Samel Shrestha – SEO Expert in Nepal

10 Key SEO Metrics to Track and Measure Performance

important SEO metrics to track and measure performance

Tracking the right SEO metrics is crucial for improving your website’s performance and achieving better search rankings. 

Without monitoring these metrics, it’s difficult to know how well your SEO efforts are working or where adjustments need to be made. From website traffic to keyword rankings and user engagement, these metrics help you understand what’s driving success and what’s holding you back.

In this blog, we’ll explore the most important key SEO metrics to track to help you stay on the right path and boost your online visibility over time.

10 Important SEO Metrics Worth Tracking

Here’s the list of 10 Key SEO Metrics that are important to track and monitor your success.

1. Organic Traffic

Organic traffic represents the number of visitors landing on your site through unpaid search results on search engines.

Unlike paid traffic from ads, organic traffic is earned through content quality, relevance, and your site’s authority in search engines. 

How to Check Organic Traffic Using Google Search Console?

SEO metric, organic traffic measured by Google Search Traffic
  • Log in to Google Search Console: Visit Google Search Console and log in with your Google account. Select the website you want to analyze.
  • Go to the Performance Report: On the left-hand side menu, click on “Performance”. This section provides data about how your site is performing in search results. You can analyze the clicks and performance of the website.

2. Keyword Rankings

Keyword rankings show where your website appears in search engine results for specific search terms. For example, if you’re targeting the keyword “best running shoes,” your ranking indicates the position of your website when someone searches for that phrase.

How to Track Keyword Rankings?

Keyword rank tracking using Serprobot

Get a third-party rank tracking tool like SERPROBOT for precise results.

Sign up and create an account. Add your domain, project name, the location you want to rank for, and keywords you want to monitor.

The tool will update the rankings of your keyword in the dashboard.

3. Referring Domains

Referring domains are websites that link back to your site.

referring domains check using Semrush tool

When a credible site links to yours, search engines view your website as trustworthy and authoritative, which can improve your rankings.

A single backlink from a high-authority domain, such as a respected publication or niche-specific site, can be more valuable than multiple links from smaller, less relevant sites.

How to Check Referring Domains Using Semrush?

referring domains analysis using Semrush

You can check the referring domains using an SEO tool like Semrush. 

Once you log in to Semrush, select the backlink analytics under the link-building section. After selecting the backlink analytics, enter the domain or URL you want to check.

4. Traffic Value

Traffic value in SEO is a way to understand how much your website’s visitors are worth if you pay for that traffic through ads. It gives you an idea of the financial benefit of getting visitors from search engines without spending money on advertisements.

How to Calculate Traffic Value?

Estimate Your Organic Traffic:

First, determine how many visitors your website receives from organic search each month. You can find this data in tools like Google Analytics or Ahrefs.

Identify Keywords and CPC:

Conduct keyword research to determine which keywords drive traffic to your site and their corresponding Cost-Per-Click (CPC) values. The CPC tells you how much you would pay for each click if you ran ads for those keywords.

Calculate Traffic Value Using CPC:

Use the following formula to calculate the traffic value:

Traffic Value = Monthly Organic Traffic * CPC

For example, if your site gets 2,000 visits from a keyword with a CPC of $2.00, the calculation would be: 2,000 * 2 = 4,000

This means your organic traffic could be worth $4,000 per month if you paid for that traffic through ads.

How to Check Traffic Value Using Semrush?

trafic-value-of-youtube.com-in-semrush

Start by logging into your SEMrush account. You’ll need to create an account if you don’t have one.

Navigate to the organic research section and enter the domain you want to check. You will get the estimated traffic cost along with organic keywords and organic traffic.

5. Number of Indexed Pages

This tells you how many pages a search engine has in its index.

How to Check Indexed Pages?

You can check the indexed pages in the Google Search Console. Select the pages under “Indexing” section where you can see all the pages that are non indexed and indexed.

page indexing report in Google Search Console

Another way to check how many pages from a given domain Google has in its index is by using the site search operator: site:ahrefs.com

page indexing check using site operator in Google

6. Core Web Vitals

Core Web Vitals measure user experience metrics like load speed, interactivity, and visual stability.

Core Web Vitals (CWV) is a set of three metrics related to your website speed and user experience. They are:

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): LCP measures how long a web page’s largest visible element (above-the-fold content) takes to load.

