Checking your SEO data regularly is crucial for monitoring the health and performance of your website. Here are some of the main ways to check important SEO metrics and data points.
Use Google Search Console
Google Search Console provides key insights into how Google views and indexes your site. Some of the main things to check here include:
- Index coverage – See how much of your site Google has indexed. Low percentages may indicate crawl errors preventing Google from indexing some or all of your site.
- CTR and impressions – View clickthrough rates and impressions for your pages in Google search results. Check which pages are getting the most clicks and visibility.
- Top queries – See the main keywords and queries people are using to find your pages in Google. Identify opportunities to optimize pages for these queries.
- Manual actions – If your site has been manually penalized by Google, you’ll see notifications here. Take necessary steps to fix guideline violations and request a review.
- Crawl errors – Diagnose crawl budget exceeded errors, blocked URLs, and other crawl issues. Address technical problems preventing Googlebot from efficiently crawling your site.
Analyze your backlinks
Backlinks remain one of the top ranking signals for SEO. Use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush and Majestic to analyze the quantity and quality of backlinks pointing to your site. Look at metrics like:
- Total backlinks
- Referring domains
- Backlink growth over time
- Top link sources (e.g. websites, articles, etc linking to you)
Compare your domain authority and link profile strength to competitors. Having more and higher quality backlinks can improve rankings.
Check indexation with site: search
Do a site: search on Google to see what pages are indexed:
site:yourdomain.com
Scan through the pages indexed and check for any critical pages that are missing. Re-crawl URLs in Search Console if needed to prompt Google to index those pages.
Review page experience metrics
Page experience metrics like Core Web Vitals impact search rankings in Google. Check metrics like LCP, FID and CLS in Search Console or third-party tools like PageSpeed Insights. See which pages need speed and UX optimizations to improve user experience.
Check keyword rankings
See where you currently rank for target keywords using rank checking tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Moz. Track your top keyword rankings over time, and identify opportunities to rank higher with optimization.
Prioritize keywords where you have the best chance to rank in the top 3-5 positions. Winning those first page rankings can drive significant organic traffic.
Audit site speed
Fast page load times are vital for SEO and user experience. Use Google PageSpeed Insights or Webpage Test to run speed tests from multiple locations. Identify page speed optimizations like image compression, caching, deferred JS loading to improve site speed.
Aim for a PageSpeed score above 90 on mobile and desktop. Quicker load times can boost your page experience metrics that impact rankings.
Review structured data
Adding structured data markup to your pages can improve SEO. Use Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool to validate your structured data implementation.
Fix any errors preventing your content from being eligible to show in rich results like featured snippets, product cards, review stars, etc. Optimized structured data can help you stand out in search results.
Analyze site traffic
Use Google Analytics to view key metrics like your organic keywords, traffic sources, location, conversions and more.
Segment users who arrived from organic search. See which pages and keywords are driving the most search traffic. Identify opportunities to expand your organic reach and traffic.
Regularly audit technical SEO
Technical SEO establishes the foundation for your search visibility. Regularly audit elements like:
- Site indexation – Make sure Google can efficiently crawl your site.
- Page speeds – Load pages quickly with site speed optimizations.
- Mobile friendliness – Use mobile responsive design and Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP).
- Security – Have valid SSL certificates. No malware or warnings.
- Structured data – Implement schema markup properly.
- Sitemaps – Submit XML, image and video sitemaps.
- Duplicate content – Avoid crawling issues from duplicate or thin content.
- URL structure – Use search friendly permalinks, not overly complex parameters.
Fixing technical SEO issues helps ensure Google can understand and index your site properly.
Track keyword rankings in SERPs
Monitor your keyword rankings regularly in search engine results pages (SERPs). Are you gaining or losing positions for important keywords?
Use rank tracking reports to identify high priority keywords to focus your optimization efforts on. Winning top 3 rankings for your most valuable keywords can significantly increase organic traffic.
Check for Google algorithm updates
Google routinely rolls out major algorithm updates like product reviews updates and broad core updates that reshape rankings.
When you notice an unnatural drop or rise in organic traffic and rankings, check sites like Moz and Search Engine Journal for reports of a recent Google update. Algorithm shifts may require reviewing your content and on-page optimization approach.
Compare metrics to competitors
Put your key SEO metrics in context by comparing against competitors in your space:
- Organic traffic and keywords rankings
- Page and domain authority
- Page speed scores
- Backlinks and referring domains
See where you fall short or excel compared to rivals. Learn from what top competitors are doing well and focus your optimization efforts on closing any critical gaps.
Set up reporting dashboards
Pulling all this data together manually can be time consuming. Simplify tracking key SEO metrics by creating customized reporting dashboards.
Many SEO tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs and Moz allow you to build visual dashboards highlighting the data points and reports you care about most.
Refreshing your dashboards on a regular basis makes it easy to monitor the core health metrics for your SEO strategy over time.
