{"id":1891,"date":"2022-10-04T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-04T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/index.php\/2022\/10\/04\/12-seo-kpis-you-should-and-shouldnt-track\/"},"modified":"2022-10-04T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-10-04T06:00:00","slug":"12-seo-kpis-you-should-and-shouldnt-track","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/12-seo-kpis-you-should-and-shouldnt-track\/","title":{"rendered":"12 SEO KPIs You Should (And Shouldn&#8217;t) Track"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>SEO KPIs (key performance indicators) are the most important SEO metrics that are closely tied to business growth. They determine the actions you take, so you should choose the KPIs wisely.<\/p>\n<p>In this article, we\u2019ll go through 12 common SEO KPIs and discuss if and how you should track\u00a0them.<\/p>\n<p>Search visibility measures how visible your brand is in the market. Sometimes also referred to as SERP visibility, it\u2019s the SEO version of one of the most important marketing KPIs: <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/share-of-voice\/\">share of voice (SOV)<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Should you track it as an SEO\u00a0KPI?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes. Search visibility is one of the most useful and universally applicable SEO KPIs. In fact, it\u2019s arguably the only non-conversion metric that can be closely tied to your business growth.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s because there\u2019s a <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/share-of-voice\/#why-sov-is-important\">strong relationship<\/a> between SOV and market share. Generally speaking, the higher your SOV, the bigger your share of the\u00a0pie.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"1055\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/1-sov-som.png\" alt=\"Relationship between share of voice and market share\" class=\"wp-image-147588\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/1-sov-som.png 900w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/1-sov-som-363x425.png 363w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/1-sov-som-768x900.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"1055\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/1-sov-som.png\" alt=\"Relationship between share of voice and market share\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147588\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/1-sov-som.png 900w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/1-sov-som-363x425.png 363w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/1-sov-som-768x900.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\"\/><\/figure>\n<h3>How to track\u00a0it<\/h3>\n<p>Paste the keywords that matter to you into Ahrefs\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/rank-tracker\">Rank Tracker<\/a>. Note that these should be the main keywords that encompass what your target audience is searching for (don\u2019t bother with <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/long-tail-keywords\/\">long-tails<\/a>). Add a tag to easily filter them later\u00a0on:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1638\" height=\"818\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/2-sov-tracking.png\" alt=\"Adding keywords to track search visibility&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147589\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/2-sov-tracking.png 1638w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/2-sov-tracking-680x340.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/2-sov-tracking-768x384.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/2-sov-tracking-1536x767.png 1536w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/2-sov-tracking-400x200.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1638px) 100vw, 1638px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1638\" height=\"818\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/2-sov-tracking.png\" alt=\"Adding keywords to track search visibility&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147589\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/2-sov-tracking.png 1638w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/2-sov-tracking-680x340.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/2-sov-tracking-768x384.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/2-sov-tracking-1536x767.png 1536w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/2-sov-tracking-400x200.png 400w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1638px) 100vw, 1638px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>From there, head to the Competitors Overview tab and check the Visibility column:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"730\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/3-search-visibility.png\" alt=\"Search visibility SEO KPI in Ahrefs' Rank Tracker&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147590\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/3-search-visibility.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/3-search-visibility-680x248.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/3-search-visibility-768x280.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/3-search-visibility-1536x561.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"730\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/3-search-visibility.png\" alt=\"Search visibility SEO KPI in Ahrefs' Rank Tracker&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147590\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/3-search-visibility.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/3-search-visibility-680x248.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/3-search-visibility-768x280.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/3-search-visibility-1536x561.