SEO content is a crucial part of any digital marketing strategy, as it helps drive organic traffic to your website. But how do you know if your SEO content efforts are paying off?
Tracking the success of SEO content efforts is essential to understanding the effectiveness of your digital marketing strategy. You (or your SEO agency) should never set and forget any of your SEO efforts. By monitoring and analysing key metrics, you can determine what is working well and what needs improvement.
What is ‘successful SEO content’?
Successful SEO content is more than just having the right keywords scattered throughout the text. It is about creating valuable, relevant and engaging content that not only attracts search engine traffic but also keeps readers on your page and encourages them to take action. Here are a few key elements that make up successful SEO content:
1. High-quality and relevant information
Successful SEO content provides valuable information that is relevant to the user’s search query. It should answer the user’s question or provide solutions to their problems. The content should be well-researched, informative and up-to-date.
2. Strategic use of keywords
Keywords are still an important aspect of SEO content, but they should be used strategically and naturally within the content. Stuffing keywords unnaturally can result in penalisation by search engines. Successful SEO content incorporates keywords in a way that flows naturally within the text and helps search engines understand the topic of the content.
3. Engaging and readable
Successful SEO Content is not only optimised for search engines but also for the reader. It should be engaging, easy to read and keep the reader interested. This includes using subheadings, bullet points and other formatting elements to make the content easily scannable.
4. Strong calls-to-action
Successful SEO content doesn’t just provide information; it also encourages readers to take action. Whether it’s signing up for a newsletter, requesting a quote, or making a purchase, including strong calls-to-action can help drive conversions and increase the effectiveness of your content.
5. Mobile-friendly and fast-loading
In today’s mobile-first world, successful SEO content should be optimised for mobile devices and load quickly. Search engines prioritise mobile-friendly websites, so ensuring that your content is accessible and loading quickly on all devices is crucial for SEO success.
SEO content KPIs you should be tracking
SEO content KPIs, or key performance indicators, are essential metrics used to measure the success of your SEO content strategy. By tracking these KPIs, you can determine how well your content is performing in search engines, and make adjustments to improve its visibility and reach.
Organic traffic
This is the number of visitors that come to your website through organic search results. By tracking your organic traffic, you can see how well your content is performing in search engines and if your SEO efforts are driving traffic to your site.
Keyword rankings
Monitoring your keyword rankings is crucial for understanding how well your content is ranking in search engine results pages. By tracking your rankings for target keywords, you can identify opportunities to improve and optimise your content.
Click-through rate (CTR)
CTR is the percentage of people who click on your search engine listing after seeing it in search results. A high CTR indicates that your content is relevant and compelling to users, while a low CTR may suggest that your content needs improvement.
Bounce rate
Bounce rate measures the percentage of visitors who leave your site after viewing only one page. A high bounce rate could indicate that your content is not engaging or relevant to visitors, while a low bounce rate suggests that your content is valuable and engaging.
Conversion rates
Conversion rate measures the percentage of visitors who take a desired action on your website, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter. By tracking your conversion rate, you can determine if your content is effectively driving conversions and achieving your business goals.
Time on page
This metric measures how long visitors spend on a page on your website. A high average time on page indicates that your content is engaging and valuable to users, while a low time on page may suggest that your content needs improvement.
6 steps to track the success of your SEO content
1. Set clear goals and kpis
Before you start creating SEO content, it’s important to establish clear goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) that will help you measure the success of your efforts. This could include metrics such as website traffic, conversion rates, keyword rankings and engagement metrics like time on page and bounce rate.
2. Monitor website traffic
One of the most important metrics to track is website traffic. Tools like Google Analytics can provide valuable insights into how many visitors are coming to your site, where they are coming from, and which pages they are landing on. By monitoring changes in website traffic over time, you can gauge the impact of your SEO content efforts.
3. Analyse keyword rankings
Tracking your keyword rankings is crucial for understanding how well your content is performing in search engine results pages (SERPs). Tools like SEMrush and Moz can help you monitor your keyword rankings and identify opportunities for improvement.
4. Measure conversions
Ultimately, the goal of SEO content is to drive conversions, whether that means generating leads, making sales, or increasing newsletter sign-ups. By tracking conversion rates and assigning a monetary value to each conversion, you can calculate the return on investment (ROI) of your SEO content efforts.
5. Monitor engagement metrics
Engagement metrics like time on page, bounce rate and click-through rate can provide insights into how well your content is resonating with your audience. By analysing these metrics, you can identify areas where your content may need improvement and make adjustments accordingly.
6. Use A/B testing
A/B testing involves creating two versions of a webpage or piece of content and testing them against each other to see which performs better. By conducting A/B tests on your SEO content, you can optimise your content for maximum effectiveness and drive better results.
Not sure where to start with measuring the success of your content? It’s a time-consuming task and one you want to get right. Send us a signal to see how our SEO Content experts can help get the most out of your content marketing strategies.