Your company will naturally feel and see the results of a well-designed SEO campaign through the increase in leads and social chatter.

Being able to quantify that feeling into visually compelling data instills trust and allows for greater flexibility with future campaigns.

Here’s how to measure SEO success with Google Data Studio.

Define Success

There needs to be a clear, measurable goal.

What defines SEO success for every company is going to differ however there are a few solid KPIs that most service based businesses focus on:

• Lead generation.
• Customer engagement.
• Brand visibility.

This article is going to focus on lead generation because ultimately that is what makes money.

Setting Up Goals

Lead Generation

Now that you have defined your content’s key performance indicators – or what you determine to be a success – we need to record those goal completions.

Our team prefers to use a combination of Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager and Data Studio to create interactive reports anyone can view at any time.

To measure lead generation, you must set up a custom goal for each successfully submitted form.

The most obvious method to collect data is a unique thank you page for a unique form fill.

Google Analytics does a great job explaining how to set up destination tracking in this documentation. 

Creating a New Goal in Google Analytics

1. Sign in to Google Analytics.
2. Click Admin.
3. Navigate to the desired View:
   • Should be filtering out company IPs here.
4. In the VIEW column, click Goals.
5. Click + NEW GOAL
6. Select Custom from the list of options.
7. Click Next Step.
8. Select the goal Type: Destination.
9. Destination: Equals to “/campaignname_thankyou”
   • Edit this to your campaign’s unique thank you page.
10. Value: Assign a monetary value for how much each lead is worth.
11. Click Save.

Google Tag Manager can be used to measure more complicated touchpoints, like call schedulers or when destination tracking is not possible.

Visualize the Data

Visualize the data with Google Data Studio, this is a free tool available by Google that is easy to use, customize and share.

Because we have laid out conversion tracking in the previous steps, we can now turn this hard data into an appealing interactive report that team members can access 24/7.

Making the hard-earned increase in organic brand visibility, user engagement, and/or leads generated easy to convey and understand.

This tip is going to stay focused on proving the ROI of an SEO campaign. So, lead generation. 

The full step-by-step guide including Brand Visibility and Organic Audience Engagement metrics is available in the full article posted on SEJ.

Bottom left table is where our previous work setting up goals (KPIs) in Google Analytics and assigning values comes into play.

The lead generation table displays:

• How many users are navigating to the new content pages.
• How many goals are completed per page.
• What the monetary value of that content campaign is.

Note: If this is not new content you will be notating the difference in goals and page/goal value after edits are made.

Lead Generation by Landing Page Table: This image uses Sample Data provided by Google to protect the privacy of our partners.

It gets even cooler when you start adding MCF assisted conversions to show which LPs have contributed to all conversions.

SEO Return on Investment

ROI for search engine optimization seems hard because value of edits and new campaigns can stretch over months and the leads generated continue long after.

I promise it’s a lot easier than you think. The key is to work with your client or partner to not only define goals but assign a value to that goal. 

As an SEO provider, your work should be organized with a planned strategy. Roll out your edits in bundles and measure the monetary effect.

Do not work through a “checklist” and throw darts at a wall until something sticks. Understand what will stick, know the probability and risk, before spending a client’s money.

Return on investment is calculated by dividing the goal value by your SEO costs + project management: strategy, developers, editors, management, etc.

SEO Investment

First, you need to know the cost of your investment. Add up the expense for each step involved in creating, launching, and reporting on an SEO campaign.

For example:

• $1,500 site audit
• $1,500 campaign #1 strategy
• $3,500 strategy implementation
• $500 custom reporting

Total SEO Investment = $7,000 for Campaign 1

Now, let’s calculate the return.

Return on SEO

Jot down the average percent of leads (or downloads) that turn into a sale. And, what the lifetime value of that partnership is.

In other words, what is the average consumer’s profit margin over the course of their relationship with your company?

