Any business entering into the online world first hears about SEO. That’s a good start for many and is a needed tool in the vast and often confusing online world. Many businesses will receive hundreds of solicitations from various SEO companies that will promise amazing returns and being shot to the top of Google rankings. A lot of these are heavily based in technical jargon and doesn’t take into account more important factors with an online business.
There’s so much to account for in terms of SEO, these include rankings, impressions, visits and leads. These are all well and good, as well as necessary to being seen and pushing your business. But the bottom line comes down to sales and increasing revenue. If you’re top ranked but not making money, then that metric is absolutely irrelevant.
SEO Metrics in Focus
The most important measure of success through SEO is revenue. Without that you’re just looking at intangible numbers on a screen. If you’re currently working with any SEO company or using your own practice, stop and look at what really matters. First, let’s take a look at some of the metrics to care about and how to capitalize on them.
One of the first things a lot of companies focus on is keywords. That is if you’re going to be listed at the top of a Google search or not through specific words. You should be familiar with this type of labeling, but it doesn’t hold as much importance as it should in a SEO campaign.
An impression is when a list of keywords is searched and then your website pops up on that list. If you’re website does not appear then there are no impressions. Again too many SEO companies focus too much on a nonissue.
Companies that can get past these measures and instead look at conversions and potential sales leads are where the key metrics get interesting. This is the type of activity and skill an online business should be looking for in a SEO company.
Revenue Conversion
Once we’ve established that revenue is the main factor in choosing how to run a SEO campaign, it’s time to look at how it’s done. Rankings and impressions really don’t mean anything if there isn’t anything to follow that up with. Clicks and websites are only worth anything if they are then converted. This shouldn’t be left up to the end user, you the business. Instead that is as much part of the job as getting the clicks, making the switch from clicks to sales conversions.
There are some companies that realize this is important and that’s what keeps getting them business and customers to work with. One such example is Sticky, a digital marketing agency that focuses exactly on this. Accurately tracking SEO investments is an important expense and should yield more than it takes away from a business. Usable tools help translate web traffic into quantifiable sales. Those with superior data and marketing insights are going to win more than others.
Actionable Solutions
Being able to gather the information is one thing. It’s a whole other game when taking these actions, archiving them and making actionable process out of it. Even though the business won’t have to worry about the exact details, it’s good to know what the process. By doing this, the business can tailor itself to be more actionable and Internet marketable.
Looking deeper into the previously mentioned metrics paints a fuller picture of a marketing strategy with SEO. For example, take the keyword precision that alone isn’t that important but by delving into unlocks multiple facets of information. Knowing where these clicks are coming from can help create a demographic to be looked at targeted.
Providing Stellar Content
Once these people have got to your page, how much time are they spending there? The best SEO should be able to point out flaws in the intrinsic content. Once these little things start getting tweaked, you don’t have to worry about more fundamental issues. Seeing how long people linger on a webpage is part of deciphering many of the SEO key metrics.
Knowing the customer is just as important as any physical storefront business is. For example if you have a lot of returning website visitors, that means you’re doing something right and they’re contributing to the business. By not having any reoccurring traffic, you may be making one off sales on however you’ve monetized yourself, but that’s not sustainable.
SEO should be used as a bottom line to pull in more revenue and at the same time analyze how to benefit current customers and pick out the right data that leads to a better directive.
About the author
Harvey Baldwin is an online entrepreneur who taught himself website design, SEO and how to manage social media campaigns. Now taking a backseat in the day-to-day running of his business, Harvey is taking the time to help others who are just starting out and need help understanding the how, why and what of Google.
