{"id":3893,"date":"2020-11-11T10:52:06","date_gmt":"2020-11-11T10:52:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/proranktracker.com\/blog\/?p=3893"},"modified":"2022-11-04T02:42:44","modified_gmt":"2022-11-04T02:42:44","slug":"search-kpi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/proranktracker.com\/blog\/search-kpi\/","title":{"rendered":"13 Crucial SEO KPIs to Start Monitoring SEO Performance"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this article, I\u2019ll be going over 13 crucial SEO KPIs that you need to be tracking if you want to climb the SERPs and dominate your competitors.<\/b><\/p>\n

Search-focused marketing is a marathon with numerous factors that are going to take you through highs and lows.<\/span><\/p>\n

And search engine optimization is a long-term strategy that needs to be fine-tuned as time goes by.<\/span><\/p>\n

So how do you know how well your SEO campaign is doing and when changes need to be made?<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s exactly what we\u2019ll be going over today.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is a Search KPI?<\/b><\/h2>\n

\u201cKPI\u201d stands for \u201ckey performance indicator.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A search KPI (also SEO benchmark or SEO KPI) is a metric used to measure a website\u2019s performance in search.<\/span><\/p>\n

And SEO KPIs may be a bit more complex than key performance indicators for other marketing efforts because there is a virtually endless list of ranking factors used by search engines.<\/span><\/p>\n

SEO efforts are hinged largely on creating organic results by making qualitative changes to get a quantitative result.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In other words, you\u2019re optimizing your website\u2019s performance from multiple angles:<\/span><\/p>\n

Publishing content, making sure your design is UX-focused, optimizing for various devices and types of search, and working on off-page tactics \u2014 all for the goal of performing well in organic searches.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s also no single measure of SEO performance and no single set of goals that every business is trying to achieve. Maybe you\u2019re aiming for national rankings, or maybe local searches are more important; it all depends on your business\u2019s goals.<\/span><\/p>\n

When measuring your SEO KPIs, there are a lot of different numbers you\u2019ll look at and some careful analysis you\u2019ll have to do to determine if your efforts are paying off.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Monitoring SEO Performance \u2014 Getting Started<\/b><\/h2>\n

When you set out to start monitoring and improving your SEO performance, you\u2019ll want to make sure you\u2019ve set yourself up for success.<\/span><\/p>\n

And it all begins with your goals, strategy, and using the right tools to track your desired search engine metrics.<\/span><\/p>\n

Set Goals<\/b><\/h3>\n

Like any other marketing effort, you\u2019ll want to set carefully targeted goals \u2014\u00a0 goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When setting your goals, keep in mind that SEO is a long-haul effort. Your goals need to be realistic because SEO results don\u2019t come overnight. Sometimes you can expect search KPIs to not budge for a full quarter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With that in mind, map out the areas you\u2019d like to see improvement, and set specific goals that can be tracked with the right SEO metrics.<\/span><\/p>\n

Make a Plan<\/b><\/h3>\n

Without the right map in hand, you\u2019ll never reach your destination.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, in addition to your goals, you\u2019ll need a path to reach them.<\/span><\/p>\n

And that all starts with making sure your strategy is aligned with goals over the next month, quarter, and year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While SEO is a long-term marketing effort, you should still set some key shorter-term objectives.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an example:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You might have monthly goals of publishing two blogs a month, redesigning one webpage, or reaching out to 100 potential backlink opportunities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As you gradually accomplish these short-term goals, you\u2019ll also be moving the needle on your long-term SEO goals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tools You Need<\/b><\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re going to measure performance, you\u2019re going to need the proper SEO tools to do so.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To start, you\u2019ll want to make sure that you have Google Analytics and Google Search Console installed on your website. These two tools are free and generally considered best-in-class ways to track the basic traffic and search metrics on your website.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019ll also want to install Bing Webmaster tools to know how <\/span>Bing<\/span><\/a> is comparing to Google.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tools directly from the search engines themselves are great because <\/span>who better to get data about your site from than the ones in charge of the algorithms?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

You may also want to do a little bit of research into some <\/span>additional tools<\/span><\/a> to help you with keyword research, backlinks, and deeper page analytics.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are all kinds of tools that can help in your SEO tracking efforts.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the tools you\u2019ll need to track your SEO KPIs is a keyword tracking tool like ProRankTracker.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Keyword<\/a><\/p>\n

With PRT, you can directly track your keyword rankings on a daily basis and do <\/span>audits on websites<\/span><\/a> \u2014 all with extreme detail.<\/span><\/p>\n

SEO KPIs That Matter<\/b><\/h2>\n

So, why do you need to benchmark your SEO? <\/span><\/p>\n

All of your SEO performance metrics are proof of one thing:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How well your website is pleasing the search engine algorithms \u2014 but more importantly \u2014 the search engine users.<\/span><\/p>\n

So without further ado, it\u2019s time to talk about the KPIs you need to be tracking.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

#1: Domain Authority<\/b><\/h3>\n

Domain authority is a number between 1 and 100 that gives a general \u201cranking\u201d to how authoritative search engines determine your site to be.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A higher search engine ranking score indicates that your site is more \u201cauthoritative,\u201d meaning your site is generally more likely to be higher up in the SERPs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Set a target number for yourself, but there are a few things to keep in mind about domain authority.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

First and foremost, keep your expectations realistic. Only the biggest sites, like Google itself, receive a perfect 100. Most well-made, well-ranked sites get numbers between 30 and 60.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the most important thing to keep in mind:<\/span><\/p>\n

Take \u201cdomain authority\u201d numbers with a grain of salt.<\/span><\/p>\n

Domain authority isn\u2019t an official measurement recognized by search engines, which makes it the lesser-important of the search KPIs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Every tool uses similar factors to determine a domain authority number \u2014 and it mostly relies on backlinks.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s also perfectly common for different tools to give different domain authority scores.<\/span><\/p>\n

#2: Backlinks<\/b><\/h3>\n

This number of backlink referrals to your website from other sites is a strong indicator of your site\u2019s authority.<\/span><\/p>\n

Every backlink from other domains linking to your site is counted as a vote in favor of your site in the eyes of Google.<\/span><\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the thing:<\/span><\/p>\n

The goal is to get these backlinks naturally because if someone naturally links to your website as a reference, it\u2019s a good sign your site is an authority in your industry. <\/span>(Although much of the time it happens manually.)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Therefore, a higher number of backlinks, especially from reputable sites, lets search engines know that your site is doing things right.<\/span><\/p>\n

So the idea is (<\/span>or at least what Google thinks<\/span><\/i>), if your website is attracting a lot of backlinks, then it\u2019s an indicator of an authoritative site that deserves high rankings.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the metric you usually have the least direct control over but is ironically one of the ones that matter the most for your rankings’ performance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Ranking Keywords<\/b><\/h3>\n

The number of keywords your content is ranking for is a pretty straightforward measure of how well your SEO efforts are paying off.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If your content is ranking well for a lot of keywords, it probably means that you\u2019re getting a lot of organic search traffic, too.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s important to not just rank for just any keywords. The keywords you target should be:<\/span><\/p>\n