title and meta description are optimized.
A higher CTR typically indicates that your website is attractive and relevant to users' search queries.
Monitoring CTR as part of your SEO performance can help you figure out how appealing your results are to users and track the impact of any tweaks you make.
You can easily check your organic CTR in Google Search Console > under Performance > Search Results.
Essentially, you need to look for pages with a high number of impressions but a low CTR. Those are the pages you need to optimize.
4. Time On Page
Getting visitors is only the first step - you also want them to spend time on your website.
If a 3000-word blog post receives an average Time-on-Page of merely 5 seconds, it is highly unlikely that the content is effective.
And that can literally damage your SEO performance.
When someone types a keyword into Google lands on your page and spends some sort of time there, it means your site satisfied what they were looking for.
A high time-on-page score indicates that your content satisfies the needs of visitors based on the keywords you used to bring them to your site.
Using Google Analytics, you can easily track the average time spent on a page.
Open your Google Analytics > Navigate to Behavior > Overview > See the average time-on-page.
This will allow you to track the average time spent on every page and post on your website.
5. Bounce Rate
Bounce Rate is another good user behavioral indicator of how well your SEO strategy is working.
This metric displays the percentage of users who click on a link to your website and then leave without taking any further action.
In general, it's an excellent indicator of a page's quality.
A high bounce rate is a sign that you need to make your site more user-friendly, as well as improve your potential to correlate your content to the keywords you want it to rank for.
6. Backlinks
According to Google, Backlinks are one of the top ranking factors.
Backlinks play a crucial role in SEO by indicating the credibility and relevance of a website to search engines.
They act as "votes of confidence" from other reputable sites, improving search engine rankings and driving organic traffic.
Quality backlinks are essential for establishing authority and improving your overall SEO score.
7. Page Speed
Page speed is an important factor that influences almost all of the other SEO performance metrics.
Page speed is a major factor in your site's ability to rank well and convert visitors into customers, and it is one of the most important factors in terms of user experience.
As you go through your SEO checklist, it's important to keep an eye to see if your changes have an effect on your page load times.
With tools such as GTmetrix, PageSpeed Insights, and our page speed checker tool, you can check out your site speed and get some suggestions on how to increase page speed for better SEO.
Additionally, we recommend you read our recent blog post on how to speed up your page loading speed for improved SEO performance.
8. Crawling Errors
No matter how good your website is, if search engines can't can’t crawl your site, your rankings will suffer.
You can use Google Search Console to check for crawling errors and get suggestions on how to fix them for better crawlability.
9. Conversion Rate
Conversion rate represents the ultimate success of your SEO strategy.
This is the most important metric for determining the success of your website. Ultimately, you have a website to showcase your business and convert leads into sales.
A very simple way to track your conversion rates is to set up custom goals in Google Analytics.
You can set up goals for various purposes, such as reading an article, watching a video, becoming an email subscriber, enrolling in a course, or any other action that convert visitors into customers.
This way, you'll get a clear picture of which landing pages, devices, locations, and other factors are leading to more conversions and which aren't.
10. Domain Authority
If you want to measure your overall SEO performance in one metric, your website's Domain Authority is undoubtedly the best choice.
Domain Authority (aka Domain Rating) predicts how well a domain will rank on search results. It takes into account a variety of ranking factors that search engines use to rank websites on search engine result pages.
New sites are always assigned an authority score of 1. You can use domain authority scores to compare your website to your competitors and tweak your SEO strategy to achieve a higher website authority score.
Any SEO strategy aimed at upgrading content, increasing backlinks, improving keyword rankings etc should result in an increase in Domain Authority.
Tools To Track SEO Results
Fortunately, there are numerous tools that can help measure your SEO results.
Here are some tracking tools that can provide valuable insights:
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a powerful web analytics tool that offers comprehensive data on website performance. It provides insights into organic traffic, user behavior, conversion rates, and more. By setting up Google Analytics, you can track and analyze various SEO metrics.
Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a free tool offered by Google that helps you monitor and maintain your website's presence in search results. It provides data on keyword rankings, click-through rates, website errors, and indexing issues. Utilizing GSC allows you to optimize your website for better search engine visibility.
bestSEOtool
bestSEOtool is an all-in-one solution for SEO professionals. Content writing tools, link building tools, website analysis tools and many more useful SEO tools are grouped together. Best of all, you can get some proven practical tips on how to take your website SEO to the very next level.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs is a popular SEO tool that offers a wide range of features for analyzing SEO results. It provides comprehensive data on organic traffic, backlinks, competitor analysis, keyword research, and more. Ahrefs can help you uncover valuable insights and optimize your SEO strategies.
SEMrush
SEMrush is another robust SEO tool that provides comprehensive data and features for analyzing SEO results. It offers keyword research, competitor analysis, backlink analysis, rank tracking, and more. SEMrush can assist you in identifying areas for improvement and optimizing your website's performance.
Roadmap to SEO Success
To succeed in SEO, it's crucial to establish a baseline, set realistic goals, and monitor your progress.
Here are some steps to consider:
Establishing Baseline
Before implementing a solid SEO strategy, establish a baseline by tracking relevant metrics such as organic traffic, keyword rankings, and conversion rates. This baseline will serve as a benchmark for measuring improvements.