Key Takeaways
- Regularly check important metrics in Google Search Console like impressions, clicks, queries and index coverage.
- Audit the quality and quantity of backlinks pointing to your site.
- Do a site: search and use Search Console to confirm full indexation.
- Review page experience factors like Core Web Vitals and site speed.
- Monitor keyword rankings in SERPs using rank tracking.
- Analyze organic traffic stats in Google Analytics.
- Audit technical SEO elements like site crawlability, mobile optimization and structured data.
- Compare your metrics to competitors to identify optimization opportunities.
- Set up reporting dashboards to easily track key metrics over time.
Conclusion
Checking your critical SEO data and metrics on a consistent basis is crucial for maintaining and improving your organic search visibility. Make it a habit to regularly audit elements like your backlinks, site indexation, page experience, keyword rankings and site traffic. Comparing your performance to competitors can reveal areas needing more optimization to boost your search rankings and traffic. Use tools like Search Console, Analytics, Ahrefs and SEMrush to streamline tracking key SEO KPIs over time.
FAQS
Q1: How can I check my current keyword rankings?
Use rank tracking tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Moz to see where your important keywords currently rank in Google search results. Monitor rankings regularly to track SEO progress.
Q2: What are some important technical SEO factors to audit?
Critical technical SEO elements include site crawlability, indexation, page speeds, mobile-friendliness, security, structured data, XML sitemaps and more. Fix technical issues so Google can properly crawl and index your site.
Q3: How often should I be checking my site’s SEO data?
It’s recommended to check your key SEO metrics and data at least once a month. For some data like rankings, monitor on a more frequent weekly or daily basis to stay on top of changes.
Q4: What SEO metrics should I compare against competitors?
Useful SEO metrics to benchmark against competitors include organic traffic, keyword rankings, backlinks, page authority, page speed, site indexation, and more. This can reveal your strengths and weaknesses.
Q5: What is a good tool for auditing my site’s technical SEO?
Google Search Console and tools like SEMrush and Screaming Frog allow you to audit and diagnose technical SEO issues preventing Google from properly crawling and indexing your site.
Q6: Should I be worried if my site’s pages are missing from Google index?
Yes, missing pages in Google’s index is a concern. Check for crawl errors in Search Console. Re-crawl missing URLs and optimize page content to improve chances of indexation.
Q7: How can I check if my site was affected by a Google algorithm update?
If you see an unnatural dip or spike in organic traffic and rankings, check industry blogs for reports of a recent major Google algorithm update. Moz and Search Engine Journal are useful resources.
Q8: What is a good page speed score to aim for?
Page Speed Insights grades on a 0-100 scale. Aim for a page speed score above 90 on both mobile and desktop for optimal SEO and user experience.
Q9: Where can I check if my site has any manual actions from Google?
Google Search Console shows notifications about any current manual actions negatively impacting your site, such as a penalty for spammy practices or guideline violations.
Q10: How can I check how much of my site Google has indexed?
The Index Coverage report in Google Search Console shows what percentage of your site Google has currently indexed. A lower percentage may indicate crawl budget issues.
Q11: What are rich results and how can they help my SEO?
Rich results are formatted, eye-catching snippets Google may show for content marked up properly with structured data. They can improve click-through-rates.
Q12: What is domain authority and why does it matter?
Domain authority is a Moz metric (1-100) estimating the power of a domain based on backlink quality and quantity. Higher DA sites tend to rank better in SERPs.
Q13: How can I check which queries are driving the most organic traffic?
Google Search Console and Google Analytics both show your top landing pages and source keywords for organic search traffic. Identify your most effective keywords.
Q14: What are some useful SEO metrics to include in reporting dashboards?
Helpful SEO dashboard metrics include rankings, traffic, links, index coverage, page experience stats like speed and engagement. prioritize the factors most relevant for your strategy.
Q15: How can I check Google’s crawl budget for my site?
Google Search Console provides crawl budget reports showing if Googlebot has been unable to crawl your site as frequently as it would like due to technical limitations.
Q16: Should I be concerned if my backlinks grow very slowly over time?
Slow backlink growth can make it challenging to compete with sites that are acquiring links at a faster rate. Consider investing more effort into content promotion and link building.
Q17: What are some common SEO metrics to compare against competitor websites?
Common competitive benchmarking includes organic traffic, rankings, page authority/domain authority, page speed, mobile optimization, site indexation percentages, and quality backlink profiles.
Q18: What is the purpose of doing a site: search on Google?
A site: search allows you to see all pages of a site Google has currently indexed, and identify any critical pages that may be missing from the index that need re-crawling.
Q19: How can I track my local SEO performance?
Google My Business Insights provides data on key local SEO metrics like search impressions, clicks, calls, direction requests, queries, and customer actions for your business profile.
Q20: What should I do if my site is affected by a Google manual action?
Read Google’s penalty notification carefully. Take steps to fix the guideline violations or spammy practices identified. Submit a reconsideration request after addressing the issues to request a review.