SEO without analytics is just a waste of time. Constantly changing Search Engine algorithms need updated SEO strategies. So analytics help you make data-driven and informed decisions.
SEO agencies or professionals measure the success of their campaigns through different KPIs like organic traffic, SERP positions, and incoming links from high-quality sites.
In this blog post, we will discuss SEO Analytics, how to measure them, and the tools used for this purpose. Let’s get started.
What Is SEO Analytics?
SEO analytics are metrics and key performance indicators that help in evaluating the success of your SEO strategies. In this process, you gather analytical SEO data using free and paid SEO tools.
SEO insights are tactical and strategic analytics shown through different content marketing tools. However, KPIs are the targeted insights for each SEO campaign for example 100 daily clicks, 30 monthly white hat links, 30 Semrush DA, etc.
Here are some examples of SEO analytics measured during the SEO campaigns:
kEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AND METRICS
Best SEO Analytics Examples/KPIS
SEO agencies and professionals track the defined data points for all the set SEO goals. Most of them are interlinked with each other like User Experience analytics are associated with Bounce Rate, Pages Per Visit, Average Time Per Session, etc.
These SEO insights are later used in campaign optimization as per the set targets. That helps in utilizing organic search to get leads, and conversions establishing other revenue streams.
Importance Of SEO Analytics
At the end of all SEO campaigns, sales and revenue are the key objectives of each blog or business. These analytics give you an idea about the progress, problems, and opportunities.
Like the possible reason for traffic loss from the whole site or a specific page, competitor strategies, flaws in customer acquisition funnels, and quality of traffic.
SEO struggle is not for just the first page, it is about the first position. Where a page is likely to get the most visitors or sales from a business point of view. The user CTR of an indexed web page is mainly dependent upon the position along with the meta title and description.
So a business needs to put all the efforts into reaching position 1 and then maintaining it.
Overview Of General Web Analytics
General website analytics are metrics calculated through tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and other tools. They give an overall picture of all user interactions on your website. Like the total number of website visitors, page views, other traffic sources, conversion insights, and their geo-locations.
Web analytics tools measure the reaching traffic into different actionable metrics. Like most visited website pages, the performance of all traffic channels, and conversion history. These tools give the most realistic data and metrics of your website. That can be filtered for your business objectives.
Source: Backlinko
Step-by-Step Guide To Get Started With SEO Analytics
In this guide, we will explain the key SEO metrics and analytics you need to focus on. Like what to track and what to ignore from an SEO perspective.
Define Your Goals
The first thing you need to do in planning SEO analytics is define your goals and objectives. What metrics do you need? This way all your efforts will be on important things rather than distracting ones.
Your business objectives must align with your SEO efforts to get the best results for your business or clients. Assign clearly defined roles to your most relevant team members.
The frequency of analytics should also be kept in mind like you should not overburden yourself. SEO measures and implementation take time so you should not just get carried away.
Get The Best SEO Analytics Tools or Software
Now is the time to pick the best tools for measuring SEO analytics, including free and paid ones. Set them carefully so they start collecting the required data and metrics you want to track for your business.
Free SEO Analytics Tools
Here are a few free-use SEO analytics options for SEOs and agencies. The data received by these tools is the most accurate and useful for client reporting and campaign optimization.
#1 Google Analytics
Google Analytics 4 also named GA-4 is a free tool to measure your site visitors and their activity on your website. If you have not set up your account yet follow the below guide to do in minutes.
Once everything is complete, just wait for some time for your site analytics to show up in your Google Analytics account. Here are some useful SEO analytics you need to track in this tool.
GOOGLE Analytics
SEO ANALYTICS TO TRACK
#2 Google Search Console
As per the research by Backlinko, there are nearly 200 Google ranking factors. All of them need to be reviewed and interlinked with each other. Google Search Console (GSC) is another free SEO analytics tool that helps in monitoring general and technical SEO metrics.
You can set up your Search Console account with a few clicks following the below guide. Make sure you have a live website to add it as your GSC property.
Search Console updates the website’s data within 24 to 48 hours, unlike Google Analytics which gives real-time traffic insights.
GOOGLE Search Console
SEO ANALYTICS TO TRACK
Paid SEO Analytics Tools
Paid and advanced SEO tools help get in-depth website statistics, ranking keywords, backlinks quality, and much more. They are a must to have in the growing competition.
Semrush
Semrush is one of the best advanced SEO tools that help content marketers and SEOs gather essential data and optimize their campaigns around it. You can sign up on Semrush for free using your Google account.
Then create your website project for free in Semrush Dashboard. It allows to create one project without any paid subscription and get in-depth insights like backlink reports, organic keywords, referring domains, and organic traffic trends.
Take Advantage Of Semrush SEO Dashboard
Semrush SEO dashboard gives the latest insights about your domain name, like DA, organic traffic, organic keywords, referring domains, and backlink analytics.
You can further set the following SEO analytics using the same dashboard that is not possible to track in free SEO tools like Google Analytics and Search Console.
- Position Tracking
- Site Audit
- On-Page SEO Analysis
- Backlink Audit
- Organic Traffic Insights
- Link Building Tool
Semrush Integration
Semrush’s dashboard allows for integrating GSC and Google Analytics in one place. Where you can gather data from all resources and analyze it better.
It shows the performance and trends of Google’s free tools. So you don’t need to visit them again and again. Just take advantage of all free Semrush features and upgrade to add more projects. Get 14-day free trial to unlock Semrush’s pro features.
Get Data Reports To Analyze And Act
Once setup all the SEO analytics gathering tools, start filtering the reports and downloading them for analysis. For example, if you are focusing on link-building campaigns for your site then you can export the data of referring domains and backlinks.
Sort out the toxic and low-quality spam links from the data sheets and prepare them for disavowing through Google Search Console and Semrush Tool. Because such links badly hurt your website ranking and are considered negative SEO signals.
Use Semrush’s other pro features to analyze your competitors and get ideas to include in your future SEO campaigns. That will help you improve your search performance faster.
Try semrush for free
Get in-depth SEO analytics and data effortlessly.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Often Should SEO Analytics Be Reviewed?
There is no specific criteria or timeline to review your SEO analytics. However, they should be checked on a weekly or biweekly basis to see the results of your optimization campaigns.
How To Use Google Analytics For SEO?
Google Analytics is a free tool to analyze website visitors, their activity, and sources. So you can get SEO analytics like total organic visitors, sessions per page, bounce rate, and conversion rate. Import the required data analyze it and revisit your SEO strategies if needed.
Final Thoughts
SEO is an ongoing struggle to grab organic visitors for your business website or blog. SEO trends change from time to time and accordance with the latest Search Engine guidelines.
You must be specific about your SEO objectives as per the client’s requirements, and the data acquired with free and paid SEO tools. Report about the performance week over week and month over month basis to get their thoughts on your progress.
SEO analytics are the pain points, you need to focus on during your optimization measures. The data-driven approach makes it easier to indicate the troubles and positives in your SEO efforts. Just make sure the statistics you are going to track align with your business objectives.