SEO is an essential component of digital marketing, and ensuring your content is optimized to the best of its potential means tracking the key performance metrics that measure your SEO success. With the advancement of technology such as machine learning, companies now have access to more sophisticated tracking tools and algorithms, which can detect and respond to potential alarm signals generated by a lack of success with SEO within reasonable timeframes. In this article, we'll explore four data-driven alarm signals for SEO and what you can do to respond to them swiftly and effectively.
Falling Rankings: One of the most common signs of an impending SEO crisis is a sudden fall in rankings across your chosen keywords. Tracking your rankings regularly to spot any unexpected drops is a key part of monitoring the success of your SEO, and finding out what's causing those drops can be essential to correcting the situation. There could be a variety of reasons why your rankings have suddenly dropped, such as a penalty from Google or a lack of fresh content being created, so investigate the cause and take the appropriate steps to rectify it.
Reduced Click-Through Rate: Alternatively, a decreasing click-through rate could be a sign of an SEO problem. Your click-through rate is a measure of how well your content and title tags are performing, so if you notice it dropping then it's time to start considering changes. Consider A/B testing your titles, descriptions and URLs to see what changes generate the highest click-through rates and ensure that the content you are delivering is still relevant and high-quality.
A Sudden Increase in Bounce Rate: An abrupt increase in your bounce rate might indicate that you're producing content that your users don't find engaging or useful. This could also mean that you're targeting the wrong audience, or not including any calls-to-action that will convince them to explore your page further. Self-reflect on the content your producing and determine whether it matches your visitors' expectations. If not, start making changes to improve the content offered.
Decreasing Time Spent on Page: An alarmingly low amount of time spent on your page could mean users are not connecting with the content. To tackle this, consider updating the design of your page as it could be visually unappealing or difficult to navigate. Identify the exact reasons why visitors may be leaving your page prematurely and address these issues. Also, consider designing your pages in such a way to keep users engaged and increase their time spent exploring your content.
SEO is an integral part of digital marketing and its success consequently has the potential to affect many aspects of a company’s business. That said, vigilance is key when it comes to monitoring your SEO performance and responding to alarm signals. These four data-driven alarm signals for SEO provide valuable insight into what’s going wrong with your SEO and how to improve it. Pay attention to these signals and don’t hesitate to make necessary changes that can help you get back on track.