If something can be measured, it can be improved.
By carefully measuring your SEO with metrics that matter to your business, you can understand where you are currently and what value SEO brings to your marketing.
SEO KPIs bridge the gap between your business and marketing objectives and the data available in SEO tools and web analytics.
This article outlines the many SEO metrics and KPIs and how to tailor a set of SEO KPIs to your business.
What are KPIs?
A KPI is a key performance indicator. This is a quantifiable measurement of performance in relation to a specific objective. KPIs help you define targets and milestones and measure progress toward those goals.
What are SEO KPIs?
SEO KPIs are metrics used to measure SEO performance.
Typically, SEO KPIs track visibility or traffic and how it fares in relation to your goals.
Such metrics will quantify traffic from major search engines like Google and Bing and the real-world results of SEO strategies and tactics (leads and sales).
Using SEO KPIs
Careful measurement and tracking provide a control system to ensure your tactics deliver results and your time and effort are spent on productive tasks.
Diligent measurement also provides feedback if your tactics are not working and inform you of how changes in the search landscape or algorithm impact performance.
KPIs can be tiered to provide understandable metrics for all stakeholders. The marketing team will need more detail to ensure time is spent wisely on SEO vs. PPC, but the board may only need to see top-level performance figures.
Tailoring the KPIs to your situation is the key to creating truly useful SEO KPIs.
Objectives and KPIs
Your SEO KPIs should act as an extension of your overall business and marketing goals.
You ensure you aim at relevant goals by considering your SEO goals as an extension of your overall marketing goals. Your SEO KPIs then track performance toward that goal.
The key is in the name (literally and figuratively): KPIs are key performance indicators.
They force you to ask whether your SEO approach drives performance. If not, what can you do about it?
This is really important but all too often overlooked.
SEO can be so complex that you need clear objectives and ways to measure progress toward those goals to ensure your time and effort are spent wisely pursuing the right goals.
SEO KPI Process
The following is a simple process that you can use to determine your SEO goals and KPIs.
Step 1: Determine your SEO goals
The first job is to identify your SEO objectives. What are the important tasks you need to achieve now, in a month, three months, six months and a year?
The SEO goals should connect to established organizational goals, and you should clearly articulate how the SEO goals drive the overall business goals.
I suggest three to five goals initially to keep focus.
You should then define your SEO goals using the SMART goals system.
Alternatively, you can use