SEO Goals and KPIs: Basics on KPIs

In part one of this two-part blog series, we looked at some of the basic differences between goals and KPIs (key performance indicators) within your SEO and other digital marketing programs. Both these terms speak to general objectives you have for your business and the metrics you're using to track and accomplish them, and both are vital for your long-term SEO efforts.

At Be Locally, we're happy to assist clients with a wide range of SEO solutions, including proper goal and KPI planning and management throughout your campaign. While most of part one of our series focused primarily on goals, which are broad objectives for your business's SEO efforts, today's part two will look at KPIs - what they are, why they're vital, and some top examples of them within SEO.

Digital Marketing KPI Basics and Importance

As we alluded to in part one of our series, KPIs are specific metrics or data points that are used to measure the success of your SEO campaign. Unlike goals, which may be broader in nature and encompass several related objectives, KPIs are more precise and make it easier to track overall progress.

This is why many professional digital marketers refer to them as key performance indicators - they provide a snapshot of how well you're doing with your efforts at any given point in time. And as with goals, it's important to set KPIs in the beginning and track them regularly to make sure you're on the right path to achieving your overall SEO objectives.

Top KPI Examples for SEO

So which specific metrics might serve as solid KPI examples within an SEO program? Here are a few of the most commonly-used:

• Keywords: This is one of the most fundamental elements of SEO, and it's essential to keep track of your progress with relevant keywords. How many total keywords are you ranking for? What's your average position for them?
• Sessions: Also known as website traffic, this measures the number of times users visit your site within a given period. There are various types of sessions, including unique and organic.
• Revenue: For those running an online business, revenue is a key metric to track. How much of your total website traffic results in actual sales or conversions?
• Backlinks: These are links from other websites back to your own, and they're another major factor in SEO success. How many high-quality backlinks do you have? How many are coming from trusted domains?

There are also many other KPIs you might track depending on your specific objectives, from bounce rate and time on site to click-through rates (CTRs) and overall engagement metrics.

For more on this or any of our SEO services, speak to the staff at Be Locally today. We're dedicated to helping our clients reap the full benefits of strong goals and KPIs within SEO.