How To Know If Your SEO Strategies Are Working

Businesses invest a lot of money in SEO (as they should) because having a working SEO strategy is valuable to any business that stands a chance of competing effectively in today’s market. However, if the SEO is not generating results, it is not a worthy investment. Therefore, you should employ mechanisms that help you know whether you are getting value for the money you invest in a Los Angeles SEO company.

SEO key performance indicators

Source: reputationdefender.medium.com

First of all, do not expect your site to rank high within a short time because developing good SEO takes time. However, there are other key performance indicators (KPIs) that can help you assess where you are;

Traffic

The primary goal of SEO is generating more traffic for a website, and if, after implementing an SEO strategy, there is no increase in traffic, something must be wrong. After about 4-12 months of starting SEO, you should see a rise in the number of people visiting your site. If you do not notice a change, adopt better mechanisms or seek a better SEO agency to help you.

Backlinks

Backlinks are links from other domains that link back to you. The links help you establish yourself as an authority in the topics you handle. If a person finds your content to be helpful, he/she may link their content to you, and Google recognizes this and uses it as a metric to rank you high. If your SEO strategy is correct, you may get these backlinks. If you do not get them, try reviewing your content and make sure it is high-quality content that other researchers can find valuable/useful.

Time on page

The time that users spend on your pages is another factor to consider. If your users spend less time on a specific page, they did not find what they wanted on the page. Google can detect this and can lower your ranking because of less user interaction time.

If you notice the behavior, know that your content does not appeal to your target audience. You can try;

• rewriting the content
• reformatting- you can change the structure of your work by shortening the paragraphs, putting a legible font, and using understandable language to make it easier for people to read. Also, consider adding visuals such as helpful images and videos to capture people’s attention.

Also, slow-loading pages may lead to people spending less time on your site. Ensure your pages load fast so that readers can enjoy spending time on your site.

Keyword ranking

Source: pegs.com

Keyword ranking refers to your websites’ position when one types a specific keyword query. You should see changes in your keyword ranking after some months, and within six months, your site should appear at least on the front page of the SERPs. If there are no changes, adapt to new mechanisms.

Note that search results are personalized to the user, and what you see on your results page is not what your target customers see on their SERPs. To accurately gauge your keyword ranking, ensure you carry out a depersonalized search.

Conversions

The ultimate goal of investing in SEO is to convert more people into customers; hence it is a metric you cannot ignore. It is one of the easiest KPI to measure since it is self-evident. If more customers are signing up or buying a product from your site, your SEO is effective.

Tools to use to gauge your SEO’s effectiveness

Source: neilpatel.com

You can only measure some of the above KPIs by using tools you can find from different parties. Google has some tools you can use, but other third parties also have excellent tools to test these results.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is one of the best web analytics services you can use. Its primary use is tracking and analyzing web traffic, but it can also help analyze conversions and time spent on a page. It is a tool every business should have since many companies report rapid increases in ROI from using Google Analytics. Google Analytics is also advantageous because it can help you access data that only Google can provide.

Google Search Console

Another tool from Google is the Google Search Console which can help you measure organic search traffic. This tool can help you compare similar periods; for example, you can do a month: month comparison to help you know if your SEO is working.

Ahrefs and other tools

Google Analytics is the best tool to use, but you can also use third-party tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, KWFinder, Ubersuggest, etc.

Ahrefs is definitely one of the most popular SEO tools, and it can help you compare your web traffic with previous periods to determine whether the SEO you are using is correct. It can also help you gauge your keyword ranking and even backlinks. It is an effective tool that you can try using if you find Google tools are not adequate.

Another tool that should be on your list is Semrush. This one is extremely helpful when looking for keywords and planning your future campaigns. Both KWFinder and Ubersuggest are good alternatives for these tools.

One of the drawbacks of these and similar tools is that they are not cheap. To be more precise, those are quite expensive and can easily reach $500+ month. Getting access to all these tools can be costly if you are using those for your needs only and it might be better to think about working with an SEO Company.

Selecting a good SEO partner

Source: inspirationfeed.com

If you opt to get an SEO partner, ensure that you get a competent one. Some SEO partners may lead to your downfall by using black hat techniques to deliver results. Black hat techniques include keyword stuffing, putting lots of low-quality content, and spamming backlinks.

If you receive a manual penalty when working with an SEO agency, it can mean they are using the black hat techniques. Google issues manual actions to sites that do not follow ethical SEO practices, and you can receive such penalties through your email or GWT notification.

A good SEO partner should share their strategies with you. If the SEO firm is not open about its plan, proceed with care. When working with an SEO partner;

• It would help if you were patient because setting up SEO takes time.
• You need to keep constant communication to know the partner’s progress.
• Ask questions and keep monitoring what they are doing.

Key Takeaway

Assessing the results of money spent on SEO can help you know the best step to take regarding your strategy. It would help if you used helpful tools to come up with the correct data relating to the key performance indicators. Also, evaluate whether you have the right SEO partner at your disposal since a bad one can lead to your site’s failure.