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/figure>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<p><h2>2. Conversions from organic traffic<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Conversions are important actions your visitors take on the website, such as checking out, signing up, or subscribing to a service. Tracking these for all your traffic sources, including organic, is something most businesses already do.<\/p>\n<h3>Should you track it as an SEO\u00a0KPI?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes. This is arguably the only indisputable SEO KPI. Conversion tracking is the most straightforward way to tie your marketing efforts to your revenue.<\/p>\n<h3>How to track\u00a0it<\/h3>\n<p>Setting up <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/analytics\/answer\/9267568\">conversion tracking in Google Analytics 4<\/a> isn\u2019t rocket science, even though it may seem daunting at first. You don\u2019t need any coding knowledge to do it. The most important thing here is making sure that you track the right conversions.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re running an e-commerce store, the number of conversions, their value, and your average order value make the most sense for you. You\u2019ll have to <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/analytics\/devguides\/collection\/ga4\/ecommerce\">set up specific e-commerce tracking<\/a> to do\u00a0that.<\/p>\n<p>If you offer subscription-based software like us, your best bet is to track leads, trial sign-ups, paid subscriptions and, eventually, even each tier of new subscriptions.<\/p>\n<p>Got the data collection right? In Google Analytics 4, go to <em>Reports &gt; Engagement &gt; Conversions<\/em> and filter organic traffic sessions using the \u201cEdit comparisons\u201d button:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"899\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/4-organic-conversions.png\" alt=\"Analyzing organic traffic conversions in Google Analytics 4&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147592\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/4-organic-conversions.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/4-organic-conversions-680x382.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/4-organic-conversions-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/4-organic-conversions-1536x863.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"899\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/4-organic-conversions.png\" alt=\"Analyzing organic traffic conversions in Google Analytics 4&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147592\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/4-organic-conversions.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/4-organic-conversions-680x382.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/4-organic-conversions-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/4-organic-conversions-1536x863.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>There\u2019s a lot to be said about the accuracy of conversion reporting and all the nuances regarding the attribution behind it. Generally speaking, you\u2019ll get the most accurate data\u00a0if:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>You\u2019re using GA4 (you should by\u00a0now).<\/li>\n<li>You use the data-driven attribution model as the default (check <em>Admin &gt; Attribution settings &gt; Reporting attribution model<\/em>).<\/li>\n<li>You have at least a few hundred conversions a month (to make sure that Google\u2019s black box model has enough data to do its\u00a0magic).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>If you don\u2019t have that many conversions on your website yet, it\u2019s a good idea to also check your assisted conversions using different attribution models. Go to <em>Advertising &gt; Attribution &gt; Conversion paths<\/em>, select the conversion event you want to analyze, and check the impact of organic search throughout customer journeys:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1095\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/5-conversions-paths.png\" alt=\"Analyzing conversion paths in Google Analytics 4&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147594\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/5-conversions-paths.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/5-conversions-paths-621x425.png 621w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/5-conversions-paths-768x526.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/5-conversions-paths-1536x1051.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1095\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/5-conversions-paths.png\" alt=\"Analyzing conversion paths in Google Analytics 4&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147594\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/5-conversions-paths.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/5-conversions-paths-621x425.png 621w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/5-conversions-paths-768x526.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/5-conversions-paths-1536x1051.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>I recommend checking <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaushik.net\/avinash\/multi-channel-attribution-modeling-good-bad-ugly-models\/\">this resource about attribution modeling<\/a> if you want to better understand this complex topic.<\/p>\n<p>SEO ROI (return on investment) estimates the business value of all SEO activities in contrast to their cost. The formula is:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>SEO ROI = (value of organic conversions &#8211; cost of SEO investments)\/cost of SEO investments *100<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In other words, you need to divide the SEO profit by the associated SEO costs and then multiply that by 100 to get the ROI percentage.<\/p>\n<h3>Should you track it as an SEO\u00a0KPI?<\/h3>\n<p>Only if you\u2019re required to present the ROI by your client, manager, or stakeholders. It\u2019s a great SEO KPI in essence but incredibly difficult to measure properly.