Analytics: Because Knowing is Half the Battle
If you attend the SEM: 101 seminar you’ll get a mini-crash course in SEO and leave with a few extra tricks in your organic ranking bag. (You do have one, right?) So we’re going to give you a break on the pop quizzes and talk about analytics and your SEO campaign. What do you track? How do you measure success in rankings? Should you measure success in rankings? Knowing what drives traffic to your site, which keywords work best for you, and a host of other analytical data is half the battle to a successful SEO site.
SEO analytics and positive campaign reporting is much different from the cut-and-dry hard numbers that PPC campaigns allow. Here are a few analytical guidelines to help you determine whether your SEO campaign is a success … or in need of some first-aid.
Ranking
Ranking is the ultimate SEO data piece. It’s those coveted top spots that we all strive to reach, and then hold on to. Rankings are driven by precise keyword selections that reflect your core business services and products, and figuring out where you would like to rank for them. Often, the first spot is not the most desirable position depending on your particular advertising vertical. As user search behavior changes and search engine algorithms make updates, your SEO campaign will need to be adjusted to compensate for any dips in position. If you’ve been struggling with low rankings for one of your most important keywords it’s either time to rethink that keyword selection or turn aggressive with your strategy.
Conversion
Conversion can be any desired action you wish for users to take when they come to your site. It can be actual item purchase, email or newsletter signup, or downloading information from your site. Knowing your end site visitor goal and being able to set a benchmark from which to improve upon will tell you exactly how your investment is performing month over month. Fair warning though: gauging SEO conversion data from month to month isn’t always the best strategy since a search engine algorithm update throw in the mix mid-month can reset your strategy. Instead, look at the monthly data over chunks of time, and be sure to notice any trends that coincide with business changes, holidays and seasons. After one year, examine your SEO strategy to see where extra improvements can be made.
Site Traffic
Increased site visitors referred by search engines usually indicates a successful SEO strategy, right? Generally speaking, sure. From a cost perspective, the more visitors your site receives year over year means that your costs to drive that traffic to your site are decreasing. At NetSearch Direct we’ve learned that with increasing site popularity there comes more data to analyze, in the form of non-branded keywords. SEO campaigns are as dynamic as the site they are working for and it’s just as important to analyze each source of traffic to your site. Not only do you get more keyword ideas, but you’ll get a better grip on your website’s audience – which will help your business marketing in every aspect.
Of course we’re just touching on the high-level SEO data indicators here, but the message is still the same: Identifying strengths and weaknesses allows you to shine a little more light on the positives while fixing the negatives. And while fixing problems is a whole other newsletter topic, knowing about them really is half the battle.