What comes after great ranking?
The next step in the success equation involves clicks. Did you optimize your title and meta tags so that your results motivate searchers to click through? Is there competition that does a better job than you in the SERP? Are there local or universal results pushing you down the page?
There are many scenarios that lead to clicks (or lack of clicks), so not only can SEO give you an advantage of rank, but it can also help you stand out. Google SERP creativity can differentiate your listings from the competition.
Grab a user's attention by including a call to action in your meta description and focused keywords relevant to your target page. The example below illustrates this perfectly.
Note how Google bolds keywords for the search "Wooden Bread Bin." Also note the subtle call to action and marketing verbiage used in the meta description tab.
How do we measure clicks?
The key to the measurement of success is the utilization of a solid analytics package. Most hosting providers include basic tracking software that analyzes log files and presents visitor and click data in an easy-to-read format. Your hosting provider offerings may vary, but popular log file analyzers include Webalizer, Analog, and Awstats.
"Pixel" tracking is a little different, in the fact that it uses a small piece of code on your site, attached to a single-pixel image request, to track visitor metrics.
One of the most popular (and free) solutions is Google's own Google Analytics. Google purchased the Urchin software corporation in 2005 and then proceeded to take the web world by storm by giving away one of the most powerful (and simple to use) website analytics packages available. Google Analytics requires only a Google account and installation of a small piece of JavaScript tracking code.
There are many tutorials, books, and seminars on the use of Google Analytics, so I won't repeat those details here, I will step through the metrics necessary for measuring success.
Taming your analytics
To measure SEO or organic traffic, you'll first need to segment the traffic statistics. In Google Analytics, simply go to the top right and click on the "Advanced Segments" tab and select "Non-paid Traffic," deselect "All Visits." Click apply.
Your dashboard will then show you the traffic metrics for the organic search engine traffic -- the fruits of your SEO labor.
By themselves, the numbers can act as a quick checkup on site health, but they become much more valuable when compared with prior data to highlight positive and negative changes. The following chart shows some data for a small corporate site comparing a four-week period in July/August 2009 against a four-week period in August/September 2009.
When comparing time periods, always try to compare the same days of week, as most traffic follows a very apparent 7-day cycle. In this case we're looking at four-week periods from a Wednesday to a Wednesday.
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