Number of Customers Example:

• Campaign average monthly traffic: 5,000
• Conversion rate to lead: 2%
  • 100 leads
• Closing conversion rate (lead to sale): 2%
• Customers attributed to the campaign per month: 2

Customer Lifetime Value Example:

• Average customer contract is $90,000
• X average duration (3 years) = $270,000
• Profit margin per client is 15%
• Average customer lifetime value is $40,500

Projected Profit:

• CLV x # of new customers = $81,000

SEO ROI Formula

Search Engine Optimization ROI can be calculated by multiplying customer lifetime value by the number of new customers per month minus cost of investment divided by cost of investment.

Example Continued:

($40,500 x 2) – $7,000 / $7,000

($81,000 – $7,000) / $7,000

$71,000 / $7,000 = 10.14

The ROI for SEO Campaign 1 example is 1,014.28%.

If you are making edits that affect pages that are currently live on the site, be sure to calculate the ROI of these pages before and after your edits so you can show the % lift.

Content strategies should not start with search volume metrics or competitor research.

Ugly truth, SEO professionals know that search volume metrics are not accurate.

Yep, pretty crazy right? 

Have you ever looked at a day-by-day chart of a keyword’s position? 

Many factors come into play, including organic impression share.

Popular search volume tools, used by thousands of search marketers, take the total previous 12 months of historical data and divide by 12 to calculate search volume…you can imagine how inaccurate this will be. 

The second step in a traditional content strategy (or audit) is a competitor analysis.

By performing a competitor analysis you are banking on the hope that your competitor has done the research that you should be doing. 

And hope is not a strategy.

Not to mention, you are driving up the cost per click on yourself. 

So, if you should not start with keyword volume or a competitor analysis then what should content strategies be based on?

Profits.

Begin with conversion probability.

Find your company’s pages with the best conversion probability.

These are the topics you want to invest in with Ads and search optimization.

Video: Content Strategy Using Conversion Probability Cohorts in Google Analytics

The first step will be setting up a conversion probability cohort within Google Analytics. 

Set Up a Cohort Segment in GA

1. Open Google Analytics.
2. Select Audience ().
3. Select Behavior.
4. Select Conversion Probability.
5. Open Conversion Probability Report.
6. Click the icon to the far right within the % conversion probability bucket.
7. Name the conversion probability segments.
8. Enable the view that needs the segment available.
9. Click “Create Segment”.
10. Apply to your reports.

Once your cohort is created is time to apply this segment to your content strategy.

Apply to Content Strategy

1. Default Channing Grouping to Organic traffic source
2. Set Primary Dimension to “Source”
3. Advanced Filter to view the desired search engine
4. Add a Secondary Dimension of Landing Page
5. Sort by Revenue

The list of landing pages you have now is extremely valuable for the organic channel and the paid search channel.

From here you can tailor your ads on the various search engines to showcase the products and landing pages with the highest conversion probability per source.

And when it comes to organic search, simply cross reference this list with search console to learn which keywords are triggering these pages.

Using conversion probability cohorts to build a content strategy will improve the visibility and CTR of landing pages with the highest probability of conversion.

urrent search engine marketing strategies see an increased focus on quality content and an enhanced user experience. 

Because organic search continues to be a leading source of traffic; a large part of providing user-friendly content means content that is easy to find. Creating a challenging task of how to satisfy what search engines need and what users want.

Integrate Search Engine Needs with User Needs

In order to write user-friendly content that ranks search engine thinking needs to be involved in every step of the content marketing process: audience research, writing, optimization, promotion and measurement.

This article shares our 5 steps to integrating search engine optimization with content marketing. This is how to write blogs that rank.

5 steps to SEO Content Creation:

1. Audience Research

How are users currently searching for the content you provide? 

Understanding user needs and behaviors will help focus content creation efforts, preventing the wasted effort of creating content that doesn’t perform well. 

Notice this stage is purposefully titled “audience research” because understanding how your audience searches and uses information online is more detailed then downloading a spreadsheet of keyword volume / competition density. As you research keywords, consider the impact of Google AI and how search engines are getting even better at conversational search. Proper keyword research puts yourself in your users’ shoes and understands how they are currently searching.

When audience research is done well this supercharges content creation by finding the “sweet spot.” The optimum balance between a user’s need, the product/service, and how users actively use the web.

2. Empower Content Writers

Many writers are aware of the value of keyword research and the positive impact ranking has for a business. While working with inbound marketing teams, I found that writers are generally motivated to write content that performs well in organic search.

