Measuring and Tracking SEO Success

Class 9: Measuring and tracking SEO success.

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Since we’ve covered on-page and off-page optimisation in our previous classes, it’s time to understand how to measure and track your SEO performance so that you can see what works and doesn’t.

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Measuring and tracking SEO success is important because it allows you to see the impact of your efforts on your website's search engine rankings and visibility. This information can be used to identify areas of improvement, make informed decisions about how to allocate resources, and measure the return on investment of your SEO strategy. Additionally, tracking SEO success can help you understand how your target audience is interacting with your website. This helps identify opportunities to optimize your content and user experience to better meet your audience’s needs.

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Using Google Analytics to Track SEO Performance.

Google Analytics is a powerful tool that can provide a wealth of data on website traffic and user behaviour. By setting up and tracking key metrics such as page views, bounce rate, time on site, and conversion rate, you can gain valuable insights into how visitors are interacting with your website and what they are looking for.

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There are many key metrics in Google Analytics that can provide valuable insights into how your website is performing and how visitors are interacting with it. Some of the most important metrics include:

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• Sessions:

o This metric measures the total number of times users have interacted with your website in a specific period. It can help you understand how many people are visiting your website and how often they are returning.

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• Bounce rate:

o This metric measures the percentage of visitors who leave your website after only viewing one page. A high bounce rate may indicate that your website is not providing the information or content that visitors are looking for.

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• Average session duration:

o This metric measures the average amount of time that visitors spend on your website. A high average session duration indicates that visitors are engaging with your content and finding it valuable.

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• Pages per session:

o This metric measures the average number of pages that visitors view during each session. A high pages per session metric indicates that visitors are exploring your website and finding it easy to navigate.

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• % New sessions:

o This metric measures the percentage of first-time visitors to your website. A high percentage of new sessions indicates that your website is attracting new visitors and that your marketing efforts are successful.

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This data can help you identify which pages are performing well and which ones may need optimization, as well as which keywords and phrases are driving the most traffic.

Google Analytics also provides a wealth of information on website visitors, including demographic data, geographic location, and behaviour patterns. This information can help you to better understand your target audience and tailor your marketing efforts to meet their needs.

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Here are a few examples of the types of information that Google Analytics provides on visitors and how it can be used in marketing:

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o Demographics:

o Google Analytics provides data on the age and gender of your visitors. This information can help you to better understand who your target audience is and tailor your marketing efforts to that specific demographic.

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o Geographic location:

o Google Analytics shows the location of your website visitors, which can help you to identify which regions or countries your target audience is coming from. This can be useful for creating localized content or targeting specific regions with your advertising campaigns.

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o Behavioural data:

o Google Analytics provides information on how visitors interact with your website, including the pages they visit, how long they stay on your website and the number of pages viewed. By analysing this data, you can identify which pages are performing well and which ones may need optimization. Additionally, you can also identify patterns in visitor behaviour such as which pages are frequently visited or which pages have high bounce rates.

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o Devices:

o Google Analytics provides information on the type of device that visitors use to access your website, such as desktop, tablet or mobile. This can help you to optimize your website for different devices and ensure that your website provides a good user experience across all platforms.

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o Referral sources:

o Google Analytics provides information on how visitors are finding your website, such as through organic search, paid search, social media, or referral links. This information can help you to identify which marketing channels are driving the most traffic and conversions and make data-driven decisions on how to allocate your marketing budget.

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How to track keywords and rankings

Tracking keywords and rankings is an important aspect of SEO as it allows you to see how well your website is performing in search engine results pages (SERPs) for the keywords that you are targeting. By monitoring your website's rankings for specific keywords, you can gain valuable insights into how your on-page optimization and link-building strategies are impacting your search engine visibility.

There are several tools that you can use to track your website's rankings for specific keywords, such as Google Search Console and SEMrush. These tools allow you to see where your website is ranking for specific keywords, as well as the average position and search volume for those keywords. Additionally, you can also see the historical data of the ranking of your website for a specific keyword, which can give you an idea of how your website's ranking has changed over time.

By tracking your website's rankings for specific keywords, you can identify opportunities for improvement. For example, if you notice that your website is not ranking as well as you would like for a specific keyword, you can take steps to optimize your website's on-page content and build more backlinks to that page.