SEO Tracking: Key Metrics to Monitor Your Success

If you’re devoting clip and resources to SEO, you apt privation to cognize whether those efforts are successful. 

That’s wherever SEO tracking comes in. It helps you find the effects your optimizations are having. 

This nonfiction volition interruption down however to way SEO performance. Including which metrics to way and the platforms that assistance you bash it accurately. 

What Is SEO Tracking?

SEO tracking is the process of monitoring and analyzing integrated hunt show done quantifiable metrics. 

Like integrated keyword rankings (shown present successful Position Tracking):

With SEO tracking, you tin much easy find whether circumstantial optimizations oregon SEO campaigns are helping you execute your concern goals. And uncover strategical insights you tin usage to amended successful the future. 

And if you’re doing SEO for an enactment oregon client, SEO tracking helps you beryllium the worth of your efforts to cardinal stakeholders. Which tin pb to greater designation of your efforts. And possibly adjacent much resources for aboriginal SEO work.

8 Metrics and Metric Types to Track Your SEO Performance

The metrics you way for SEO should beryllium straight related to your business’s goals. 

But to get you started, present are immoderate of the astir communal SEO metrics tracked by marketers:

1. Keyword Rankings

Keyword rankings archer you wherever your website appears successful hunt results for circumstantial keywords.

For example, the website beneath ranks successful presumption 1 for the keyword “puppy barking successful crate.” 

Many SEO campaigns purpose to summation higher ranking positions for circumstantial keywords. Because the higher your keyword rankings, the much apt you are to person much integrated traffic—unpaid postulation that comes from hunt engines. 

So, it’s a bully thought to way those people phrases. 

Ideally, you’ll privation to continuously way people keywords. Which allows you to spot fluctuations and respond accordingly.

We’ll spell implicit however to easy show your rankings with Position Tracking aboriginal successful this article.

2. Organic Traffic

Organic traffic refers to the fig of visitors who get astatine your website by clicking connected unpaid hunt results (i.e., not done a paid ad). 

And you tin spot the wide fig (measured successful clicks) by going to the “Search results” study nether “Performance” successful Google Search Console: 

This is simply a communal metric utilized successful SEO tracking. Because it shows however galore radical are really coming to your site.

So, it’s a bully thought to way however your integrated postulation changes implicit time. 

There are a fewer ways you tin bash this. Depending connected the absorption of your campaigns:

• Organic postulation by keyword: This is the fig of integrated visits your website receives from a circumstantial hunt term. This is important to way if your SEO strategy is targeting keywords that are apt to person oregon thrust profitability.
• Organic postulation by page: This is the fig of integrated visitors to a circumstantial webpage connected your website. You’ll privation to support way of this if you optimize contented oregon physique backlinks to a circumstantial page. To cognize whether your optimizations were successful.
• Organic postulation by domain: This is the full fig of integrated visits to your domain. You tin usage this to measurement the interaction of SEO activities that interaction your full site. Like changing the operation of your site. 

Evaluating integrated postulation by these antithetic categories tin assistance you find which optimization efforts are having the top impact.

3. Visibility

SEO visibility indicates however apt it is for users to spot and click connected your tract successful integrated hunt results. 

In Semrush, this metric is displayed successful Position Tracking: 

It’s conveyed arsenic a percent that’s based connected the nonstop keywords you’re tracking, your positions for those keywords, and estimated click-through rates (CTRs) based connected their rankings.

The higher this percent is, the much apt you are to pull users to your site.

4. Organic Impressions

An integrated content happens immoderate clip a idiosyncratic sees your website successful hunt results. Even if they don’t click connected it. 

You’ll spot these successful a instrumentality similar Google Search Console (GSC).

Organic impressions are 1 of the earliest signs of SEO success. And they tin beryllium precise utile to wage attraction to close aft your website publishes caller landing pages oregon blog posts.

Think of it this way:

An summation successful Impressions shows that hunt engines are knowing your website contented and ranking it for applicable keywords.

Regularly tracking impressions tin assistance you place keywords you mightiness privation to people much straight oregon pages that are poorly optimized.

5. Organic Conversions and Conversion Rate

An integrated conversion happens immoderate clip an integrated visitant performs a desired enactment connected your website. 

Some examples of conversion actions see buying a product, subscribing to a newsletter, oregon creating an account. Like this:

Your integrated conversion complaint is the percent of integrated visitors who implicit a conversion action. 

Increased conversion rates tin awesome occurrence successful a assortment of areas. Like due keyword targeting, high contented quality, and effectual calls to enactment (CTAs).

Tracking conversions is simply a indispensable if your concern is focused connected generating leads oregon gross done actions similar sales, subscriptions, oregon bookings.

6. Engagement Metrics

Engagement metrics assistance you recognize however integrated visitors prosecute with your content. You tin way them utilizing a instrumentality similar Google Analytics.

Different tools whitethorn specify them somewhat differently, but immoderate of the astir important engagement metrics include:

• Views: How galore times a leafage is viewed
• Time connected page: The mean clip a visitant spends connected a page
• Pages per visit/session: The mean fig of pages a visitant views 
• Bounce rate: The percent of visitors who permission your website aft looking astatine 1 leafage (the specifics of this 1 tin alteration a batch betwixt analytics tools)
• Exit rate: The percent of sessions that ended connected a circumstantial page

These metrics tin assistance you place invaluable pages connected your website users find the astir relevant. Or low-quality pages that visitors thin to abandon.

7. Backlinks

Backlinks (links from different sites that constituent to your site) are a confirmed ranking factor. 

That means acquiring high-quality backlinks tin pb to higher keyword rankings and accrued integrated traffic. So, it’s worthwhile to way them. Particularly if they travel from authoritative, reputable publications.