Interaction to Next Paint (INP): INP measures user interface responsiveness – how quickly a website responds to user interactions like link clicks.

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): CLS measures the visual stability of your webpage’s content as a user views it.

Google uses Core Web Vitals as a ranking signal.

core web vitals are the metrics to evaluate the performance in SEO

How to Track Core Web Vitals?

There are many ways to check Core Web Vitals. You can check for CWV metrics in the Google Search Console (GSC) under the “Experience” section and the PageSpeed Insights tool.

core web vital measured with PageSpeed Insight

You can also check the CWV metrics using tools like Ahrefs and Semrush.

7. Organic Traffic Conversions

Organic traffic conversations tell you how effectively your website turns visitors from unpaid search results into meaningful actions. These actions might include purchasing, filling out a contact form, signing up for a newsletter, or downloading an eBook.

It helps you evaluate the quality of traffic your SEO strategy brings in. High traffic with low conversions could indicate that your content isn’t aligned with user intent or the wrong audience is landing on your site.

How to Track Traffic Conversions?

You can track conversions in the Google Analytics tool.

In Google Analytics, set up Goals under the “Admin” section. Goals could include form submissions, purchases, or time spent on a page.

Traffic conversion measurement tracking by Google Search Console

8. Average CTR (Click-Through Rate)

Traffic conversion measurement tracking by Google Search Console

CTR, or Click-Through Rate, measures how often people click on your website’s link after seeing it in search results.

It’s calculated as a percentage, calculated by dividing the number of clicks by the number of impressions (how often your site appears in search results).

How to Track Average CTR?

average Click Through Rate track in Google Search Console

You can track the Average Click Through Rate (CTR) in the “Performance” section of the search console.

9. Website Health Score

A website health score is a metric that evaluates the overall performance, accessibility, and SEO-friendliness of a website. It provides insights into how well a site functions and meets user expectations, which is crucial for maintaining an effective online presence.

A high health score correlates with better user experience, improved search engine rankings, and increased traffic and conversions.

Ahref’s audit tool shows you a good analysis of your overall health score.

How to Analyze a Website Health Score?

Sign up for the Ahrefs tool and perform a site audit for your project. That’s all! 

The tool will give a health score in the range of 0-100.

  • Weak: 0-30
  • Fair: 31-70
  • Good: 71-90
  • Excellent: 91-100
This scale helps users quickly assess the health of their website and prioritize improvements.
website health score dashboard from Ahrefs audit tool.

Every time Ahrefsbot performs a site audit, it will update your Health Score and report accordingly. The tool will list errors, notices, and warnings that you can fix to increase the website’s health score.

  • Errors: These are critical issues that need immediate attention, such as broken links or duplicate title tags.
  • Warnings: Medium-severity issues that should be addressed but are not as urgent.
  • Notices: Minor issues that do not require immediate action but should be monitored.
Ahrefs site audit error

10. Engagement Metrics

Here are a few important engagement metrics to track your performance:

Bounce Rate: This metric represents the percentage of visitors who leave the site after viewing only one page without further interaction. A high bounce rate may indicate the landing page is not meeting user expectations or needs.

Pages Per Visit: This measures how many pages a user visits during a session. A higher number often reflects better engagement and interest in the site’s content.

Average Session Duration: This indicates the average time users spend on a website during a single visit. Longer session durations suggest that users find the content engaging and relevant.

How to Track Engagement Metrics?

Log into GA4: Start by logging into your Google Analytics account and selecting the property you want to analyze.

Navigate to Reports: Click on the “Reports” section in the left-hand menu.

Traffic Acquisition: Under “Acquisition,” you can find metrics related to user engagement. Here, you’ll see data on engaged sessions, average engagement time, and engagement rate.

Customize Your Reports: You can customize reports to include specific engagement metrics that matter most to your analysis. This allows you to focus on particular aspects of user interaction.

Conclusion

Tracking the right SEO metrics is essential for understanding how well your website is performing and where improvements are needed. By focusing on the key SEO metrics to track, you can make informed decisions, refine your strategies, and achieve long-term success in search rankings. 

Remember, SEO is an ongoing process, and regularly monitoring these metrics ensures you stay ahead of the competition and continue to drive valuable traffic to your site.

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