Key Metrics to Measure for SEO Success

To effectively assess the success of the SEO efforts and drive business growth, it’s crucial to track the right metrics. While SEO rankings are valuable, the true measure of success lies in how well SEO contributes to the business goals, including increased revenue and brand visibility.

Essential Metrics to Track

Audience Quality:
Ensure that the SEO efforts attract visitors who are likely to convert into customers.

Engagement and Behavior:
Assess whether users are finding the information they need, spending time on the site, and taking the desired actions.

Conversions:
Measure whether organic traffic is leading to the desired outcomes, such as sales or lead generation.

Brand Impact:
Evaluate how SEO is influencing the brand’s reputation and visibility.

Important Categories of Metrics to Monitor

User Engagement Metrics

Bounce Rate:
The bounce rate is the percentage of users who leave the site after viewing only one page, without interacting further.

A high bounce rate can indicate that visitors are not finding what they need, causing them to exit quickly.

Why Bounce Rate Matters in SEO:
User Experience:
A high bounce rate might point to issues with content, design, or alignment with user intent.

Addressing these issues can significantly improve user experience.

SEO Rankings:
Search engines prioritize providing relevant results.

A high bounce rate could signal to Google that the site isn’t meeting user expectations, leading to decreased visibility and negatively affecting conversions.

How to Analyze Bounce Rate:
Use Google Analytics 4 to check the percentage of single-page visits.
Calculate it by dividing single-page visits by the total number of visits and multiplying by 100.
For instance, if the website received 500 visitors and 400 left after viewing just one page, the bounce rate would be 80% (400/500 x 100).

Dwell Time (Engaged Session Duration):
Dwell time measures the duration users spend actively engaging with the site’s content during a session.

Why Dwell Time Matters in SEO:
Content Engagement and Relevance:
Longer dwell times indicate that users find the content valuable and are willing to spend time interacting with it.
Impact on Rankings:
High engaged session durations signal to search engines that the content satisfies user intent, which can lead to improved rankings.
Assessing Content Effectiveness:
If users spend more time on the site, it suggests the content meets their needs and expectations.

How to Analyze Dwell Time:
In Google Analytics 4, go to “Reports” in the left-hand menu.
Choose “Traffic Acquisition: Session default channel group.”
Click the pencil icon at the top right corner, select “Metrics,” and add “Average Engagement Time.”

Engaged Sessions Per User:
This metric measures how often users engage meaningfully with the site, such as by viewing multiple pages or completing specific actions like form submissions or purchases.

Why Engaged Sessions Per User Matter in SEO:
It helps identify the quality of user interaction with the site.
A higher number of engaged sessions suggests that users are finding the site valuable and are more likely to convert.

By focusing on these key metrics, gain a deeper understanding of the SEO performance, identify areas for improvement, and ultimately achieve better business results.

Engaged Sessions and Their Impact on SEO

An engaged session is recorded when a user lands on the homepage, spends over a minute exploring the content, clicks on a product page, and completes a form.

This behavior signifies meaningful interaction with the website.

Importance of Engaged Sessions Per User for SEO

Reflects User Engagement and Satisfaction:
High engaged sessions per user indicate that visitors find the content valuable and are interacting with it in a meaningful way.

Positive Impact on SEO:
Search engines use engagement metrics as indicators of content quality and relevance.

High engagement levels suggest that the site meets user needs, which can positively influence rankings.

Calculating Engaged Sessions Per User

Although Google Analytics provides this metric directly, calculate it manually.

Divide the total number of engaged sessions by the number of unique users.

For example, if there were 2,500 engaged sessions and 1,000 unique users, on average, each user had 2.5 engaged sessions during that month.

Key Conversion Metrics to Track

Organic Conversion Rate

The organic conversion rate represents the percentage of visitors who arrive at the website through organic search results and complete a desired action, such as:

Making a purchase (common for ecommerce sites).
Submitting a lead form (for businesses focused on lead generation).
Subscribing to a newsletter (for building an email list).

This metric indicates how well SEO efforts are driving valuable clicks that contribute to business goals.

How to Calculate the Organic Conversion Rate:

Determine what constitutes a conversion for the business (e.g., form submission, sale, subscription).
Track the number of users who complete the desired action and the total number of organic visitors over a specific period.
Divide the number of conversions by the total number of organic visitors, then multiply by 100 to get a percentage.

For example, if 500 out of 10,000 organic visitors complete the desired action, the conversion rate would be 5%.

Goal Completions

A goal completion occurs whenever a user performs a predefined valuable action on the site.

Tracking goal completions helps determine whether the SEO efforts are driving the right traffic and whether visitors are taking the desired actions.

How to Track Goal Completions:

Choose an analytics platform such as GA4, Adobe Analytics.
Define specific goals (e.g., “purchase confirmation page viewed”).
Set up goal tracking.