You tin usage Backlink Analytics to rapidly place immoderate caller backlinks you earned (more connected this later).

Just carnivore successful caput that you tin besides suffer backlinks. You’ll privation to support an oculus connected those instances arsenic well.

Tracking which backlinks you’ve mislaid tin assistance you find which contented whitethorn request to beryllium improved. Or wherever to absorption your link gathering outreach campaigns.

8. Site Health Metrics

Site health refers to the wide method wellness of your website. And tracking it tin assistance you place whether method issues whitethorn beryllium impacting your integrated visibility. 

If your SEO run includes method optimizations (including the Core Web Vitals), you should way tract health. Both earlier and aft your campaign. 

You tin bash this utilizing the Semrush Site Audit tool. Which we’ll spell implicit later.

You tin besides usage Google’s PageSpeed Insights to summation an knowing of however your webpages execute from a method constituent of view. It reports connected the idiosyncratic acquisition of your website. 

Further reading: SEO KPIs: 12 KPIs for SEO to Track & Measure

How to Track SEO Performance

To way SEO advancement and performance, you’ll request entree to platforms that person up-to-date and close integrated hunt information astir your website.

The platforms listed beneath tin assistance you way each of the metrics listed above. As good arsenic different SEO metrics you whitethorn privation to incorporated into your tracking processes.

Semrush Position Tracking

The Semrush Position Tracking instrumentality makes it casual to support way of your keyword rankings.

To usage it, unfastened the instrumentality and benignant your domain into the substance box. Then, click “Set up tracking.”

You’ll request to prime a fewer settings nether “Targeting.” Including a hunt engine, device, determination and connection to way keywords for. You tin besides participate your concern sanction if it’s portion of a section SEO strategy. 

Then, click “Continue To Keywords.”

Enter your people keywords successful the provided substance box. And click “Add keywords to campaign.”

Then, click “Start Tracking.”

The Position Tracking instrumentality tracks hunt visibility, mean position, estimated integrated traffic, and different related metrics for the specified keywords.

The instrumentality volition proceed to way your keyword rankings implicit time. Making it casual to spot improvements oregon a driblet successful rankings astatine a glance.

Semrush Backlink Analytics

The Semrush Backlink Analytics instrumentality lets you way backlinks you get done off-page SEO efforts. 

Open the tool, participate your domain, and click “Analyze.”

To reappraisal the newest backlinks for your website, spell to the “Backlinks” tab. And past prime the “New” fastener astatine the apical of the table. 

The instrumentality volition show a database of backlinks that were discovered wrong the past month.

Seeing caller backlinks aft implementing nexus gathering oregon nationalist relations campaigns tin assistance you amusement factual grounds that your SEO efforts are working. 

Semrush Site Audit

You tin way the wide wellness of your website utilizing Semrush’s Site Audit tool.

To get started, participate your site’s domain. And click “Start Audit.”

You tin past configure your settings, including the fig of pages to crawl and the hold betwixt crawled pages.

When you’re ready, click “Start Site Audit.”

After your audit is complete, you tin find your Site Health people astatine the apical of your report. Like this:

Site Audit provides insights connected galore aspects of your website, from problems with interior nexus operation to issues with crawling. 

As you resoluteness the issues identified successful the audit, your Site Health people should improve. 

Track your people earlier and aft you marque changes to recognize the interaction and worth of your SEO efforts. 

Google Search Console

Google Search Console is simply a large spot to commencement for those who are caller to SEO tracking. Or for marketers who person highly constricted budgets.

You tin usage it to way assorted SEO metrics, including:

• Organic clicks
• Organic impressions
• Backlinks
• Average click-through-rate (CTR)
• Average presumption (for tracking keyword rankings)
• Core Web Vitals

After creating a GSC relationship and verifying your domain, Google volition commencement tracking information for your website connected a regular basis.

You tin spot a wide overview of cardinal SEO metrics by going to “Search Results.” It’s located nether the “Performance” tab:

You tin besides make reports for these metrics and export them arsenic Excel oregon CSV files. Or to Google Sheets. 

That includes examination reports, which marque it casual to spot show changes aft implementing SEO strategies.

In summation to sitewide metrics, you tin besides usage GSC to measure SEO metrics astatine some the keyword and leafage level. 

Further reading: Google Search Console: The Ultimate Guide for 2023

Google Analytics 4

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is different escaped level from Google. It tracks each postulation and idiosyncratic interactions connected your website.

One of the champion ways to leverage this level for SEO tracking is to usage the event tracking feature. 

Once you make your GA4 account, Google volition commencement tracking idiosyncratic behaviors similar views, video plays, and record downloads.

GA4 categorizes these actions arsenic “Events.” And displays them successful reports similar this:

Don’t interest if you don’t spot your desired conversion enactment successful the default settings. You tin make customized events. 

If your concern is focused connected conversions, utilizing GA4 is 1 of the astir close ways to way them. And it makes it precise casual to cipher conversion rates.

Further reading: Google Analytics for Beginners: Getting Started with GA4

Looker Studio

Looker Studio is different Google instrumentality that allows you to make interactive information visualizations and customized reports from your data.

Looker Studio has a reasonably steep learning curve.

But for marketers who request much customization, this level offers a wide scope of functionalities. 

And for larger websites, Looker Studio tin assistance you sift done immense amounts of data. To find circumstantial insights that tin assistance thrust your SEO efforts successful the close direction.

Start Monitoring SEO Performance with Semrush

Tracking SEO show doesn’t person to beryllium complicated. 

If you privation to centralize your tracking, Semrush gives you entree to the astir important SEO metrics for your website each successful 1 place. 

Try it retired contiguous with a free trial.