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10 Best SEO KPIs You Need to Track for Maximum Impact

PWD Developer
|31st October 2024

Are you confident your SEO efforts are driving measurable results? 

In the world of digital marketing, tracking the right Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) can make all the difference in achieving sustainable growth. 

At PWD Digital Agency, we understand that a well-structured SEO strategy goes beyond rankings; it’s about focusing on metrics that reveal the true impact on your business. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the 10 essential SEO KPIs to track and measure, ensuring your campaigns are not only effective but aligned with your business goals.

 

KPI 1: Return On Investment (ROI)

ROI in SEO represents the profit gained from SEO investments compared to their cost. A positive ROI shows that SEO strategies, like content creation and outreach campaigns, are effective. However, measuring SEO ROI can be challenging due to delayed returns, and it’s rarely possible to pinpoint with 100% confidence that activity A brought result B.

How is it calculated?

SEO ROI = (value of organic conversions – cost of SEO investments)/cost of SEO investments *100

 

KPI 2: Cost Per Acquisition

CPA reflects the cost of acquiring a user who converts, including SEO-related expenses. A high CPA can indicate that content or keyword strategies might be misaligned. It’s essential to remember that SEO results develop gradually, so monitoring CPA over time is necessary to gain valuable insights.

How is it calculated?

Total Cost of SEO (agency costs, content, SEO tools, etc.) / Conversions = CPA

 

KPI 3: Conversions (Leads and Sales)

Organic conversions are a key component of SEO KPIs, directly connecting SEO efforts to business revenue through actions such as leads, sales, or subscriptions. It’s essential to track both the number and rate of conversions from organic traffic.

Establishing a clear benchmark before starting SEO campaigns and using GA4 for streamlined conversion tracking are considered best practices.

 

KPI 4: Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

CLV predicts the total profit from a customer over their relationship with your business. It’s a vital KPI for understanding long-term customer value, guiding SEO investment, and unifying cross-departmental strategies.

How is it calculated?

CLV = (Customer Value x Average Customer Lifespan) 

Customer Value = (Average Purchase Value x Average Number of Purchases)

 

KPI 5: Organic Traffic

Organic traffic refers to visitors coming to your website through unpaid search results, valued for its cost-effectiveness and high quality. This quality comes from search results that closely match user queries, effectively satisfying search intent.

Track these metrics in GA4 under “Reports” > “Life Cycle” > “Acquisition” > Traffic acquisition

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KPI 6: Branded vs Non-Branded Traffic

Branded traffic in SEO refers to visitors who find your website using your brand name or specific products.

Non-branded traffic comes from searches not related to your brand, focusing on non-branded keywords or general industry terms.

Both are considered as key SEO KPIs, indicating brand strength and the effectiveness of reaching new audiences.

Here are some examples of branded and non-branded keywords:

Branded Keywords

These include terms with a specific company or brand name, which show that users are searching for that business directly:

  • “PWD Digital SEO services”
  • “Nike running shoes”
  • “Apple iPhone 15”
  • “Starbucks coffee menu”
  • “Tesla Model 3 features”

Non-Branded Keywords

These are general search terms related to products, services, or topics but do not specify any brand:

  • “best SEO services in Perth”
  • “comfortable running shoes”
  • “smartphone features comparison”
  • “coffee shop near me”
  • “electric cars for sale”

Branded keywords often attract users already familiar with the brand, while non-branded keywords can help reach a broader audience.

 

KPI 7: Search Visibility

Search visibility is an essential SEO KPI that reflects your brand’s presence in organic search results. Today, organic visibility measurement goes beyond traditional SERPs to include features like knowledge panels, local packs, and featured snippets.

Tools like Google Search Console can track this, showing impressions to reflect growth in visibility.

Track these metrics under Google Search Console, Performance > Search Results

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KPI 8: Keyword Rankings

Keyword ranking refers to a website’s position in search results for a particular term. Most websites rank for multiple terms across different pages. Rankings are important because higher-ranked pages attract more traffic, with 75.1% of clicks going to the top three results and 31.73% to the first page.

Tools like Accuranker or Agency Analytics will help you track the rankings for all your keywords. Here’s a screenshot from Accuranker.

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KPI 9: Click-Through Rate (CTR)

CTR, while not a direct ranking factor, is important as it shows how often people click on your website in Google search results.

Monitoring CTR helps evaluate how well your title tags and meta descriptions align with search queries. Google Search Console is a useful tool for tracking this.

Here’s a screenshot of a recent study from SEMRush.

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KPI 10: Average Engagement Time

Average engagement time on your website reflects user interest; longer durations often lead to higher conversion rates.

It’s crucial to track and aim to increase average engagement time and time per session, as low durations may indicate areas for improvement.

Track these metrics in GA4 under “Reports” > “Engagement” > “Engagement overview.

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BONUS KPI: Bounce Rate

Bounce rate represents the percentage of visitors who leave a page without interacting, providing insight into content engagement and relevance to search queries.

A high bounce rate often indicates that the content isn’t holding user attention, potentially resulting in missed conversion opportunities.

Regular tracking of bounce rate, accessible in GA4 under “Reports” > “Engagement” > “Pages and screens,” can reveal areas for improvement.

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Track, Measure, and Elevate Your SEO Success

Are you ready to take your SEO strategy to the next level? 

By focusing on these top 10 KPIs, you’ll gain invaluable insights into what’s working and where there’s room for improvement, setting the stage for stronger performance and higher returns. At PWD Digital Agency, our SEO service in Perth is designed to help businesses not only track these crucial metrics but also transform data into actionable strategies. With the right KPIs in place, you can make informed decisions and see real, measurable growth from your SEO efforts.