How To Do KPI for SEO Cooperation?
If you run a business, you probably set potential objectives and then verify if you managed to achieve them. These goals can be linked to various areas of your enterprise, including marketing campaigns. The scenario looks the same in the case of SEO where you can also determine KPIs standing for key performance indicators. Why is it worth following this path and how to do KPI for SEO cooperation?
Table of Contents:
- KPI and SEO – Why Is It Worth Setting KPIs in the SEO process?
- How to Set KPI for SEO Cooperation?
- How To Do KPI for SEO? The Takeaways
KPI and SEO – Why Is It Worth Setting KPIs In The SEO Process?
KPIs stand for Key Performance Indicators. These indicators are determined at the very beginning of the process to identify the level of performance you want to achieve.
Increasing the number of customers or newsletter subscribers by X% within a specific period of time may be an exemplary objective. You may also wish to improve profits. KPIs can focus on marketing activities and their effectiveness.
If you run an online store, be sure to check our previous entry: KPIs for e-commerce – key performance indicators for online stores. What’s worth measuring?
Setting KPIs is also relevant during SEO campaigns. Thanks to it, you’re able to verify whether the selected agency achieves intended results at every stage of the process. In case of such activities, it’s crucial to be familiar with the operation of Google algorithms and realistic possibilities of the company in a given time.
How to use KPI in SEO?
Defining KPIs in SEO cooperation brings you numerous benefits, including:
- the possibility to evaluate measurable results of the SEO campaign,
- the opportunity to spot the moment when the effectiveness of the activities decreases,
- the possibility to assess whether the agency has chosen the right strategy tailored to your website,
- the possibility to monitor the effectiveness of the conducted activities.
It’s impossible to set the same exact KPIs for different websites that seem similar on the surface. In SEO, it’s hard to find two websites whose optimization is on the same level.
A page may seem appealing and modern, yet its link profile can be so bad that attracting a specific amount of organic traffic or being displayed for a given number of keywords in TOP 10 search results can be much more time-consuming than in the case of sites with good quality links.
How To Set KPI for SEO Cooperation?
After determining KPIs, you’ll be able to verify on an ongoing basis whether the agency’s actions bring the expected results. So how to set KPIs for SEO cooperation and what should they be linked to?
When running campaigns, SEO specialists analyze various parameters that help them check the effectiveness of performed activities. What’s more important, you’ll be able to control the work of the agency without using specialized, paid tools.
Wondering what KPIs to choose for SEO cooperation? Below you can see a few exemplary parameters:
TOP 10 and TOP50 phrases
Visibility for a certain number of key phrases in Google within a given period of time is definitely one of the indicators that it’s worth monitoring.
Avoid monitoring only a few positions that are vital for your business – the agency may need more time to achieve the promised results if the keywords are highly competitive.
Nevertheless, the growing number of phrases in the TOP 50 or TOP 10 is one of the factors showing the effectiveness of the specialists. With the help of available tools, you can easily monitor how the ranking changes in this regard.
SEMSTORM
With this tool, it’s possible to monitor basic data concerning keywords in TOP 10 for free.
Ahrefs
The third tool is available for free only partially (https://ahrefs.com/backlink-checker). To access detailed information on pricing and available plans, go to: https://ahrefs.com/pricing.
The number of impressions in Google
When it comes to the number of impressions in Google, this data can be easily verified in Google Search Console.
Google has access to numerous crucial facts about your website. Its database contains information on page condition, organic traffic or backlinks. To benefit from available possibilities, you first need to verify the site. If you want to learn how to do it, read our entry: How to verify Google Search Console?
After logging in, select the “performance” tab. Click the “total number of impressions” option, and then you’ll see how this parameter has changed over time. This will tell you how many times your page appeared in the search results after users typed in specific queries. It doesn’t mean that people entered your page – they might have done it but even if they only saw it in the search results, it’ll be noted here.
Should the number of impressions increase all the time? Such a tendency is expected between each settlement. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean that there will be more impressions every day. Depending on the industry, users visit pages on different days. Business-related platforms enjoy greater popularity during the week, whereas sites devoted to tourism are visited more frequently on weekends.
Organic traffic
Benefit from the “performance” tab one more time. This time, focus on the first number displayed at the top of the page. Choose the period you want to analyze. You’ll discover the total number of clicks over a given period of time, meaning the number of times an Internet user saw your website in Google and entered it.
Compare changes in organic traffic over certain periods, not from day today. Take into account the potential seasonality of your business. Do your product range and services enjoy greater popularity in certain months?
Analyzing Google Analytics data is another way to check organic traffic. Log into GA and select “acquisition”, “all traffic” and then “source/medium”. You’ll see “Google/organic” in the list. Here you can also analyze how traffic from this source has changed over time.
Information about the estimated number of visits from organic search results is available in Ahrefs, but the mentioned Google tools provide the most reliable data.
The number of linking domains and links
Backlinks are one of the ranking factors. Their quality (meaning the SEO quality of linking websites) is crucial to succeed. When making initial arrangements, the agency will probably estimate the number of links it’ll acquire for your site per month.
Information about acquired links should be included in each report summarizing a month of work, however, you can also scrutinize it on your own with the help of a few tools. Check out Google Search Console or Ahrefs.
Domain quality indicators
To determine the power of your domain, SEO specialists benefit from metrics created by third-party companies. They numerically represent page ranking.
Activities performed by the SEO agency should translate into improved parameters. Although all of these metrics can be manipulated, such links won’t translate into increased page visibility. Based on it, you can already determine that something is wrong. Pay attention to:
Domain Rating
This ahrefs.com indicator evaluates the number and quality of backlinks.
Domain Authority
This moz.com indicator is calculated based on several factors, including the number of links leading to a specific site (you can learn more about DA here: Domain Authority).
Trust Flow
Trust Flow is an indicator developed by majestic.com. It evaluates the quality of backlinks to your site.
Authority Score
A parameter prepared semrush.com. It also evaluates the quality and number of backlinks to the domain.
How To Do KPI for SEO? The Takeaway
Setting your KPIs for SEO cooperation is beneficial due to a number of reasons. First of all, you’ll know which aspects to control and what to expect at each stage of the process.
The SEO agency should explain to you the prepared plan of the campaign and determine which KPIs are likely to be achieved over a specific period of time. It’s important to agree to do only achievable KPIs.
What KPIs should you set for SEO cooperation?
- increased number of phrases in the TOP50 and TOP10,
- increased number of Google impressions,
- improved organic traffic,
- increased number of linking domains and links,
- improved metrics indicating the power of the domain (e.g. DR, DA, TF).
Time is crucial for SEO – activities bring results gradually, not overnight. At first, it’s possible to observe enhanced visibility, then, the page is displayed in better positions for an increasing number of keywords and this translates into more website visits.
The effects of acquiring backlinks to your website may not be noticeable for several weeks, so it’s important to know what SEO is all about and when to realistically expect the results of implemented changes.
