By Gabriela Damaceno
SEO has a complicated name, and it can be scary for small business owners. It is a somewhat complex strategy, due to the high number of details or the technical part itself. Many marketers or entrepreneurs who execute SEO strategies face a considerable dilemma, which is how to measure the effort and resources used in the SEO campaigns.
One of the most significant ambitions of companies that invest in online marketing is to reach the top positions in search engines (mainly Google) – after all, who doesn’t want free clicks and more visitors to your site, right? It is unanimity among marketers that organic traffic is a valuable asset to every company – B2B, or B2C.
However, having a website is not enough to ensure that your site, e-commerce, or blog gets a spot on the front page of Google: you need to invest in a specific strategy to optimize results and ensure your business ranks well.
There are many optimizations you can make to your website and content to improve your readers’ experience and make it a great result in the eyes of search engines. Remember: you are publishing content for your potential clients, not for Google or any other search engine. This is the most critical aspect to have in mind when reviewing your SEO campaigns and to measure their metrics.
Top SEO KPIs You Must Track
There are three tools that I use daily to track and measure these results: Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and Ahrfes.
But what numbers are significant, and you must track?
Traffic KPIs
By analyzing the Google Analytics reports, you can identify organic growth opportunity points and also track the results you have obtained over specific periods.
Which metrics should you check at Google Analytics?
- Increased organic traffic
- Increased number of pages that drive considerable site traffic
- Increased traffic from non-branded pages
Which metrics should you check at Google Search Console?
- Total number of organic impressions
- CTR increase of my search pages
Organic traffic is the acquisition channel that shows that our SEO efforts are being rewarded – don’t consider traffic from social channels and paid advertisement.
Attracting visitors to our pages without having to invest in acquiring these clicks is an excellent argument for introducing your company. Here you can integrate a retargeting on Facebook, for example, with an ad related to the page that the user visited.
Lead Generation KPIs
Here we consider that your site is ready for lead generation.
Specific call-to-action format conversions at the end and throughout the articles, some kind of email capture tool like subscription bar are the essential points to increase the lead generation of your website or blog.
Related to conversion from organic traffic, here are some of the metrics that you must keep your eye on:
- Percentage of visitors converted to leads
- Rate of new newsletter subscriptions
- Total leads generated via blog
Head up here! Sometimes it will be hard to track these conversion rates. For example, a user can land on your website using a desktop and dial your number on the phone. So, that is why your sales/customer service team must always be instructed to ask the referral source.
Branded Keywords KPIs
Branded keywords are nothing more than keywords that are directly linked to your business identity, and it reflects your brand awareness. These variations bring incredibly qualified traffic to our site.
You should be well aware that if you and your team convert a visitor who came across such a keyword, the chance of getting a full hit on a business opportunity is much higher.
So when we think of branded keywords, the KPIs you should track:
- Increased traffic from branded keywords
- Increased number of mentions of branded keywords ( this is really important to follow)
Also, you need to remember to track what is one of the most important things about the SEO asset: links.
Link Building KPIs
Link building, if you do not know, is the name given to a well-structured strategy that has the simple objective of acquiring good quality links and, if possible, natural. Without them, it is virtually impossible to reach the top of Google’s organic searches.
Conclusion
Calculating SEO ROI is critical to getting the most out of what search engines can do for your business. By doing strategic planning, analyzing metrics the right way, and acting on the data you collect, your business has everything to top the search rankings.