Content writers will benefit from learning basic on-page optimization such as how to edit titles, header tags, meta tags, image tags and the page URL. When writers are empowered with SEO skills, content will is search engine friendly right out of the gate.

When SEO thinking is seamlessly integrated into the content writing workflow, search engine optimization  is no longer seen as an obstacle, but important to the process of creating quality content.

3.  Technical SEO

Empowering writers to make content naturally search friendly is a huge leap toward organic traffic success. 

Having a technical SEO consultant review blog articles before publishing will ensure they are fully optimized for search. We look at the site as a whole and are able to build linking silos to support key “money pages,” and include the proper schema markup.

4. Publishing and Promotion

Creating a smooth publishing process is essential to success. This largely depends on how you well the SEO, social media and link building team work together.

Search Thinking: Questions to consider when Publishing an Article

• Review internal link structures. Are articles linked to relevant pages and how.
• Are the linking sites relevant to both the content and the keywords that content is being optimized for? 
• What sites link to your competitor’s similar pages and what is the DA? 
• Are there any relevant broken links?

Backlink activity continues to grow organically with time, be sure to create a spreadsheet and follow up periodically after content is published.

5. Measuring Return on Investment

Companies are seeking to invest in content at a record pace, putting the pressure on marketing agencies to show a profitable return on investment. Once the content is published, you need to know how it is performing against KPIs (key performance indicators.) 

• What is the average page rank in the target location?
• What is the conversion rate for that article?
• What is the monetary value of the page?

Tracking overall traffic from organic search is simply not enough. To determine if the organic search traffic is accomplishing business goals you need to know page rank, estimated keyword volume and conversion rate. 

Be sure to have a plan of what to do with this data. What can be learned from actual performance that can be applied to future SEO and content creation efforts?

SEO-Centric Content Writing

A true content strategy is SEO-centric. Search engine thinking needs to integrate into every step of the content marketing process: audience research, writing, optimization, promotion and measurement.

Keywords are a core component to SEO, but SEO is not exclusively about keywords, and the use of keyword data has changed.

Successful inbound marketing strategies are built from a foundation of knowing what the audience wants. To stay competitive you also need to know how they look for what they want. Super charge content marketing strategies by integrating search engine needs with human and business needs. This is the key to successful campaigns.

Send us a note to discover what your user is searching for, how they are searching for it and who your competition is online.

Organizing Content Creation

Communication is becoming more involved. It’s very easy to become overwhelmed by the multitude of audiences and channels requiring your attention. 

There is prospecting new customers, retaining current customers and converting those in the marketing funnel. 

Should the content be text, graphic or video? Which social channels will be used? Are Ads necessary?

How can we ensure the content reaches the right audience at the right time? Do we need to continuously pay for Ads? 

Thankfully, there are a number of editorial tips and tools to make creating optimized content simple.

Content Creation Organization Tips

Organize content ideas as they spark up in Evernote or Google Drive Folders. 

These can be ideas that come from emails with clients, an interesting discussion in a social thread or something you were explaining to a colleague. 

Folders should start with the broadest subject and niche down just as you would a website structure. 

For example we may have the main folder as “Content Creation,” with sub-folders such as “Content Calendars,” “Content Writers,” “Content Marketing ROI,” etc.

Content Marketing Goals

Write with a specific goal in mind, do not create content for the sake of creating content. 

Know your audience, know which channel they prefer to hear the information from and what unique language they use. 

Aso, know what action you want them to take with this content, how does it lead the user closer to completing the end goal of purchasing a product or registering for your services.

The bulk of this step will be completed by your SEO team member. An SEO will map out a content plan based on what is needed to rank for the target key terms and when that content needs to be published into a content calendar.

Create a Content Calendar

Creating a content calendar based on user trends will be sure to get your brand in front of your audience at the time of year they’re looking for it.

The next step is adding in the content editorial information, who will be responsible for writing which pieces, editing, graphics, publishing, etc.

An editorial calendar saves you from creating content willy-nilly and finding out months later that the content isn’t ranking or that yikes – no one ever finished writing it.

