From SMX East 2012

1. @RyanJones
Manager – SEO Analytics
SapientNitro
www.SapientNitro.com
www.RyanMJones.com
SEO Performance Metrics
Ryan Jones | SMX East. October 1, 2012
Slides Online at www.RyanMJones.com
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@RyanJones

2. “ How do you measure your SEO
recommendations? ”
- One of My Favorite Interview Questions
Note: If you want to hear more of my interview questions, We’re hiring a Sr. Manager in Chicago, Detroit or Toronto. Send
me a resume.
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3. Lots of People Say This:
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4. Even More Say This:
Note: I took this from an actual e-book being sold online.
If this is YOUR ebook, let’s talk.
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5. These are NOT the Metrics You’re Looking For...
Pagerank – Alexa Rank – Hits – Rankings – MozRank – Number of Links – Any “Score”
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6. So What IS the answer?
The best answer is to ask another question.
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7. Goals Not Goals
Sales Visits
Leads Video Views
KPIs / LFAs Rankings
Awareness or Facebook Likes, Twitter
Engagement Followers
What’s Your Goal?
Sales? Conversions? Leads? Awareness? These are all valid goals depending upon your business.
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8. “ Measure what makes sense, not simply
what’s measurable.”
- Use your goals to create actionable KPIs that measure success.
- Good KPIs should serve as reliable indicators and predictors of
your goals.
- Statistical modeling and correlation can help – but be careful.
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9. Let’s look at an example….
“ I need search volumes on Macbook Air
And Macbook Pro.”
- Your Boss
Sure Boss…
MBA gets 4 million searches/month
MBP gets 9 million searches/month
Why?
We’re marketing a newsletter to Mac owners
Well, you should use sales numbers then.
Really?
Yes! There’s more Macbook air owners than Pro owners
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10. Reporting vs. Analytics.
Looking Deeper than Visits over Time
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11. “Reporting shows what the number is.
Analytics tell why and what we should
do about it”
Act * tion * able adj ˈak-sh(ə-)nə-bəl “What’s happening and what
1: Capable of being acted upon should I do about it?”
- your boss or client.
Rule of Thumb: If it doesn’t contain words, insights, actions, or
recommendations it’s NOT analytics.
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12. Reporting: Actionable Analysis:
“It’s 4th and inches from
the 36. Our RB is
Down: 4
averaging 2.3 YPC and
Ball Location : 36 yd line
our kicker’s range is 42
yards.”
Reporting vs. Actionable Analytics.
Referee Rhea Demonstrates the Difference.
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13. Quantum Measurement: The Observer Effect
Correlation is NOT causation. Optimizing toward one variable MAY change your
correlation.
Example: YouTube Views Correlate To Sales.
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14. You Can’t Have Half of a Funnel
If you don’t fill the top,
nothing comes out at the
bottom.
Bad things also happen if you
plug the hole at the bottom.
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@RyanJones

15. That Same Funnel Can Be Used For Keywords
Head Keywords Home Page
UFAs – Upper Funnel Activities
Category Pages
Sub Category Pages
Long Tail Keywords
LFAs – Lower Funnel Activities
Product pages
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16. The SEO Process Revolves Around Analytics
Maintenance Discovery
Analytics
Execution Strategy
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17. Let’s Look At Some Examples
Tips & Tricks You Can Use Today
Apologize: we’re about to get all bulleted lists up in here
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18. Looking at SEO Visits and LFAs.
Ideally, Visits & LFA trends should mirror each other.
If they’re converging, build more high funnel terms.
If they’re diverging, it may be a conversion rate issue.
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19. “ Tip: Don’t just look at keywords, look at
upper and lower funnel actions.”
- Bucket Keywords into user intents
Keyword Cost Paid SEO Paid SEO Paid LFAs SEO LFAs
Bucket Rank Rank Visits Visits
Navigational $1596 1 1 752 986 125 400
Blue Widgets $396 1 1 600 250 481 49
Conquest $250 1 0 250 0 42 0
Red Sprockets $860 4 12 1004 12 816 3
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20. Is That New Title Tag Working?
Paid Search measures click through rates. SEO can too!
Use Google’s Webmaster Tools for Impressions.
Calculate theoretical CTR, compare to actual
When launching new titles, did your CTR go up too?
Position % of Clicks
0 0.0%
1 36.4% Crazy Conspiracy Theory: Learn to Use WMT
2 12.5% data now – if trends continue it may be all
3 9.5%
4 7.9% we’re left with!
5 6.1%
6 4.1%
7 3.8%
8 3.5%
9 3.0% • Get Impressions from GWT with PHP script
10 2.2%
11 2.6%
at http://tiny.tw/9UI
12 1.5%
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21. Tips For Analytics Success
Analytics involves words, insights, and actions – not just
numbers.
If you can automate it, it’s reporting not analysis.
Measure what matters, not what’s easily measurable.
Correlation doesn’t mean causation. Optimizing for one
of the factors may even change that correlation
Develop your goals first, then choose metrics that
effectively measure those goals
There’s a forest behind the trees. Don’t forget to look at
the big picture.
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22. Thank You!
@RyanJones
Manager – SEO Analytics
SapientNitro
www.SapientNitro.com
www.RyanMJones.com
Thank You!
* Download These Slides at www.RyanMJones.com
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@RyanJones