If you are implementing SEO for your small business, you want to be able to track whether or not it’s working. However, there are a lot of metrics that you can look at. Which ones should you focus on? Here are the key performance indicators (KPIs) that we track and report on for our SEO clients.
Organic Traffic
Organic traffic is defined as the number of people who visit your site from a Google (or similar search engine) search. This is probably the most obvious KPI in SEO, as increasing traffic from search engines is at the core of SEO. Keep an eye on your organic traffic to see if your SEO efforts are making an impact.
Keyword Rankings
Keyword rankings refer to where your site is listed in the search results page for specific keywords. If your SEO is working, you should see your rankings rise over time. While rankings fluctuate often, a good goal is to rank on the first page (top ten) for the keywords you track, and for things to be improving on average.
Leads
Ultimately, the goal of any marketing is to drive leads, whether that’s form submissions, phone calls, or other types of inquiries. Tracking your leads will tell you how well your website is performing in terms of converting visitors into potential customers. It is important to note that some forms of leads, like website forms, are easier to track than others, such as phone calls.
Time on Site
This is more of a secondary KPI, but it can still yield good insight into the effectiveness of your SEO. If people land on your site and immediately exit, then you know that something needs to be done to improve the user experience. The goal of SEO is to drive qualified traffic, that is, people who are looking for your services or products and ready to take action. These types of customers are more likely to spend more time on your site.
Year-over-Year Growth
Something to keep in mind when you are looking at data is your year-over-year growth in organic traffic, leads, and other relevant KPIs. Many businesses we work with have busy and slow seasons. To get the best overall picture of your business’s success, you should compare similar time periods to account for those differences.
In order to get the best idea of how your SEO is performing, it’s important to look at the overall picture and consider all of these KPIs. At Kite Media, we utilize a reporting dashboard for our SEO clients that can help you see how your website is performing. Our experienced digital marketers are always happy to discuss your results with you as well!
If you’re looking to move the needle on your KPIs with SEO, give Kite Media a call today at 435-753-7553!