SEO metrics are the numbers that show how a site is doing in search. The main ones sit in two of Google's reports: there are four numbers in Search Console's performance report, and Google Analytics counts visits and the actions people take. Watch all of them as you work, and put only a few in front of the client.
What are the high-level metrics of SEO?
The high-level metrics of SEO are impressions, clicks, click-through rate and average position in Search Console, plus sessions, engaged sessions, active users and key events in Google Analytics. Google defines each one on its own help pages, so you don't have to guess what a number counts.
| Number | The Google report it sits in | What Google says it means |
|---|---|---|
| Impressions | Search Console, performance report | How often a searcher saw a link to the site on Google |
| Clicks | Search Console, performance report | How often a searcher clicked a link from Google through to the site |
| Click-through rate | Search Console, performance report | Clicks divided by impressions |
| Average position | Search Console, performance report | In Google's words: "A relative ranking of the position of your link on Google, where 1 is the topmost position, 2 is the next position, and so on" |
| Sessions | Google Analytics | How many sessions started on the website or app |
| Engaged sessions | Google Analytics | In Google's words: "The number of sessions that lasted 10 seconds or longer, or had 1 or more conversion events or 2 or more page or screen views" |
| Active users | Google Analytics | The count of distinct users who visited. Reports show it as "Users" |
| Key events | Google Analytics | How many times users set off a key event |
Two words in that table call for a line of their own. A session is a stretch of time in which a user is active on the website or app. Google defines the other one this way: "A key event is an event that measures an action that's particularly important to the success of your business".
The table reads as two halves. The Search Console numbers are about Google's results, and the Google Analytics counts are about the website or app itself.
A number only helps a client if you say it in words they follow. For the habits that make a report land, see client reporting best practices.
Which SEO metrics should you be measuring behind the scenes?
Measure all eight behind the scenes, and read them in pairs. One number tells you that something moved. The number beside it helps you see why.
- Impressions with clicks. Put the two side by side for the same dates. If one moved and the other didn't, that's the first thing to look into.
- Click-through rate with the two numbers it's made from. When the rate changes, check which of the two changed it before you read anything into it.
- Average position with the searches behind it. Google says the position shown is the topmost spot a link to the site held, averaged across all the searches where the site appeared. So look at which searches the site showed for before you call a change a gain or a loss.
- Sessions with engaged sessions. Compare the two month over month. A gap that grows is worth a look.
- Key events with the client's own list. Ask the client which actions matter to the business, and count those. Check the list again when the client adds a service or a new form.
Keep this set in a working file of your own. It's for the person doing the SEO work, so it can run as long as that person finds useful.
The client gets a shorter version, on a set day. SEO reports for clients covers which reports to send, and when.
Checking these numbers each month is a task someone else can run once it's written down. We offer a free template for handing off tasks, and you give your email to get it.
Which of the SEO metrics you track belong in the client's report?
Three of them make a good starting set for the client's report: clicks, key events and average position. Each one answers a question a business owner can ask without knowing SEO. Did people come? Did they do something? Where do we show up?
Each of the three wants plain words beside it.
- Clicks. Say what it counts in one line, and show this month beside last month.
- Key events. Name the action in place of the label. Write "calls" or "quote forms sent" where the tool says "key events".
- Average position. Say that it's an average, and say which way is up. Name the searches it covers, so the client doesn't picture one search and one spot.
The other five stay in your working file: impressions, click-through rate, sessions, engaged sessions and active users. Bring one into the report when it explains a change the client can already see, or when the client asks for it.
Two checks come first, before any number goes on the page.
- Ask what traffic the number covers, and say so beside it. A count of visits goes in an SEO report only when you can say which visits it counts.
- Ask whether the client could explain the number to a partner with you out of the room. If they couldn't, add a plain line or take the number out.
The numbers are one part of a client's report, next to the work you did and what comes next. For what goes into a report, see How do I create a white label SEO report?.
Once the numbers are picked, give each one a fixed spot, so the client finds it in the same place every month. SEO report template gives the parts of a monthly report, in order.
Pick the client's numbers once and write down what each one means. After that, the monthly check is a task you can pass to someone else. Our template for handing off tasks is free, and you give your email to get it.