{"id":15516,"date":"2017-08-31T16:34:00","date_gmt":"2017-08-31T13:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cognitiveseo.com\/blog\/?p=15516"},"modified":"2020-06-16T17:09:12","modified_gmt":"2020-06-16T14:09:12","slug":"measure-seo-efforts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cognitiveseo.com\/blog\/15516\/measure-seo-efforts\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Measure the Success of Your SEO Efforts"},"content":{"rendered":"

SEO, like business and life, is all about constant improvement \u2013 and improvement is only possible when something can be measured.<\/p>\n

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Measuring SEO, however, is often easier said than done.<\/p>\n

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There is a staggering number of components and variables in the SEO efforts and several metrics are needed to gauge success. The complexity can be challenging, and it takes true grit to master the art and science of measuring SEO.\u00a0Yet, the prize is worth it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\"How<\/p>\n

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Those who go the distance will win the best SERP rankings and gain a much-deserved competitive edge. If you want to succeed in today\u2019s competitive digital landscape, you must make a commitment to be better at SEO than your competitors.<\/p>\n

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  1. The SEO-Measurement Struggle Is Real<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. Patience Is an SEO Virtue<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for SEO Success<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
  4. Organic Search Traffic<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
  5. Keyword Rankings<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
  6. Social Shares<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
  7. Conversion Rate from Organic Search Traffic<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
  8. Backlink Volume<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
  9. Organic Click-Through Rate<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
  10. The Mountain Is High, but the Victory Is Sweet<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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    The SEO-Measurement Struggle Is Real<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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    Why is SEO success so hard to measure? For starters, SEO practitioners are bombarded with a huge amount of data to analyze. With so much data, it\u2019s often difficult to reach cut-and-dry conclusions.<\/p>\n

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    Data needs to be prioritized into information that\u2019s important for your particular website. No two businesses have the exact same strategies, goals and objectives \u2013 and neither do any two websites.<\/p>\n

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    The SEO data that\u2019s important for one website may not be so important for another.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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    Data also needs to be \u201creportable\u201d, so you can clearly explain it to managers and clients. If things get overly confusing, decision makers start getting frustrated with SEO practitioners.<\/p>\n

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    Because the data can become so overwhelming, smart marketers use SEO dashboards that lay everything out into one easily-digestible view. A dashboard isn\u2019t a cure-all, but it can make the SEO practitioner\u2019s life much easier. Check out Cyfe’s SEO dashboard<\/a><\/strong> guide and cognitiveSEO’s tool<\/a><\/strong> for more info.<\/p>\n

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    The struggle doesn\u2019t end there, and the sheer volume of data isn\u2019t the only challenge faced by SEO practitioners.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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    Another difficulty is that Google has developed a huge number of factors that go into the ranking process. The challenge is the fact that Google isn\u2019t so quick to reveal what all these components even are. Yes, many of the biggest ranking factors are well known in the SEO industry. But there\u2019s still so much that\u2019s kept mysterious.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n<\/span>\n

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    Also, SEO involves a diverse mix of several talents. Not only are logic and technical abilities needed to analyze SEO, but a large degree of creativity and problem-solving prowess are also necessary. Moreover, SEO is a multi-team effort. It often requires input from branding teams, marketing, web development, content specialists, and more.<\/p>\n

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    But certainly, one of the most challenging aspects of implementing and measuring SEO is the fact that Google changes its algorithms<\/strong><\/a> constantly. The strategies and measurements we undertake today might very well have to be tweaked and adjusted tomorrow. In the world of SEO, experience and expertise is crucial.<\/p>\n

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    Patience Is an SEO Virtue<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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    With all the complexity involved in SEO, it\u2019s no wonder why inexperienced practitioners get overwhelmed almost immediately. Many in the industry want fast results so they can know on the spot whether they\u2019re on the right track. Nonetheless, it\u2019s crucial to get used to measuring SEO over time, with patience<\/a><\/strong> and an understanding of how long things can actually take.<\/p>\n

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    Monitoring SEO success is a marathon rather than a sprint.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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    Why? First, it\u2019s important to note that it sometimes takes months for search engines to update their results pages. And even when they are updated, improvements in rank usually don\u2019t happen simultaneously across all keywords you\u2019re targeting.<\/p>\n

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    Further, smart SEO practitioners aren\u2019t merely measuring their clients\u2019 online performance. They also need to keep track of the performance, ebb and flow of their competitors\u2019 SEO<\/a><\/strong>. Like an astronomer monitoring the movements and activities of celestial bodies, the SEO professional studies numerous time-consuming processes that simply can\u2019t be rushed.<\/p>\n

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    How does one measure something as intricate and ever-changing as SEO? It all starts with KPIs.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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    Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for SEO Success<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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    In measuring SEO efforts, one often gets a dramatic sense of just how much data there is to work with. It\u2019s sometimes difficult to reach cut-and-dry conclusions and give simple, direct reports to clients or management. The solution is to know which key performance indicators (KPIs) to use, and to tie the KPIs to the objectives of the client or business.<\/p>\n

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    KPIs are the metrics and measurements you use to determine whether your business activities (SEO activities in this case) are successful.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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    It\u2019s important to tie your KPIs to specific marketing goals. Your company or client has hopefully created a digital marketing plan that spells out some solid marketing objectives. These are the objectives you want to connect your KPIs to so you can accurately determine whether your SEO efforts are successful.<\/p>\n

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    Whether the objective is to gain awareness for a new product, build a stronger brand or gain new leads for your client, you should know what business objective each SEO effort is striving to achieve.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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    Here are six important key performance indicators to effectively measure SEO success.<\/p>\n

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    Organic Search Traffic<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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    This is a useful KPI to measure for companies aiming to acquire new customers or leads. Organic search traffic refers to website visits that originated from search engine results and not through ads. Organic search results are displayed because they are relevant to search terms, not simply because an ad was purchased and placed in the search results.<\/p>\n

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    \"not<\/p>\n

    \"organic<\/p>\n

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    A related term, organic SEO<\/em>, refers to the strategies used to help websites earn natural, high placements on search pages.<\/p>\n

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    Benefits<\/strong><\/span>: Organic search traffic is a highly effective indicator of overall SEO success. When a website\u2019s content includes keywords that frequently match what users are searching for, that website is likely to appear in a larger number of search engine results pages (SERPs) than competing websites.<\/p>\n

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    With organic search traffic (as opposed to paid advertising,) searchers will find a website more consistently, and they\u2019re more likely to stay on the website longer once they find it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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    Challenges<\/strong><\/span>: Among the biggest challenges with organic search efforts is the frustration that Google (as well as other search engines) constantly changes its algorithms. When updates happen unexpectedly, SEO efforts can be directly affected without warning. In your analytics, observing sudden setbacks in performance may indicate such changes.<\/p>\n

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    How to measure<\/strong><\/span>: Using Google Analytics<\/strong><\/a>, open the Acquisition<\/em> menu. From there, select All Traffic<\/em>, then select Channels<\/em>.<\/p>\n

    \"google<\/p>\n

    You\u2019ll now be presented with a view of a website\u2019s sources of traffic, which are sorted by channel. Select the Organic Search<\/em> channel for a useful report that displays a site\u2019s organic traffic stats.<\/p>\n

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    This report is a versatile one. It gives SEO practitioners the ability to uncover critical information such as:<\/p>\n

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