There are several metrics you need to monitor and assess to ensure the success of your SEO strategy.
If you’re new to SEO, and you feel like you’re doing everything right, but your ranks are improving very slowly, fret not. As much as appearing on the first page of the search result is the ultimate goal, there are so many other metrics to show you that you’re on the right track. It can take a long time before you can appear on page one. Using a single parameter does not give you the whole picture. As I’m sure you already know, SEO involves a whole lot of activities. Here are some of the most crucial parameters you need to monitor to evaluate your SEO performance:
- Organic traffic
It includes the visitors that visit your website from the search engines, minus the PPC ads. If your organic traffic is increasing at a steady rate, then your SEO efforts are paying off. You can see the numbers and graphs from your Google Analytics or any other tool you use for your SEO analytics.
- Bounce rate
The bounce rate shows how many people went away after navigating through only one page of your website. It is a percentage of the total visitors on your page. A high bounce rate shows that people who visit your site are not getting what they were looking for. You will need to do some work to keep your visitors interested. You should also inspect the bounce rate per landing page. Check which ones are high because it could mean a mismatch between the content on the page and the keywords.
- Keyword rankings
The keywords you rank for will inform you of whether you’re targeting the most suitable keywords. Some premium ones are very competitive, and if your website is nowhere, then you should change your strategy. It also tells you whether your site is growing. As time goes by, the number of words you rank for should grow to signify you are gaining authority in your niche.
- Quality and quantity of backlinks
As much as the more backlinks you have, the better your ranking gets, the quality of these links matter as well. Monitoring them will let you know how effective they are and give you potential new sources for link building. Having many low-quality ones won’t help in improving your ranking. Get links from trusted sites by search engines.
- Loading speed
Slow website speeds affect user experience and, thus, a significant contribution to high bounce rates. It is a ranking factor for both mobile desktop devices. The first step of SEO is ensuring that your users have a great experience navigating through your website. Loading speeds are one of those metrics that you must monitor. There are tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights you can use to observe it from time to time.
- Local visibility
If you’re managing a local SEO campaign, then you must track specific metrics to ensure you’re getting viewership from the right audience. Ensure that your website appears on the 3-pack for keywords in your local area plus your industry.
There are so many metrics that can confuse you, especially if you’re a beginner. List down your main objectives and track metrics that will help you get there fastest. The rest you’ll learn as you go.
If you want to find out more about SEO and you’re thinking about investing in this type of services for your website, you should visit iAgency.ro, one of the most renowned SEO agencies, with over 12 years of experience and proven results.