Which KPI’s are Actually worth Focusing on for SEO

Modern digital marketing is a complex and highly nuanced discipline. The sheer volume of metrics, KPIs, and data points can overwhelm any company trying to get its head around the field.

But when it comes down to it, there are two simple questions you should ask yourself about every piece of SEO data you receive: Does this KPI matter? And how can I use it to improve my SEO strategy?

The answer to the first question is simple: if you can’t answer yes, you should probably ignore that KPI. The second question is a little more complicated and requires serious thought about your goals and understanding how search engines work.

This article will break down some of the most common SEO KPIs and give you an idea of how to use them.

The Most Important SEO KPIs For Businesses to Track

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of what each KPI means and how to use it, we advise you to hire a digital marketing agency to ensure you’re on the right track. A professional can help you set up a system to track these KPIs and ensure they’re being used in the best way possible.

Organic Traffic

Organic traffic is one of the most critical metrics for any website. It’s also one of the most misunderstood, which is why people often get confused when they see their organic traffic dip. That’s because there are many types of organic traffic: direct visits from users typing in your domain name, referrals from other sites, and social media profiles.

Each type has its value to your business—for example, referring customers who become loyal repeat visitors vs. new customers who may only visit once or twice before moving on to another site.

Organic Traffic by Visitor Location

The location of your visitors can also impact your business. The vast majority of search traffic comes from within the country where your website is hosted, but it’s still important to keep track of where your international visitors are coming from—especially if you sell products or services internationally.

This can be especially helpful for companies that manufacture in the U.S. but sell overseas because they may want to ensure they aren’t losing out on opportunities by not having a solid presence on Google in other countries.

Mobile Organic Traffic

Mobile organic traffic is the number of search queries from a mobile device’s visit to your website. Google recently released data showing that mobile searches have surpassed desktop searches, so tracking how many people use their phones to find information online is essential.

You can see this data in your Search Console account under “Mobile Usability,” which shows how many pages on your site are accessible by Googlebot and how many aren’t.

Number of Unique Pages That Drive Organic Traffic

The “Number of Unique Pages That Drive Organic Traffic” metric shows the number of pages on your site that have received organic traffic from Google. This can help determine how many pages you need to create and optimize to rank well.

For example, if there are only five pages driving traffic, but they’re all ranking on page one for their target keywords, adding more content may not make sense because it won’t help your rankings any further.

New Organic Traffic

The “New Organic Traffic” metric shows the number of new pages that have received organic traffic from Google over a specified period. This is an excellent way to measure how much organic traffic your site receives over time and can help you identify trends in your content strategy.

For instance, if two pages on your site receive 100% of all new organic traffic each month, but no other page receives any, you may consider adding more content to diversify your traffic sources.

Organic Impressions

The “Organic Impressions” metric shows the number of times your content has been displayed in search engine results pages (SERPs). This can be broken down by impressions from Google, Bing, and Yahoo! separately.

If you notice that one source is generating a large number of impressions while another is not, consider adjusting your SEO strategy. For example, if Google displays your content more often than Bing or Yahoo!, focus on improving your rankings within those two engines.

Average Time on Page

The best websites are ones visitors cannot help but spend much time on. You want to ensure that your website attracts visitors and keeps them there for as long as possible.

The “Average Time on Page” metric shows how long people look at the content before clicking away or leaving the site altogether. If this number is low, you may need to improve your copywriting skills or reorganize your content to keep readers interested.

Scroll Depth

Many websites these days have a lot of content. It’s crucial for you to know how far your site visitors are getting so that you can make sure the most critical information is within reach.

The “Scroll Depth” metric shows how many pages people scroll down before leaving or clicking away. If this number is low, you may need to make changes to keep your visitors engaged with what they find on each page.

Content Length

The best SEO strategies for your site are ones that keep readers engaged. One way to do this is by ensuring your content is long enough to address your audience’s needs. The “Content Length” metric shows how many words are on each page and how many pages have more than a certain number of words (such as 500+ or 1,000+).

If you want people to read what you have to say, then make sure each page has enough content to feel like they got their money’s worth out of it.

Bounce Rate

The “Bounce Rate” metric shows how many visitors left the site after viewing only one page. This is a great way to see if your site has a problem with low-quality content that doesn’t provide what people are looking for or doesn’t have enough content on each page.

If you have an extremely high bounce rate, consider adding more information or links to relevant topics (such as related blogs or articles). You can also hire a marketing agency to create a better user experience on your site.

Additionally, ensure that you have good-quality content and that the design of each page is easy to read. If you are using an ecommerce site or blog, consider adding more product descriptions or writing more in-depth articles about specific topics.

Page Load Speeds

If your landing page is too heavy, it will take longer for your users to load the page. This will be a significant turnoff for them and cause them to bounce before reading anything else on the page.

Make sure your images are only as large as they need to be, remove any unnecessary plugins from your site and keep track of which pages have high bounce rates. If you notice that a specific page takes too long to load, consider making changes or hiring an agency.

Conclusion:

The above SEO KPIs are just some of the most important ones to watch. While there are many more, these will help you better understand how your website is performing in terms of SEO and whether any changes need to be made. You can search for a “digital marketing agency near me” to find an expert who can help you with your SEO needs and keep track of these KPIs.