Critical Mistakes in SEO Analytics: How to Avoid Them

Intro

SEO analytics is an important component of website optimization. The biggest mistake an optimizer can make is not doing it in principle. However, even when the analysis is done, it does not mean that it is done correctly!

So, today we're going to talk about some serious mistakes that SEO optimizers and site owners make, and give some tips on how to avoid them. Without further ado, let's get down to business!

Mistake No.1: Focusing solely on ranking

The first mistake to avoid in SEO analysis is focusing only on keyword rankings. It is an important indicator in SEO, but not the only and main one. There are other metrics to consider when analyzing a site.

Here is a list of indicators that you need to pay attention to during SEO analysis:

1. Organic traffic This is the number of visitors who came to your site from search engines. An increase in organic traffic can indicate better keyword rankings, a more effective content strategy, and more.
2. Conversion ability This is the ability of your website to convert visitors into customers or potential customers. Track the number of applications on the site, subscriptions to newsletters, sales and other conversion metrics.
3. Engagement metrics. They show how much your visitors are interested in your content. May include time on site, page views, bounce rate, and other metrics.
4. Metrics of social networks. If you have pages on these platforms, monitor the number of followers, user engagement with your posts, and other social indicators.

Also, keep in mind that keyword rankings can be somewhat volatile and changeable. For example, Google constantly updates its search algorithms, which can affect the position of your site in the search results. Also, the competition may increase or decrease, which also affects the ranking of the web resource.

Therefore, when you analyze your site, focus on which metrics you need to improve. For example, if you notice that you have a high bounce rate, you may need to improve the quality of the content or the visual design of the resource to make it more attractive to visitors.

Mistake No.2: Refusal to use Google Analytics

The second mistake in SEO analysis is not using Google Analytics. This is a free and quite useful website analytics service from Google. Here are some tips to help you use it effectively to analyze your website's SEO:

1. Set up Google Analytics. You can do this by creating an account, configuring settings for your site, and adding a tracking code to your property.
2. Use custom reports. They are needed to analyze specific SEO-related metrics, such as organic traffic, keyword rankings, and backlinks. You can create custom reports using the templates provided by Google Analytics or your own.
3. Analyze traffic sources. This is necessary to determine which channels bring the most visitors to your website. This information can help you optimize your SEO strategy and focus on the sources of the most traffic.
4. Track bounce rates. That is, the percentage of visitors who leave your site after viewing only one page. A high bounce rate can indicate problems with the user experience or content of your resource.
5. Track conversions. For example, filling out forms, making purchases or making phone calls. This information can help you optimize your site and direct your marketing efforts to increase conversions.

Let's say you have a website and you want to improve its search engine optimization using Google Analytics. You start by setting up Google Analytics on your site, creating custom reports to analyze specific SEO metrics like organic traffic, keyword rankings, and backlinks. You analyze traffic sources to determine which channels drive the most traffic, track bounce rates to ensure a positive user experience and conversions to optimize your site and marketing efforts. All this is free.

According to a survey conducted by W3Techs, Google Analytics is used by more than 80% of all sites, making it the most popular analytics service on the Internet. Effectively using it to analyze SEO indicators, you can identify areas for improvement and optimize your website to attract more traffic and conversions.

Mistake No.3: Lack of conversion tracking

The third problem in SEO analysis is the lack of conversion tracking. It is the process of measuring the actions that users take on your site. For example, making a purchase or filling out a form. Here are some tips:

1. Set up conversion tracking. Use tools like Google Analytics or Facebook Pixel to do this. This will allow you to monitor the actions that users take on your site and measure their effectiveness in increasing conversions.
2. Set and track specific goals. For example, making a purchase or filling out a form. Do this to measure the performance of your resource.
3. Use unique URLs. For different campaigns or ad channels, they should not be duplicated so that you can track which leads to the most conversions.
4. Analyze conversion data. This is necessary to identify patterns and trends. Use this information to optimize your website and marketing strategy.
5. Test and optimize. Use A/B testing to evaluate different site elements and marketing strategies to optimize conversion rates.

