You’ve been publishing content for months. Maybe even years. You are doing the work, but something feels… off.
Your site traffic is not growing. Your search engine rankings are nowhere near where you just wish they were. Sound familiar?
The simple honest truth is until you measure your SEO, you simply cannot get better at it.
Which, is where checking the performance of your SEO comes into play. That involves more than just reviewing a few figures and moving on. You need to comprehend the SEO results for your business, and make changes when necessary.
What Exactly Is SEO Performance?
Your SEO performance can essentially be summarized as how well your website performs in search engines. Sounds simple, right?
However, it’s not only just search engine ranking.
It’s about traffic quality. It’s about conversions. It all comes back to if people truly find your content valuable and helpful.
If you were to rank #1 for “best pizza in town” but no one was ordering pizza from your website, what difference does that ranking make?
SEO performance is the full picture of how your search engine optimization efforts are translating into results. This means everything from keyword rankings to user behavior to tangible business outcomes.
Why You Should Check Your SEO Performance, Right Now
Many people, think that checking your SEO performance once per month is sufficient.
Big mistake.
SEO moves fast. Google updates happen constantly. The competition is always gunning for your spot. User behavior changes. Trends shift.
You are flying blind if you only check in every so often.
This is what happens when you keep your SEO performance in check:
You catch ranking drops before they become disastersYou identify winning content strategies earlyYou can double down on what’s workingYou spot technical issues before they tank your siteYou make data-driven decisions instead of guessing
A good search engine optimization strategy vs a great one? Regular performance monitoring.
Essential Tools You Need to Check SEO Performance
Let’s get practical.
You don’t need every SEO tool under the sun. You need the right ones.
Google Search Console
This is your absolute must-have. It’s free. It’s from Google. It is the only tool that demonstrates how Google views your website.
What you’ll find:
Which keywords are driving trafficClick-through rates for your pagesIndexing issuesMobile usability problemsCore Web Vitals data
Pro tip: Create an email alert if anything significant happens with the impressions or clicks. You’ll catch problems fast that way.
Google Analytics 4
Search Console is like the newscaster letting you know what happened. Now you can know what the user is doing once they get there!
Key metrics to watch:
Organic traffic trendsBounce ratesTime on pageConversion rates from organic search
SEMrush or Ahrefs
Leading SEO tools so you get the big picture. You can see:
Your keyword rankingsCompetitor analysisBacklink profilesContent gap opportunities
Pick one. Don’t try to use both. You’ll drive yourself mad trying to compare the data…
How to Properly Check Your Keyword Rankings
Rankings are the “report card” for your SEO. However, they really are not as easy as you might think.
Do Not Worry About Individual Keyword Positions
Seriously. Stop it.
Being #1 for a keyword which no one is searching doesn’t help much.
Focus on that instead traffic potential instead.
Follow Keyword Clusters, Not Simple Words
Group related keywords together. Example: Best running shoes, Top Running sneakers, Best athletic footwear, etc.
That will give you a more accurate snapshot of your performance in that subject.
Monitor Position Change Over Time more than Absolute Position
Going from position 50 to top 25 is way more interesting that a stable one at position 3. Momentum matters.
How To Measure The Organic Traffic Growth
Traffic numbers are sexy. We all love those up-and-to-the-right charts.
Pay attention to:
Pages per sessionAverage session durationBounce rateConversion rate from organic traffic
Segment Your Traffic Sources
All organic traffic is NOT created equal. Separate:
Desktop vs. mobile trafficTraffic from different search enginesDirect vs. referral organic traffic
Track Traffic by Content Type
What blog articles are selling the most? Which product pages? This allows you to get an idea of what sticks with your followers.
Technical SEO Performance Checks You Can’t Ignore
Here’s where things get nerdy.
Page Speed
Google cares about speed. Users care about speed.
Use tools like:
Google PageSpeed InsightsGTmetrixWebPageTest
Run the test on your desktops as well as mobile. Mobile often matters more.
Mobile-Friendliness
Mobile is the new primary way to search, most regular searches are done in mobile rather than desktop. Leaving money on the table if your site is not mobile friendly.
Thankfully Google has been a great partner in this. Use their Mobile Friendly Test on your website.
Indexing Issues
Regularly check for:
Crawl errorsDuplicate content issuesMissing meta descriptionsBroken internal links
How Your Content Is Really Performing
First and foremost, your content will form a base for the SEO strategy. But which parts are really performing?
Identify Your Top-Performing Content
Look for:
Highest organic trafficBest engagement metricsMost backlinksHighest conversion rates
Then ask: What are these in common?
Analyze Content Gaps
It will also allow you to pull keywords that your competitors rank for but you do not. These are opportunities.
Identify where there are content gaps and fill them if they align with your business goals.
Track Content Freshness
How frequently do you keep your content updated? Google favors fresh, updated content.
Refresh your content regularly, your rankings will thank you.
Check Your Backlink Quality
Look at:
Domain authority of linking sitesRelevance of linking pagesAnchor text diversityLink growth rateMonitor for Toxic Links
Unhealthy backlinks can hurt your rankings. Tracking the links that point to your site lets you deal with bad backlinks before they have a chance to hurt you.
Track Your Link Building Efforts
If you’re doing outreach or content marketing for links, keep tabs on what’s going well. Double down on successful strategies.
The post How To Check Your SEO Performance appeared first on SiteProNews.