In GA4, set up goal tracking as follows:

Go to the Admin section.
In the Property column, click on “Events.”
Click the “Create Event” button to set up a new event.
Name the event (e.g., “form submission” or “purchase completed”).
Define the event conditions (e.g., event name equals “form_submit”).
Click “Create” to save the new event.
Mark the event as a Key Event (conversion).
Monitor and analyze the reports to track goal completions.

Ecommerce Transactions

In ecommerce, a conversion is a completed action that generates revenue.

While the most apparent conversion is a purchase, other valuable actions include adding items to a cart, creating an account, or subscribing to emails.

Tracking these actions provides insights into user behavior and the effectiveness of the marketing strategies.

UTM Parameters and Attribution Models

UTM parameters help identify which blog post drives conversions. Attribution models then assign credit to the blog post as the source of conversion.

By linking this data to the CRM, the purchase can be connected to the user’s profile, allowing for deeper analysis and insights.

Traffic Metrics to Prioritize

Organic Traffic Volume
Organic traffic refers to the number of visitors arriving at the website through unpaid search results, such as clicks from search engine results pages (SERPs).
Significance: A high volume of organic traffic indicates that search engines deem the website to be relevant and authoritative for targeted keywords. This suggests strong SEO performance.
Benefit: Quality content can attract and convert users without relying on paid advertising.

How to Measure Organic Traffic:
Access the GA4 account and navigate to Acquisition Reports: Reports > Acquisition > Traffic Acquisition.

Organic Traffic Value
Organic traffic value assesses the potential revenue or business impact of the visitors attracted through SEO efforts, beyond just the number of visitors.
Focus: It’s a metric centered around return on investment (ROI).

Calculating Organic Traffic Value:
Cost-Per-Click (CPC) Method: Estimate the value of organic traffic by calculating the cost that would be incurred on paid advertising (PPC) to obtain the same number of clicks.

Conversion-Based Value: Calculate the revenue generated from organic traffic by tracking conversions and assigning a value to each conversion.

Customer Lifetime Value (LTV): This approach considers the total value a customer provides over their relationship with the business.

Technical SEO Metrics to Monitor

Technical SEO metrics provide insight into the website’s infrastructure, ensuring search engines can effectively access, crawl, and index the content.

Crawl Errors
Crawl errors occur when search engine bots (like Googlebot) encounter issues while attempting to access pages on the website, which can negatively impact rankings and visibility in SERPs.

Types of Crawl Errors:
404 (Not Found):This error occurs when a page cannot be found, potentially due to a broken link, a deleted page, or a typo in the URL.
5xx (Server Errors):These errors indicate a server issue when processing a request, which could result from a temporary outage, a misconfiguration, or server overload.
Robots.txt Errors: These errors arise when the robots.txt file blocks search engine bots from accessing certain parts of the website.

This version streamlines the information and organizes it for better clarity and readability.

Identifying Crawl Errors

To identify crawl errors, follow these steps:

Access Google Search Console (GSC): Navigate to the platform to get insights into the website’s performance.

Review Index Coverage: Go to Index > Coverage** to find a comprehensive list of crawl errors and warnings.

Examine Specific Errors: Click on each error to access detailed information, including the affected URLs and the type of error.

Prioritize Critical Issues: Focus on the most significant errors, particularly 404 errors on important pages.

Analyze Server Logs: Check the server logs for crawl errors that may not be listed in GSC.

To address 404 errors, consider these solutions:

Restore Deleted Pages: If a page was removed unintentionally, restore it.
Implement 301 Redirects: Create a 301 redirect to the new URL if the page has been permanently moved.
Design a Custom 404 Page: Develop an informative custom 404 page that directs users to relevant content.

After applying fixes, use the URL Inspection Tool in GSC to confirm that the corrected page can be crawled and indexed properly.

Understanding Indexation Status

Indexation status indicates whether a webpage has been included in a search engine’s index.

When indexed, a page will appear in search results for relevant queries. Conversely, unindexed pages remain invisible to search engines and users.

To ensure proper indexing:

Produce Quality Content: Create unique, high-quality content and incorporate relevant keywords to help search engines understand the page’s topic.
Submit a Sitemap: Provide a sitemap to assist search engines in discovering and crawling the pages.
Optimize Internal Linking: Enhance internal links to facilitate navigation for search engine bots and enable them to find all pages on the site.
Check Robots.txt: Ensure the robots.txt file does not block search engines from crawling and indexing crucial pages.
Monitor Indexation: Regularly check the Index > Coverage report in GSC to see which pages are indexed and identify any indexing errors.

Importance of Site Speed

Site speed refers to the time it takes for a website’s content to load and become fully interactive for users.

It is a crucial metric that reflects the responsiveness and efficiency of a website.

Why Site Speed Matters for SEO:

User Experience (UX): Research indicates that users expect web pages to load within a few seconds.

A fast website enhances user engagement, encouraging visitors to explore more content and ultimately convert into customers or leads. It also improves the mobile browsing experience.