By effectively tracking conversions on your website, you can measure the effectiveness of your marketing efforts and optimize your website to get even more conversions. According to a survey conducted by HubSpot, companies that monitor conversion rates are more than twice as likely to see a significant increase in sales compared to those that do not.

Mistake No.4: Refusal to analyze local SEO

Local SEO is the process of optimizing your website and online presence for local search queries. This is the fourth important point to consider. Here are some tips to help you optimize your local SEO:

1. Use Google My Business. This is a free tool that allows you to manage your online presence on Google. Create and optimize your business account by adding accurate and complete information about your business, including name, address, phone number and hours of operation.
2. Registration in local directories. This can help improve your online visibility and attract more customers.
3. Optimize your website for local keywords. Add relevant keywords to your content, titles and meta descriptions to improve your visibility in local search results.
4. Encourage customers to leave reviews online. Positive comments can help improve your online reputation and attract more audience. Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews on platforms such as Google, Facebook, etc.
5. Create content relevant to your region. For example, blog posts about local events or attractions.

At first glance, local SEO analysis is relevant only for small local brands operating only in a certain region. But it is worth conducting it, even if you have an all-Ukrainian business. At a minimum, to adjust the regional promotion strategy, if necessary.

Mistake No. 5: Not tracking mobile SEO

The share of mobile traffic continues to grow. And ignoring the relevant SEO data is an extremely serious mistake today. Here are some tips to help you more effectively track your SEO metrics and improve them specifically with mobile traffic in mind:

1. Adapt and improve the design. Your site must display normally and work fully from mobile devices. Work on optimization covers the use of responsive design, optimization of page speed and ensuring the convenience of the user interface.
2. Use the Google Mobile Responsiveness Test With its help, you can easily check whether your site is optimized. This test will give you an assessment and recommendations for improving the mobility of the resource.
3. Monitor mobile traffic. In this way, you will be able to identify trends in the use of mobile devices and optimize your site accordingly. Use Google Analytics to track mobile traffic and determine which pages and content are most popular on these devices.
4. Optimization for mobile search. Use mobile-specific keywords (short for manual input, longer for voice search). And make sure your website metadata is optimized for them too.
5. Use SEO tools for mobile devices. For example, MobileMoxie is a convenient service that allows you to analyze the effectiveness of mobile SEO of your resource and identify areas for improvement.

According to a study by Statista, already in 2020, mobile Internet accounted for more than 50% of all traffic in the world. Now the share is 54% and continues to grow. This makes it critical to track and optimize your mobile SEO performance to ensure your site is reaching your target audience on mobile devices. So you can identify directions for further improvements and modernize your resource to attract more mobile traffic.

Let's sum up

In today's digital age, SEO analysis has become a critical component of any successful online business strategy. By analyzing site traffic, tracking keyword rankings, and identifying areas for improvement, businesses can optimize their site for search engines, increase their online visibility, and ultimately get more traffic and conversions.

However, effective SEO analysis is far from always a simple task. There are typical mistakes that can negatively affect the effectiveness of SEO. These mistakes include ignoring the number of conversions, neglecting to analyze local or mobile SEO, and not using Google Analytics.

To avoid these problems, companies should prioritize SEO analysis and stay abreast of the latest trends and best practices. They should use tools like Google Analytics, SEMRush, and Ahrefs to monitor site traffic, track keyword rankings, and identify areas for improvement.

It is also important for businesses to stay up to date with the latest updates from search engines as they are constantly improving their algorithms to ensure the best search results. By adapting your SEO strategies accordingly, you will be able to maintain a strong online presence and stay ahead of the competition.

Therefore, effective SEO analysis is a critical component of any successful business strategy. Only by avoiding common mistakes, using the right tools, and staying on top of the latest trends can you improve your site's SEO performance and achieve long-term online success.