Defining SEO Performance and Results
Search Engine Optimization, “SEO” for short, is a vital marketing tool that seeks to increase the visibility of your website on search engines like Google. SEO helps make your website more visible without using paid ads, which translates into additional traffic and opportunities to convert prospects into customers. Through the use of well-researched and carefully chosen “keywords” and the development of meaningful content, the process makes it easier for search engines to find your website and display it as a top result.
Implementing an effective SEO strategy is only the first step in the optimization process…the next is to measure the SEO’s performance. Knowing your metrics is the difference between running a successful SEO strategy OR letting your online presence go stagnant.
How Do You Measure SEO?
You can track hundreds of metrics when looking at SEO performance. Here are seven metrics to help analyze the success of your SEO marketing strategies.
- SERPs
SERPs stands for “search engine result pages”. When you look at SERPs there are two types of results: organic and paid. SEO ensures that your website shows up in SERPs — these two concepts are intrinsically linked.
- Impressions
Impressions represent the number of times a given webpage is displayed in organic or paid search. Impressions are a valid indicator of SEO success, and the data is free when using search engines like Google.
- Organic Search Traffic
Organic search results are the unpaid listings that appear on a search engine results page (SERPs). Organic search results are one way to track your SEO performance and are based on factors such as relevance to the user’s search criteria, incoming links and domain authority.
- Click-Through Rate
Click-through rate is the ratio of users who click on a link to the number of users who view the page. This percentage measures how many people “clicked through” to your website after seeing it as a result on the search engine results page.
- Bounce Rate
The bounce rate is the percentage of users that leave your website without clicking another link. A high bounce rate suggests that users found your page irrelevant to their search criteria and were not interested in taking further action.
- Time Spent on Site
This is the average amount of time a visitor spends on your site based on Google Analytics. A high time spent on site means that your content met the visitor’s needs and is a good indicator that your keywords (SEO) sent them to the right site.
- Domain Authority
The domain authority of a website describes its relevance for a specific subject area or industry. Domain authority is a search engine ranking score developed by MOZ that predicts how likely a website is to rank in SERPs.
- Backlinks
Also known as “inbound,” “incoming,” or ”external” links, backlinks are created when one website links to another. These links demonstrate to Google that a site has authority which helps to increase the overall ranking.
- Conversion Rate
A conversion rate records the percentage of users who complete a certain/desired task. Conversion rates are calculated by taking the number of conversions divided by the total number of visitors to your site.
- Page Speed
Page speed is the time it takes for a page on your website to load. It is calculated in a few different ways: time to first byte, time to interactive, first contentful paint, load time and mobile first. Page speed is important for website ranking and impacts conversions and bounce rates.
Let Big Red Dog Help with SEO Metrics
No matter the size of your business, understanding SEO metrics is a solid marketing strategy. However, there is a lot of work that goes into SEO rankings. If you want to learn more about SEO or want to discuss a comprehensive marketing strategy, contact us at Big Red Dog Marketing.
At Big Red Dog Marketing, we understand the value of a strong marketing plan when it comes to PPC advertising strategies. With clients located across the country, we focus on what your business really needs and understand how to make your company competitive to deliver high-quality results. From Integrated Marketing to SEO, we tackle any marketing need to help drive quality traffic to your website, raise conversions that build results and solve those complex problems every business owner faces.
Want to learn more about our team and how we can help your business? Feel free to give us a call at 919-926-8727 or email us at hello@bigreddog.marketing.
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