What is the Best Way to Report and Monitor SEO Results?

Digital marketing is, by its very nature, competitive. Anyone looking into SEO knows you’re competing against others who are all vying for the same thing. Tracking and reporting SEO results is imperative here. Monitoring key metrics like traffic, keyword rankings, conversions, behaviour metrics and page performance gives you valuable insights into what’s working and what needs to improve.

When you analyse these data points systematically, you can optimise your SEO efforts in terms of continuing what’s working and tweaking what isn’t. In doing so, you’ll also enhance the experience for visitors and drive more conversions. When reporting is accurate and timely, it means you can identify successful strategies and also adjust your approach to address anything that isn’t working as well.

What metrics should you track?

Here are some of the key metrics that you should be tracking and reporting:

• Total Users: This is the number of users coming to the website. Looking at overall website traffic as well as traffic to individual landing pages helps you understand which pages are bringing in the most users.

• New Users: This is the number of new users visiting your site, i.e., users who have never been on your pages before. This metric tells you about your reach and growth in attracting new visitors.

• Sessions: Also known as “hits” or website visits, this indicates the total number of times users have engaged with your site. This helps gauge the level of activity and interest.

• Conversions: Depending on your site’s goals, conversions (now, referred to in Google Analytics as ‘Key Events’) can vary. For lead generation, you should track form submissions, and to a lesser extent, clicks on telephone numbers and email addresses. For e-commerce websites, the main conversion types to monitor are transactions and revenue.

• Engagement Rate: Formerly referred to as the bounce rate in the old version of Google Analytics (Universal Analytics or UA), the engagement rate shows how actively users are interacting with your site.

• Keyword Rankings: You can better understand your visibility in search engine results by tracking changes in your keyword rankings. This metric shows the effectiveness of your SEO efforts.

When reviewing traffic and engagement metrics, it is beneficial to compare the previous month to the same month last year. Seasonality can impact traffic, making year-on-year comparisons more insightful than month-on-month comparisons. However, for keyword rankings, a comparison against the previous month is recommended as they tend to progress more linearly and are less affected by seasonal factors.

How Should You Track and Report on These Metrics?

Traffic and engagement statistics can be obtained from Google Analytics. To track keyword rankings, tools like Ahrefs or Semrush are needed. Many brands also use reporting software like Looker Studio or AgencyAnalytics. These reporting tools allow you to connect to various sources of data like data stored in Google Analytics, Google Sheets, Search Console, MySQL, Meta Ads and more. The software then turns the data into visualisations and an easy-to-consume report. With all of the data in one place, it’s much easier to analyse and draw actionable insights.

Conclusion

When you set up tracking for your specific goals, you’ll learn how your SEO strategies are performing. With the right SEO tracking and reporting tools, you’ll know what you’re doing well and what you can improve on. For your SEO efforts to be most effective, you need to be diligent in tracking your metrics—and conversions in particular.