<\/p>\n<p>Arguably, the biggest challenge comes to the discrepancy between \u201cinvestment\u201d and \u201creturn\u201d periods. SEO can take a lot of time before the desired results kick in, and you can almost never say with 100% confidence that activity X brought results Y.<\/p>\n<p>However, we can drop the concept of looking at SEO ROI from the whole website perspective. To get as accurate as we can with this metric, we need to get more granular.<\/p>\n<h3>How to track\u00a0it<\/h3>\n<p>If possible, measure the ROI on the category, page, or even keyword level. That\u2019s because you can measure well the \u201creturn\u201d of ranking with particular pages and tell the \u201cinvestments\u201d that went into\u00a0it.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s say you spent $1,000 on paying a content writer who created a nice piece of content meaning to rank and drive conversions. You spent another $1,000 on a link building agency that built a few nice links. You count in $500 by default as your time and the time of your team (e.g., designers, editors) to do the rest of the work. And we\u2019re at $2,500.<\/p>\n<p>After a year, you check Google Analytics and see that this organic landing page drove $5,000 in conversions already. You can already claim 200% ROI on that, and it will likely keep on increasing.<\/p>\n<p>This is a simplified example, of course. If you\u2019re intrigued, head over to my <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-roi\/\">guide to SEO ROI<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Backlinks are one of the most <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/google-ranking-factors\/\">important SEO ranking factors<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The number and quality of new backlinks pointing to your website generally reflect your SEO, content marketing, and PR efforts, so this is something most businesses pay close attention to.<\/p>\n<h3>Should you track it as an SEO\u00a0KPI?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes, but it\u2019s only suitable as an SEO KPI if you actively build links and keep track of your <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/email-outreach\/\">outreach<\/a> success. That\u2019s the only way to take into account only links that are <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/link-building\/#good-vs-bad-links\">worth pursuing<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>How to track\u00a0it<\/h3>\n<p>Tracking your outreach success can\u2019t get easier once you\u2019re done with link prospecting, the process of figuring out what backlinks you want to get. Just add a column, note, or comment into your link prospecting sheet that indicates you either got the link or\u00a0not.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s an example of what newly built link tracking looked like back when I was doing the outreach myself:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"863\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/6-link-prospecting-sheet.jpg\" alt=\"New backlinks built tracking in Google Sheets&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147596\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/6-link-prospecting-sheet.jpg 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/6-link-prospecting-sheet-680x294.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/6-link-prospecting-sheet-768x332.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/6-link-prospecting-sheet-1536x663.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"863\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/6-link-prospecting-sheet.jpg\" alt=\"New backlinks built tracking in Google Sheets&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147596\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/6-link-prospecting-sheet.jpg 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/6-link-prospecting-sheet-680x294.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/6-link-prospecting-sheet-768x332.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/6-link-prospecting-sheet-1536x663.jpg 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>You\u2019ll either learn that your outreach was successful by receiving a positive reply or discovering a desired backlink in the <strong>Backlinks<\/strong> report in Ahrefs\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-explorer\">Site Explorer<\/a>:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1036\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/7-new-backlinks-ahrefs.jpg\" alt=\"Backlinks report in Ahrefs' Site Explorer showing newly added links in the last seven days&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147597\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/7-new-backlinks-ahrefs.jpg 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/7-new-backlinks-ahrefs-680x352.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/7-new-backlinks-ahrefs-768x398.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/7-new-backlinks-ahrefs-1536x796.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1036\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/7-new-backlinks-ahrefs.jpg\" alt=\"Backlinks report in Ahrefs' Site Explorer showing newly added links in the last seven days&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147597\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/7-new-backlinks-ahrefs.jpg 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/7-new-backlinks-ahrefs-680x352.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/7-new-backlinks-ahrefs-768x398.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/7-new-backlinks-ahrefs-1536x796.jpg 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><figcaption>You can see new backlinks pointing to the Ahrefs blog discovered in the last seven days on pages that added the link any time after publishing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Keyword rankings refer to a website\u2019s organic ranking positions in the search results for particular keywords.<\/p>\n<h3>Should you track it as an SEO\u00a0KPI?