Setting Realistic Goals
Set specific and achievable goals based on your website's current performance and desired outcomes. For example, you may aim to increase organic traffic by a certain percentage or improve keyword rankings for specific target keywords. Ensure your goals align with your overall business objectives.
Monitor Progress
Regularly track and analyze your SEO metrics to monitor your progress. Use the tools mentioned earlier to measure changes in organic traffic, keyword rankings, backlinks, and conversion rates. Monitoring progress helps you identify areas of success and areas that require further optimization.
Analyze Competitor's SEO
Analyzing your competitors' SEO strategies can provide valuable insights and help you identify opportunities for improvement.
Here are some steps to consider:
Identifying Competitors
Identify your main competitors in the online space. Look for websites that target similar keywords or cater to a similar audience. Analyzing your competitors allows you to gain insights into their SEO strategies and identify areas where you can differentiate yourself.
Analyzing Keywords
Examine your competitors' keyword rankings to understand which search terms they are targeting and where they are performing well. This analysis can help you identify gaps in your own keyword strategy and uncover new keyword opportunities.
Spy Backlink Strategy
Analyze your competitors' backlink profiles to understand the quality and quantity of links they have. Look for opportunities to acquire similar high-quality backlinks to improve your own website's authority and visibility. This analysis can also help you identify potential link-building strategies.
Leverage Content Strategy
Study your competitors' content strategies to gain insights into the types of content they produce, their topics, and their formats. This analysis can help you identify content gaps and opportunities to create valuable, engaging content that sets you apart from your competitors.
Data-Driven SEO Strategy
Analyzing SEO results provides you with valuable data that can guide your decision-making.
Here's how you can make data-driven decisions based on your findings:
Analyze SEO Trends
Look for trends and patterns in your SEO data. Identify which strategies are working well and which ones are not delivering the desired results. Analyze how changes in algorithms or industry trends impact your SEO performance.
Identify Growth Scopes
Based on your analysis, identify areas where you can capitalize on opportunities. This may involve targeting new keywords, optimizing underperforming pages, improving website speed, or enhancing user experience. Use the insights gained from your SEO results to prioritize and implement changes.
Adjust SEO Strategy
Continuously refine and adapt your SEO strategies based on the data you collect. Experiment with different approaches, measure their impact on your SEO results, and make adjustments accordingly. Data-driven decision-making ensures that your SEO efforts are effective and aligned with your goals.
The Never-Ending Journey
SEO is an ongoing process that requires continuous optimization and improvement.
Here are some key areas to focus on:
Updated Content
Keep your website's content fresh and up to date. Regularly update and refresh existing content to provide value to your audience and search engines. Add new information, incorporate relevant keywords, and ensure that your content remains relevant and engaging.
Mobile Optimization
With the increasing use of mobile devices, optimizing your website for mobile responsiveness is crucial. Ensure that your site is mobile-friendly, loads quickly, and provides a seamless user experience across different devices. Mobile optimization is essential for improving user satisfaction and search engine rankings.
Improve Site Speed
Website speed is a critical factor in both user experience and search engine rankings. Optimize your website's loading speed by minimizing file sizes, leveraging caching techniques, and optimizing code. A faster website improves user satisfaction, reduces bounce rates, and enhances search engine visibility.
Monitor Algorithm Updates
Search engine algorithms are constantly evolving. Stay informed about algorithm updates and adjust your SEO strategies accordingly. Regularly monitor your SEO results to identify any significant changes that may be influenced by algorithm updates. Stay proactive in adapting to these changes to maintain and improve your rankings.
FAQs
Q. Can I check SEO results without using tools?
While using SEO tools provides valuable insights, you can still check some basic SEO metrics using free resources like Google Analytics and Google Search Console. These tools offer data on organic traffic, keyword rankings, and user behavior.
Q. How long does it take to see SEO results?
The timeline for seeing improvements in SEO results can vary based on several factors, including the competitiveness of your industry, the quality of your optimization efforts, and the search engine's crawl and index frequency. Generally, it can take several months to a year to see significant improvements in rankings and organic traffic.
Q. Is it possible to rank without backlinks?
While backlinks are an important ranking factor, it is possible to achieve high rankings without relying solely on backlinks. Other factors like quality content, user experience, on-page optimization, and social signals also contribute to search engine visibility. However, building a strong backlink profile is still beneficial for long-term SEO success.
Q. What's the best frequency for tracking SEO results?
The ideal frequency for tracking SEO results depends on factors such as the size of your website, industry competitiveness, and available resources. Generally, it is recommended to track and analyze SEO metrics at least once a month to identify trends, measure progress, and make informed decisions for optimization.
Q. How can I stay up to date with SEO best practices?
To stay informed about the latest SEO best practices, you can follow reputable industry blogs, subscribe to newsletters from SEO experts, participate in online forums and communities, attend webinars or conferences, and engage with fellow professionals. Continuous education and staying updated with industry trends are key to effective SEO strategies.
Final Thoughts
Checking SEO results like a pro requires a comprehensive approach that involves analyzing key metrics, leveraging the right tools, setting goals, analyzing competitor strategies, making data-driven decisions, and continuously optimizing your website.
By following all the abovementioned steps and staying up to date with SEO best practices, you can improve your website's visibility, attract more organic traffic, and achieve your SEO goals.
