How do I know my seo is getting better?
You’ve been putting in the effort optimizing your website, writing blog posts, and making many tweaks but how do you know if it’s actually helping? Many people struggle with this question, and the good news is that checking your SEO progress doesn’t have to be complicated. Here’s a simple guide to help you track whether your efforts are paying off or not.
1. Track Your Rankings with a Rank Tracker
A common mistake is searching your own keywords on Google to see where you rank. This method isn’t reliable because results can be personalized based on location and browsing history. Instead, use a dedicated rank tracking tool that monitors your position over time.
Recommended tools:
Google Search Console (free and you should already have an account already)
Ubersuggest (free for limited keywords but lifetime paid version is cheap, tracks ranking changes)
Ahrefs or SEMrush (pretty expensive but offers detailed insights)
SEO Edge (Free phone app)
By setting up a rank tracker, you can see how your rankings shift over days, weeks, and months, giving you a clear picture of progress.
2. Monitor Clicks and Impressions in Google Search Console
Rankings alone don’t tell the full story. You also want to see if more people are clicking on your website. Google Search Console is the best free tool for this.
Steps to check your SEO performance:
Log in to Google Search Console.
Go to the Performance tab.
Look at Total Clicks and Total Impressions over time.
What to look for:
Increasing impressions mean more people are seeing your site in search results.
Increasing clicks mean more people are visiting your site from Google.
Increasing queries means you’re showing up for more queries aka keywords.
If all of those are growing, your SEO efforts are definitely working!
3. Track Your Website Traffic with Google Analytics
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) helps you see where your website traffic is coming from. Haven’t setup google analytics yet? Click Here.
Steps to check SEO traffic:
Log in to Google Analytics.
Go to Reports > Acquisition > Traffic Acquisition.
Look at the “Organic Search” section.
What to check:
Is your organic traffic increasing over time?
Are visitors spending time on your site?
Are they clicking on multiple pages?
If your organic traffic is growing, your SEO is on the right track!
4. Measure Your Inquiries and Conversions
At the end of the day, rankings and clicks don’t matter if they don’t bring you leads or clients. That’s why it’s important to track how many inquiries or sales are coming from your SEO efforts.
How to track SEO-driven inquiries:
Add a “How did you find me?” field to your contact form or just ask leads how they found you.
Check if inquiries from Google have increased since working on SEO.
5. Be Patient and Look for Long-Term Trends
SEO isn’t instant by any means. It can take months to see significant results. Instead of checking every day, review your SEO performance monthly. I always tell people to zoom out and look at the big picture. If your rankings, traffic, and inquiries are gradually improving, you’re on the right path!