What makes an organic search marketing campaign a success? This is a question that continues to cause confusion. For each client, the answer seems to be a little different. The success of an organic search campaign needs to be measured in a way that supports the business goals of each client. Let’s look at a few important measurements of SEO progress and what these metrics do and don’t tell you.
Keyword ranking
What this metric tells you: The ranking a website holds for any one or many keywords. While this is a popular metric for businesses to look at, it doesn’t come close to painting the whole picture.
What this metric doesn’t tell you: How much traffic you’re actually generating from the rankings you have, whether the keywords are relevant, how much of that traffic is converting, etc…
Organic traffic
What this metric tells you: Measures the amount of traffic that comes to your website through organic search. It’s always nice to see organic traffic on the rise as it’s a sign that the website is increasing in search engine visibility.
What this metric doesn’t tell you: Which types of keywords are attracting traffic, whether they are targeted for your product or service, whether they are converting, etc…
Organic keywords
What this metric tells you: Keywords that are driving traffic to your website and how much traffic each term is actually driving. It’s good to keep an eye on this number to make sure that, if you rank highly for a given phrases, you’re actually getting that traffic to come to your website.
What this metric doesn’t tell you: Whether visitors coming to your website for a given set of keywords phrases are converting (making a purchase, filling out a form, etc.).
Organic conversions
What this metric tells you: Measurement of the number and value of conversions you’ve had because of organic search efforts.
What this metric doesn’t tell you: Whether these conversions pay off from the standpoint of your business model.
As you can see, no one metric paints the whole SEO picture. Outlining specific goals and metrics for measuring success is critical for making an organic SEO campaign work. When considering employing organic search marketing experts to help you achieve your search marketing goals, make sure you’re working with a company who takes time to understand your business needs and not just a company who understands search engines. An experienced search marketing company will be able to take this information and provide you with the feedback you need to determine the value of the service they provide.