Search Engine Rankings: Faster websites are favored by search engines, as they provide a superior user experience, often resulting in higher rankings compared to slower competitors.

Evaluating Content Performance Metrics

Assessing content performance involves understanding:

Content Engagement

Content engagement measures the level of interaction users have with the web pages, going beyond simple page views to assess how actively visitors engage with the content, reflecting genuine interest and value.

To measure content engagement:

In GA4, track metrics such as average engagement time, sessions, and engagement rate to understand user interactions with the content.

Implement event tracking to monitor specific actions like video views, downloads, form submissions, or clicks on internal links.
Utilize heatmaps and session recording tools, such as Hotjar or Crazy Egg, to visualize user interactions on the pages, identifying where users click, scroll, and spend the most time.

Content Shares and Backlinks

Content shares (or social signals) refer to how often the content is shared across social media platforms.

A high number of shares indicates valuable content that resonates with users, increasing reach, brand awareness, and attracting backlinks.

Backlinks are links from external websites that direct traffic to the web pages.

Quality backlinks from authoritative sites serve as endorsements, signaling to search engines that the content is credible and authoritative.

High-quality backlinks can enhance the rankings, drive referral traffic from other websites, and boost the domain authority.

Tracking Social Shares and Backlinks

To monitor social shares, utilize the analytics tools offered by social media platforms.

These tools allow to assess the number of shares, likes, comments, and overall engagement for the content. Additionally, explore third-party tools like Hootsuite or Buffer for more comprehensive insights.

For tracking backlinks, employ tools such as Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz to analyze the total number of backlinks, referring domains, and the quality of those links.

Local SEO Metrics

Local SEO is essential for ensuring the business appears in search results when users look for products or services within a specific geographic area.

Start by gathering insights from Google Business.

Google Business Profile Insights

The Google Business Profile (GBP) is a free tool that helps businesses manage their online presence across Google, including Search and Maps.

GBP Insights provides crucial data on how customers discover and interact with the business listing.

To Track GBP Performance:

Log into the GBP account and select the Insights tab.
Look for the section titled “How customers search for the business,” which includes:
Direct Searches: Branded searches where customers search for the business name.
Discovery Searches: Non-branded searches when customers look for a general category, product, or service that  offer.
Maps Searches: Instances when customers find the business through Google Maps.

Within the same Insights tab, find a section called “Where customers view the business on Google,” indicating whether the listing is more frequently found in search results or on Maps.

Additionally, examine customer actions in the Insights tab.

This section tracks metrics such as website visits, calls made directly from the listing, and requests for directions, providing insight into how customers engage with the business after discovering the listing.

Other metrics to consider include photo views and search queries.

Local Search Rankings

Local search rankings indicate the business’s position in search engine results pages (SERPs) for queries with local intent.

These searches often contain location-specific keywords like “coffee shops near me” or “best dentist in Albany.”

Local search results frequently feature a map pack (a cluster of three to four businesses displayed on a map) alongside organic listings.

To Track Local SEO Success:

Monitor local keyword rankings using tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Moz Local. Keep an eye on both map pack and organic rankings for crucial local keywords.
Check GBP Insights to understand how customers find the business, what actions they take, and the search queries they use.
Analyze local traffic and conversions in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to segment traffic by location and track conversions (such as phone calls, direction requests, website visits, and purchases) originating from local searches.
Keep track of online reviews and ratings.

Customer Reviews and Ratings

Customer reviews and ratings provide valuable feedback regarding their experiences with the business, products, or services.

These reviews are often publicly available on platforms like Google, Yelp, Facebook, and various industry-specific review sites.

Importance of Reviews for Local SEO:

Customer reviews are a significant ranking factor, as businesses with positive reviews tend to rank higher in local search results, including both the map pack and organic listings.

For example, Google favors businesses with numerous reviews, a high frequency of recent reviews, multiple review sources, and a strong overall star rating.

The Impact of Star Ratings on Click-Through Rates (CTR)
Displaying star ratings or positive reviews alongside the business listing in search results can significantly enhance the CTR.

Positive reviews build customer trust and boost conversion rates, as consumers increasingly rely on online feedback when making purchasing decisions.

Competitor Analysis
Competitive Benchmarking
Competitive benchmarking in SEO entails identifying, analyzing, and comparing the website’s performance against that of leading competitors in the search engine results pages (SERPs).

This process reveals both strengths and weaknesses, uncovers new opportunities, and informs data-driven decision-making.

Key competitor performance metrics to evaluate include:
Keywords, search volume, and keyword gaps
Formats of high-performing content
Backlink analysis
Technical SEO audit (including site speed, mobile-friendliness, crawlability, and indexability)

While rankings are important, conversions are what truly drive revenue.

Conversions play a crucial role in assessing the effectiveness of all marketing initiatives.

Monitoring these metrics and their influence on sales can sharpen the marketing strategies and ensure that budget allocations are optimized for the most effective approaches.