<\/h3>\n<p>No. Use search visibility as a KPI instead, as it\u2019s a superior metric. But since you need <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/keyword-research\/\">proper keyword research<\/a> to track it properly, ad hoc keyword rankings could serve as a provisional substitute until you get\u00a0there.<\/p>\n<h3>How to track\u00a0it<\/h3>\n<p>Simply paste a bunch of keywords important to you into Ahrefs\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/rank-tracker\">Rank Tracker<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1754\" height=\"1178\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/8-adding-keywords-tracking.png\" alt=\"Adding keywords to Ahrefs' Rank Tracker&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147599\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/8-adding-keywords-tracking.png 1754w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/8-adding-keywords-tracking-633x425.png 633w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/8-adding-keywords-tracking-768x516.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/8-adding-keywords-tracking-1536x1032.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1754px) 100vw, 1754px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1754\" height=\"1178\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/8-adding-keywords-tracking.png\" alt=\"Adding keywords to Ahrefs' Rank Tracker&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147599\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/8-adding-keywords-tracking.png 1754w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/8-adding-keywords-tracking-633x425.png 633w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/8-adding-keywords-tracking-768x516.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/8-adding-keywords-tracking-1536x1032.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1754px) 100vw, 1754px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>You can get regular email alerts about the progress of your tracked keywords or just check the <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/rank-tracker\">Rank Tracker<\/a> reports once in a\u00a0while:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/9-keywords-tracking-ahrefs.png\" alt=\"List of keywords with corresponding position changes&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147600\" width=\"390\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/9-keywords-tracking-ahrefs.png 1560w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/9-keywords-tracking-ahrefs-414x425.png 414w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/9-keywords-tracking-ahrefs-768x788.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/9-keywords-tracking-ahrefs-1498x1536.png 1498w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 390px) 100vw, 390px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/9-keywords-tracking-ahrefs.png\" alt=\"List of keywords with corresponding position changes&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147600\" width=\"390\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/9-keywords-tracking-ahrefs.png 1560w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/9-keywords-tracking-ahrefs-414x425.png 414w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/9-keywords-tracking-ahrefs-768x788.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/9-keywords-tracking-ahrefs-1498x1536.png 1498w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 390px) 100vw, 390px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Organic traffic represents all non-paid clicks that come from search engines.<\/p>\n<h3>Should you track it as an SEO\u00a0KPI?<\/h3>\n<p>Not unless you\u2019re monetizing your website with display ads. It doesn\u2019t make much sense for other businesses because more traffic won\u2019t necessarily mean more revenue.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For example, HubSpot\u2019s page about typing the \u201cshrug\u201d emoji gets an estimated 65.4K monthly organic visits. But I doubt any of those visits will translate into higher brand awareness, let alone higher sales.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"643\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/10-shrug-emoji-page-traffic.png\" alt=\"Organic traffic stats overview for HubSpot's page&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147601\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/10-shrug-emoji-page-traffic.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/10-shrug-emoji-page-traffic-680x219.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/10-shrug-emoji-page-traffic-768x247.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/10-shrug-emoji-page-traffic-1536x494.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"643\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/10-shrug-emoji-page-traffic.png\" alt=\"Organic traffic stats overview for HubSpot's page&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147601\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/10-shrug-emoji-page-traffic.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/10-shrug-emoji-page-traffic-680x219.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/10-shrug-emoji-page-traffic-768x247.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/10-shrug-emoji-page-traffic-1536x494.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/figure>\n<h3>How to track\u00a0it<\/h3>\n<p>The Performance tab in <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/google-search-console\/\">Google Search Console (GSC)<\/a> is going to give you the most accurate view of your organic traffic over\u00a0time:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1156\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/11-organic-traffic-gsc.jpg\" alt=\"Organic traffic overview in Google Search Console&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147602\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/11-organic-traffic-gsc.jpg 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/11-organic-traffic-gsc-680x393.