How to Track & Measure SEO Performance
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the key to unlocking your website's potential and driving traffic to it. However, SEO isn't a one and done process; it requires consistent monitoring and improvements to achieve the desired results. One of the essential things you need to do as a website owner, blogger, or content developer is to track and measure your SEO performance continually. This helps you determine what's working, what's not, and what you need to focus on. In this blog post, we'll discuss how to track and measure SEO performance and what key metrics you need to pay attention to.
1. Keyword Rankings
The first metric to track and measure your SEO performance is your keyword rankings. Keywords are the words or phrases people use to find information or products online. Search engines rank websites based on how relevant and useful their content is to searchers' queries. You need to track how your website is ranking for the keywords relevant to your niche. Google Analytics can help you with this. Go to Acquisition > Search Console > Queries to check your website's search queries and rankings. Keep track of your position over time, and if you notice a decline, investigate why it's happening.
2. Website Traffic
Another essential metric to track is your website's traffic. Your website traffic determines how many people are coming to your website and how long they're staying. This metric tells you if your SEO efforts are driving traffic to your website. Google Analytics is your friend here too. Go to Audience > Overview to check your website traffic. The report will show you how many unique visitors, pages per session, bounce rate, and session duration. Keep track of these metrics over time and monitor your website's performance.
3. Conversion Rate
Your website's conversion rate is another critical SEO metric to track. Conversion refers to a visitor taking a desirable action on your website, such as subscribing to your newsletter, making a purchase, or filling out a form. The conversion rate is the percentage of visitors who take the desired action. You need to track this metric to know how well your website is converting visitors into customers or subscribers. Google Analytics can also help you with this. Go to Conversions > Goals > Overview to see what goals you've set for your website and how well you're performing.
4. Backlinks
Backlinks are links to your website from external sites. When other websites link to your website, it signals to search engines that your website is authoritative and trustworthy. As a result, search engines rank your website higher in search results. Tracking and measuring your backlinks is essential to your SEO performance. You can use tools such as Ahrefs or SEMrush to check your website's backlink profile. Keep track of the number of backlinks and the referring domains over time. If you notice a decline, reach out to the website owner to see if they can link back to your site.
5. Mobile Responsiveness
Lastly, mobile responsiveness is a crucial SEO metric to track. With more people using their mobile devices to access the internet, Google has made it clear that mobile responsiveness is a ranking factor. Your website needs to be mobile-friendly, meaning it's easy to use and navigate on mobile devices. Use Google's Mobile-Friendly Test to see if your website is mobile-friendly. If it's not, make the necessary changes to improve your website's mobile responsiveness.
Conclusion
Tracking and measuring your SEO performance is essential to achieving your SEO goals. You need to continuously monitor your keyword rankings, website traffic, conversion rate, backlinks, and mobile responsiveness to ensure your website is doing well in search engine results. By tracking these key metrics, you can identify areas for improvement and make the necessary changes to optimize your website for both search engines and visitors. If you need help with improving your website's SEO, contact REK Marketing & Design today for more information.