Unlike many traditional marketing methods, with SEO you are able to get a very clear, measurable result for your efforts. You are able to see where you appear on Google, how many new visitors this brought to your website and how many of these visitors went on to make a purchase. And that’s just the beginning…
Once you start to see the benefits of a successful SEO campaign (through website reporting), it can become very addictive. You’ll look to identify new keywords, bringing you even more visitors, and then improve the rate at which your website converts these visitors into sales. That’s why SEO needs to be a part of your long-term sales and marketing strategy.
The fact is, you can’t improve what you don’t track… and that’s why we suggest you track everything! If you don’t currently have any tracking on your website, check out a free service called Google Analytics – it’ll provide you with more information than you’ll know what to do with.
The key metrics we like to follow, include:
Unique Visitors
It’s important to keep an eye on the number of unique visitors to your website. Be wary of any webmaster that talks in terms of “hits”. Hits really aren’t a very good representation as to the number of visitors to your site – it can make things appear busier than they really are. Instead, you want to see your unique visitors increasing month on month.
Actual Pages Visited
Seeing where your visitors go when on your website can identify some easy opportunities to increase profits. Knowing what pages are most visited then gives you the opportunity to improve the rate at which those pages convert. This website reporting is often overlooked by those new to SEO, yet it can give you one of the biggest returns. And here’s why…
*Increasing a page’s conversion rate from 1%-2% will yield the same profit results as doubling your traffic. That is to say, you’re converting twice as many visitors from the same number of visitors.
Length of Stay
Have you ever visited a website only to leave almost immediately? Most likely you didn’t find what you were looking for and so you didn’t make a purchase. By analysing how long your visitors stay on your website (along with a few other tests) you can identify what made them leave. Obviously you want to give them what they are looking for and the longer they stay, the greater the chance they’ll purchase your product or service.
What Customers Are Buying
Many people tend to focus on their weaknesses, thinking they need to become stronger in that area. The reverse is actually true. It’s important to analyse where you’re already successful and do more of that. By analysing what’s already selling, you’ll be able to build your website (and profits) faster than you ever thought imaginable.
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With understanding comes the power to make a change.