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/11-organic-traffic-gsc-768x444.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/11-organic-traffic-gsc-1536x888.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1156\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/11-organic-traffic-gsc.jpg\" alt=\"Organic traffic overview in Google Search Console&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147602\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/11-organic-traffic-gsc.jpg 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/11-organic-traffic-gsc-680x393.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/11-organic-traffic-gsc-768x444.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/11-organic-traffic-gsc-1536x888.jpg 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/figure>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<p><h2>7. Number of indexed pages<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>This tells you how many of your pages a search engine has in its\u00a0index.<\/p>\n<h3>Should you track it as an SEO\u00a0KPI?<\/h3>\n<p>It depends. Seeing the number of indexed pages steadily increasing as you publish new content is a solid indicator that Google doesn\u2019t have problems crawling and indexing your website. But most websites don\u2019t have this problem in the first\u00a0place.<\/p>\n<p>So consider tracking this number as a technical SEO KPI only if you\u2019re likely to have trouble getting your content indexed in a timely manner. That\u2019s usually the case for large and complex websites only.<\/p>\n<h3>How to track\u00a0it<\/h3>\n<p>The best way to keep track of the number of your indexed pages is to check the <strong>Pages<\/strong> report in your GSC account. In there, select \u201cAll submitted pages\u201d filter to only show pages from your <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/how-to-create-a-sitemap\/\">sitemaps<\/a>:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1368\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/12-indexed-pages-submitted.png\" alt=\"Page indexing filter in Google Search Console&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147604\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/12-indexed-pages-submitted.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/12-indexed-pages-submitted-621x425.png 621w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/12-indexed-pages-submitted-768x526.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/12-indexed-pages-submitted-1536x1051.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1368\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/12-indexed-pages-submitted.png\" alt=\"Page indexing filter in Google Search Console&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147604\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/12-indexed-pages-submitted.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/12-indexed-pages-submitted-621x425.png 621w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/12-indexed-pages-submitted-768x526.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/12-indexed-pages-submitted-1536x1051.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>We\u2019re doing this because your sitemaps should only include URLs that you want to have indexed. Analyzing the number of indexed pages in this segment and relating it to \u201cNot indexed\u201d is, therefore, the best choice for this technical SEO\u00a0KPI:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1202\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/13-indexed-submitted-pages-report.png\" alt=\"Page indexing report for &quot;All submitted pages&quot; in Google Search Console&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147606\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/13-indexed-submitted-pages-report.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/13-indexed-submitted-pages-report-680x409.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/13-indexed-submitted-pages-report-768x462.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/13-indexed-submitted-pages-report-1536x924.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1202\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/13-indexed-submitted-pages-report.png\" alt=\"Page indexing report for &quot;All submitted pages&quot; in Google Search Console&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147606\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/13-indexed-submitted-pages-report.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/13-indexed-submitted-pages-report-680x409.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/13-indexed-submitted-pages-report-768x462.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/13-indexed-submitted-pages-report-1536x924.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Health Score shows the proportion of internal URLs on your website that don\u2019t have technical SEO errors.<\/p>\n<h3>Should you track it as an SEO\u00a0KPI?<\/h3>\n<p>No. It\u2019s a great proxy metric for your overall state of technical SEO, and that\u2019s it. You always need to get more context for any valuable insights. Here\u2019s an example why:<\/p>\n<p>404 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/http-status-codes\/\">HTTP status code<\/a> is one of those technical SEO issues that will trigger an error in any crawler. Showing that a resource wasn\u2019t found is usually bad for both visitors and search engines. But there\u2019s a huge difference between having a 404 on a well-converting page with high organic traffic and one that\u2019s not very important.<\/p>\n<p>In essence, some technical SEO errors are much more serious than others, but Health Score doesn\u2019t make a difference there.<\/p>\n<h3>How to track\u00a0it<\/h3>\n<p>Most SEO crawlers provide Health Score or some alternative metric with different names.