SEO Analysis - Using Web Analytics to Support SEO

Tips for using analytics to support SEO James Gurd Owner Digital Juggler This talk will discuss key ways to use web analytics techniques & tools to help you evaluate and improve your SEO performance.Digital Marketing Priorities 2013 Summit 11th January 2013. Brought to you by:

Agenda Setting goals, objectives & KPIs Benchmarking your data Evaluating keyphrase performance Evaluating impact of external links Evaluating assisted conversions Interpreting your data Key take-aways Useful resources 2

About me >14 years’ e-commerce experience B2B/B2C, Client-side, Agency, Consultant Owner of Digital Juggler since 2009 Work with brands like House of Fraser, Argos, Sweaty Betty, Smythson, The Watch Gallery… Guest blogger for Smart Insights & Econsultancy Author of industry best practice guides on E- commerce RFP, B2B Content Marketing, SEO, Landing Page Optimisation etc Co-host of #ecomchat on Twitter (Mondays) 3

Setting goals, objectives & KPIs Give yourself clear targets  Goal – broad target e.g. Increase brand awareness  Objective – concrete & measurable e.g. Increase number of visitors using social sharing buttons by 100% within 2 months  KPI – measurement target Volume / Value / Quality Volume Value Quality Total visits Average order Bounce rate value Total newsletter Per Visit Value Conversion rate sign-ups (basket-to-order) Image from trendhunter.com 4

Benchmarking your data Why do you need to do this?No clear focus = Poor decision making 5

1. Free web analytics package e.g. Google Analytics.Quick Poll 2. Paid web analytics package e.g. Webtrends / Omniture etc.Which tools do 3. Proprietary analytics package incyou use to log files.benchmark 4. SEO specialist software e.g. Majestic SEO / SEOMoz / RavenSEO data? Tools. 5. Other / None of the above 6

10 Steps to benchmarking data Step 1 – agree your KPIs Step 2 – map which tools contain data for each KPI Step 3 – Identify gaps & plug them Step 4 – define reporting requirements Step 5 – export historical data (ideally last 12 months) Step 6 – create KPI dashboard Step 7 – create helpful visuals (charts/graphs) for trends Step 8 – sense check data: valid? Step 9 – define data update schedule Step 10 – start collating new data! 7

Example: using Excel 8

Evaluating keyphrase performanceThe obvious The overlooked - context  Ranking  Top landing pages  Impressions  Relevance to landing page  Visits  Share of market (% of total  Click through rate searches)  Transactions  Revenue potential based on increased market share  Revenue  Seasonality  Average order value  Market trends  Per Visit Value  New vs. Return customers Use keyword research tools like Further reading from Smart Insights: Google Keyword & Google Trends http://bit.ly/UD1FYQ http://bit.ly/Woi95f 12

Keyword opportunity gap Work out where the ‘big wins’ are 13

Example: Advanced Web Ranking1Plot rankingagainstcompetitors2Monitor multiplekeyphrase targets3Monitor multiplesearch engines 14

Example: Google AnalyticsReport: Traffic Sources > Sources > Search > Organic 15

Evaluating external links You need a full picture – rank / traffic / value / impact Links aren’t just about keyword rank  Links also:  Drive traffic.  Support customer acquisition & retention.  Increase brand awareness.  Generate revenue. What type of link  Provide competitive positioning. works best for yourFurther reading from Smart Insights: website?http://bit.ly/13dTG8D 18

1. Specialist SEO software e.g. Majestic SEO / SEOMoz.Quick Poll 2. Free web analytics package e.g. Google Analytics.Which tools do 3. Paid web analytics package e.g.you use for Webtrends / Omniture etc.external link 4. Proprietary analytics package. 5. Other / None of the above.analysis? 19

Example: Open Site Explorer1Compare linkportfolio againstcompetitors2Profile links basedon link sourceauthority (impact)3Identify linkingpages and anchortext 20

Top tip for link analysisAdd campaign tracking codesto each link so you can useanalytics reports to evaluatethe impact.Useful tool:Google Analytics URL builder.http://bit.ly/RCa1kU 21

1. Yes – all the time 2. OccasionallyQuick Poll 3. NoDo you use 4. I don’t know!campaigntracking codesto support SEOanalysis? 22

Evaluating assisted conversionsWhich keywords/phrases are givingyour conversions a helping hand? A visit from a matched search query doesn’t guarantee a conversion. Buying cycles can be multi-stage. There are often time lags between first interaction and final sale. Last click analysis misses the bigger picture. How do you calculate the ‘real’impact of an organic keyphrase? 23

Example: Google AnalyticsReport: Conversions > Multi-Channel Funnels > Top Conversion Paths 24

Example: Google AnalyticsReport: Conversions > Multi-Channel Funnels > Top Conversion Paths 25

Interpreting your data Is your data trend positive, negative or neutral? Think about visitor intent:  What keyphrase has driven them here?  What would they be expecting?  What are the logical next steps to take?  Are these steps being taken? A decline in performance can have multiple causes:  Internal – website conversion issues / poor campaign targeting  External – industry decline / search engine algorithm update Combine multiple data source to validate assumptions:  Web analytics data – the ‘what’  Voice-of-customer – the ‘why’  Industry / Aggregate data 26

1. Yes 2. NoQuick Poll 3. Maybe – it depends on the contextIs a high 4. I don’t know!bounce rate fora keyphrase abad sign? 27

Example: bounce rate A high bounce rate can be positive or negativePositive NegativeLocal search goes to local store Organic listing for product keyphraselanding page goes direct to product details page Please note HoF webpages used only to illustrate the point, not as case studies as data on these pages unknown 28

Example: keyword market trends Is your data in line with market trends? 29

Example: search engine updates Are changes the result of industry developments? 30

Key take-aways Planning puts you in control Understand what you want to measure & why before you start doing anything Make sure you benchmark data to give you something to compare future performance against Get your analysis toolkit set-up Do analysis regularly – be proactive as well as reactive Learn to interpret data using context Stay in touch with industry news & developments – SEO is fast moving Image from phys.org 31

Useful resourcesSmart Insights Other industry resources James Gurd’s SEO article series (12 SEOMoz blog parts): http://www.seomoz.org/blog http://www.smartinsights.com/author/ Search Engine Land: james-gurd/ http://searchengineland.com/library/s Guide - 7 Steps to Successful SEO: eo http://www.smartinsights.com/guides/ Google Webmaster Central blog: seo-7-steps-to-success-guide/ http://googlewebmastercentral.blogs pot.co.uk History of algorithm updates: http://www.seomoz.org/google- algorithm-change 32

Thank you for joining in Your questions please Please ask questions and rate this webcast For more Answers to your Digital Marketing Questions use our free community Best wishes for 2013! http://www.smartinsights.com/answers 33

THANK YOU! For more information: E: james@digitaljuggler.com M: +44 (0) 7794 539 399 W: digitaljuggler.com T: @jamesgurdKeep an eye out for #ecomchat – weekly industry ecommerce chat – new topic every week 34

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SEO Analysis - Using Web Analytics to Support SEO

by Digital Juggler on Jan 11, 2013

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