2. Execute an SEO Process SEO Measurement

“Don’t fall into analysis paralysis. Before measuring be clear what you want to track and most importantly why those KPIs. If the KPIs are not actionable (or asked for by others), really think if you need to look at them. Also make sure you have an idea which KPIs you can influence and which are out of your range of influence. Sometimes KPIs fluctuate due to other factors (e.g. revenue when partners left) and you need to be aware of those effects or at least who you can ask if something changed.”

“Select which KPIs you want to monitor, align it with a goal, decide the cadence of reporting, choose a threshold to take action if the results don’t meet expectation, once the process is working automate it.”

“Do not underestimate the power of Google Search Console! Terms that might be reported as low search volume by other tools might still bring you valuable impressions and clicks.”

“No metric stands alone. You ALWAYS need multiple metrics for context. I often joke that KPI stands for “Kills Performance Instantly” because so many KPIs do just that, isolating a metric to chase, instead of results.”

“Organic conversions. While the others are open to interpretation, organic conversions are one that can be understood by all. Did they land from a relevant query, engage with content that contained a CT, endorse CTA by following it? Did they do what you wanted them to do?”

“You want your KPIs to be tied to your marketing objectives because then they’re influenced by your effort. They’ll let you know when to celebrate and when to make something better.”

“When designing SEO measurement, consider company politics. What KPIs matter to your stakeholders? Can you move from low level SEO metrics, such as keyword rankings, clicks or impressions to more valuable commercial metrics, that will support budget maintenance and growth?”

“Set clear objectives and tasks as part of your SEO Strategy. In SEO, rankings go up and down regularly. Don’t feel forced to making website changes by overthinking or over analysing your performance during these times. Stay focused on the strategy and trust the process.”

“First of all, we should know what should be the right KPIs for the projects we’re tracking for. Rankings, organic traffic etc. are the ultimate metrics in most of the cases, but there are many other KPIs that your project would have direct influence on – track them first! The ultimate goal of tracking should be knowing what’s working and what’s not, than proving that whatever you’re done is awesome (don’t track wrong metrics deliberately to manipulate the outcome). Be honest. One thing which doesn’t change despite the outcome – your learning”

“Don’t just depend on traffic received or position ranked but try to use goals within Google Analytics or any other solutions to measure whether your visitors successfully fulfill your target objective(s). This will help you set up focused (ROI) based tracking.”