<\/p>\n<p>In the case of Ahrefs\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-audit\">Site Audit<\/a>, you need to set up a project, start the first crawl, and then check the Health Score in the crawl overview:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"865\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/14-health-score.jpg\" alt=\"Website Health Score in Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147607\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/14-health-score.jpg 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/14-health-score-680x294.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/14-health-score-768x332.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/14-health-score-1536x665.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"865\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/14-health-score.jpg\" alt=\"Website Health Score in Ahrefs' Site Audit&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147607\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/14-health-score.jpg 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/14-health-score-680x294.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/14-health-score-768x332.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/14-health-score-1536x665.jpg 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/domain-rating\/\">Domain Rating (DR)<\/a> is an Ahrefs metric that shows the relative strength of a website\u2019s backlink profile.<\/p>\n<h3>Should you track it as an SEO\u00a0KPI?<\/h3>\n<p>No. You can use it to gauge a website\u2019s backlink profile strength, but a deeper analysis is always needed to assess it properly. DR is just another useful proxy metric SEOs like to work\u00a0with.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re looking for a backlinks KPI, scroll back to \u201cnew backlinks.\u201d That\u2019s a much better choice where we can take into account all the important backlink variables.<\/p>\n<h3>How to track\u00a0it<\/h3>\n<p>Look up any domain in Ahrefs\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-explorer\">Site Explorer<\/a>, and you\u2019ll see DR as the first metric in the overview box:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"880\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/15-domain-rating.png\" alt=\"Domain Rating as a part of the Overview report in Ahrefs' Site Explorer&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147608\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/15-domain-rating.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/15-domain-rating-680x299.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/15-domain-rating-768x338.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/15-domain-rating-1536x676.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"880\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/15-domain-rating.png\" alt=\"Domain Rating as a part of the Overview report in Ahrefs' Site Explorer&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147608\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/15-domain-rating.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/15-domain-rating-680x299.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/15-domain-rating-768x338.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/15-domain-rating-1536x676.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Click-through rate (CTR) shows the proportion of SERP impressions that translated into clicks. CTR represents how effective your search engine listing is in attracting people to visit your webpage.<\/p>\n<h3>Should you track it as an SEO\u00a0KPI?<\/h3>\n<p>No. Driving more search traffic by having more engaging SERP listings doesn\u2019t necessarily translate into more sales. Clickbait could do quite the opposite. And yes, Google is far from perfect and still ranks clickbait pages for certain keywords.<\/p>\n<p>Another reason why you shouldn\u2019t obsess over CTR is that many things outside your control can affect that. SERPs are an ever-changing environment.<\/p>\n<p>And last but not least, CTR is useless on an aggregate level of your whole website. It only makes sense to <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/how-to-improve-ctr\/\">track and optimize CTR<\/a> as a page-level metric because that\u2019s the scope you optimize for.<\/p>\n<h3>How to track\u00a0it<\/h3>\n<p>Open up your <strong>Performance<\/strong> report in GSC, switch to the Pages tab, and check the CTRs of your specific pages:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"665\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/16-ctr-gsc.png\" alt=\"Tracking CTR on a page level in Google Search Console&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147610\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/16-ctr-gsc.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/16-ctr-gsc-680x226.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/16-ctr-gsc-768x255.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/16-ctr-gsc-1536x511.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"665\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/16-ctr-gsc.png\" alt=\"Tracking CTR on a page level in Google Search Console&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147610\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/16-ctr-gsc.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/16-ctr-gsc-680x226.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/16-ctr-gsc-768x255.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/16-ctr-gsc-1536x511.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/core-web-vitals\/\">Core Web Vitals (CWV)<\/a> are a set of three technical SEO metrics related to your website speed and user experience.<\/p>\n<h3>Should you track it as an SEO\u00a0KPI?<\/h3>\n<p>No. Google has been using <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/blog\/2020\/05\/evaluating-page-experience\">CWV as a minor ranking factor<\/a> since June 2021. As the word \u201cminor\u201d implies, you can\u2019t expect any significant ranking boost even if you have perfect CWV scores across your whole website.<\/p>\n<p>Focus on CWV has its place in SEO, but it\u2019s been a bit overhyped. If any or all of those three CWV metrics are very bad, it\u2019s likely a good idea to try and fix them. But they don\u2019t even remotely qualify as an SEO\u00a0KPI.<\/p>\n<h3>How to track\u00a0it<\/h3>\n<p>There are many ways to track CWV, but the most straightforward is to check your GSC account under the <strong>Core web vitals<\/strong> report:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1206\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/17-cwv-gsc.png\" alt=\"Core web vitals report in Google Search Console&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147611\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/17-cwv-gsc.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/17-cwv-gsc-680x410.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/17-cwv-gsc-768x463.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/17-cwv-gsc-1536x927.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1206\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/17-cwv-gsc.png\" alt=\"Core web vitals report in Google Search Console&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147611\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/17-cwv-gsc.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/17-cwv-gsc-680x410.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/17-cwv-gsc-768x463.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/17-cwv-gsc-1536x927.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Engagement metrics give you an idea of how engaged visitors are with your website. Most people know them from Google Analytics, and they include metrics such as Bounce Rate, Engagement Rate, Time on Page, or Avg. Session Duration.<\/p>\n<h3>Should you track it as an SEO\u00a0KPI?<\/h3>\n<p>No. These metrics usually don\u2019t even reflect on your SEO growth, let alone business growth. But many marketers are obsessed with them for some reason.<\/p>\n<p>In short, here are three reasons why these should only be used as secondary SEO metrics at\u00a0best:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>They\u2019re easily skewed by inherently flawed tracking in analytics software and mistakes in tracking setups.<\/li>\n<li>The methodology of calculating some of those metrics is rather bad.<\/li>\n<li>They become somewhat useful only after you segment them on a page level for a specific traffic source.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>If you\u2019re interested in learning more, I dive deeper into all these reasons in our <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/bounce-rate\/\">guide to interpreting and improving Bounce Rate<\/a>, one of the most commonly used and known engagement metrics.<\/p>\n<h3>How to track\u00a0it<\/h3>\n<p>Most of your reports in Google Analytics will show these engagement metrics by default. As I mentioned earlier, if you plan to analyze them, it\u2019s best to filter your report to show specific pages for one traffic source:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1134\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/18-ga4-engagement-metrics.png\" alt=\"Engagement metrics in Google Analytics 4 report&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-147612\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/18-ga4-engagement-metrics.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/18-ga4-engagement-metrics-680x386.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/18-ga4-engagement-metrics-768x436.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/18-ga4-engagement-metrics-1536x871.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1134\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/18-ga4-engagement-metrics.png\" alt=\"Engagement metrics in Google Analytics 4 report&#10;\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-147612\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/18-ga4-engagement-metrics.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/18-ga4-engagement-metrics-680x386.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/18-ga4-engagement-metrics-768x436.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/18-ga4-engagement-metrics-1536x871.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"\/><\/figure>\n<h2>Final thoughts<\/h2>\n<p>It may have surprised you that only the first two SEO KPIs in this list got an absolute yes from me. Well, choosing the right objectives and respective KPIs is the main part of <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/marketing-strategy\/\">creating a great marketing strategy<\/a>. And with all things strategy, it\u2019s more about choosing what not to do. In this case, which SEO metrics not to pay too much attention to.<\/p>\n<p>There are uses for all the listed metrics, though. It\u2019s generally a good idea to keep track of them all. Some of them nicely correlate with your chosen KPIs and can even be a better choice for assessing your day-to-day SEO work. Just think twice before giving a certain metric too much importance.<\/p>\n<p>Last but not least, tracking the right KPIs isn\u2019t a panacea for your SEO. You need to learn how to analyze and interpret them to make the most informed decision. Critical thinking, knowledge of your data, and tracking platforms and basic statistics belong to the desired skill set\u00a0here.<\/p>\n<p>Got any questions? Ping me <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/michalpecanek\">on Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-kpis\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SEO KPIs (key performance indicators) are the most important SEO metrics that are closely tied to business growth. They determine the actions you take, so you should choose the KPIs wisely. In this article, we\u2019ll go through 12 common SEO KPIs and discuss if and how you should track\u00a0them. Search visibility measures how visible your [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1892,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-seo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1891"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1891\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}