There’s no wrong way to set up your editorial calendar, as long as it’s meeting your needs. Pick the one that’s right for your team:

• Google Calendar with post titles written on each day
• Excel or Google Doc with authors and post titles
• Project management software (We love ClickUp.)

The content editorial tool doesn’t matter as long as your team is on board and the people who need to can easily access the document.

Hiring SEO Content Writers

Once the editorial calendar is laid out, you may realize that your current staff does not have the bandwidth to carry it out in an efficient manner. 

At this point, you will need to hire content writers who understand how to integrate seo with user experience.

It’s easy to find people (and agencies) who claim to write optimized content – they’re everywhere. 

Finding the best ones? That’s a daunting task many business owners face because you do not just need writers, you need exceptional SEO content writers.

So, how do you find exceptional seo content writers? There are a vast number of freelance platforms but your best bet is going to be contacting a contributor you enjoy at your favorite online publication or referrals from trusted colleagues. 

When interviewing writers ask for a live writing example and have them walk you through the article. Look for the following basic SEO factors.

Is there a ‘focus keyword’?

Several factors come into play when trying to rank a web page, but your writer needs to know how to control things on the keyword side.

When reviewing their writing samples; check that the focus keyword is clear. It should be in the title of the article, opening paragraph and naturally throughout the content copy.

Are title tags and H tags used properly?

Essentially, your SEO writer should understand search engines and use title tags to understand what the website is about and how to use them to attract clicks from potential customers in search results.

What is the internal linking strategy?

Internal linking is a major key to search ranking so it is important that your writers have this in their set of onpage seo tools. 

They should know how to create an internal linking silo connecting old and new articles in a cohesive manner to help fully communicate the topic.

Internal linking helps:

• Communicate the relevance and value of your pages.
• Demonstrate that your site contains in-depth content about the topic.
• Ease of navigation — a high quality site is well-structured.

But also ensure they do it using proper anchor texts. There are two key anchor text elements:

• [Anchor texts] should clearly explain where they’ll take your reader to.
• [Anchor texts] shouldn’t be too long.

Is the appropriate Schema implemented? 

An seo content writer should be well-versed in schema markup. Schema is a semantic vocabulary of tags (or microdata) that you can add to your HTML to improve the way search engines read and represent your page in SERPs. 

Structured data can be used to mark up all kinds of items from news articles to FAQs to videos and more.

Does your writing candidate know the difference between article schema and blog schema?

Are they able to write cohesive long-form content?

According to 2020 research published by Backlinko the average Google first page result contains 1,447 words.

Is your candidate able to write engaging long-form content? In other words, can they keep people reading a page for several minutes? Is the content copy persuasive in leading the reader to the desired action.

Getting SEO content writers who have all the skills mentioned in this article are possible to find. And hiring them means higher search rankings for your content. 

These writers are everywhere but here’s the thing — you get what you pay for.

SEO content writers are your best bet, but they’re not cheap. Before you open your wallet get a writing sample, ask the questions in this guide, and ensure you get what you pay for by measuring the campaign’s success.

Measuring SEO Content Success 

A well-designed and optimized campaign will continue to bring quality leads to your website long after the invoice is paid.

In fact, for every dollar spent, content marketing generates 3X the leads you’d get with traditional marketing.

The content marketing agency or freelance writer you partner with should be able to quantify that feeling into a visually compelling report that measures the success of the content campaign.

Kayle Larkin covered this topic well in an article published in Search Engine Journal. For our purpose here we will focus on calculating the content ROI. 

Content ROI is measured by dividing the goal value by the cost of your content marketing implementation: strategy, writers, search engine optimization, management, etc.

Content Investment

First, you need to know the cost of your investment. Add up the expense for each step involved in creating, launching, and reporting on a campaign.

For example:

• $3,000 campaign strategy.
• $5,000 for 4 articles, 1 landing page and 1 downloadable or quiz.
• $2,000 search engine optimization + reporting.

Total Content Marketing Investment = $10,000 per campaign

Now, let’s calculate the return.

Return on Content Marketing

Jot down the average percent of leads (or downloads) that turn into a sale. And, what the lifetime value of that partnership is.

In other words, what is the average consumer’s profit margin over the course of their relationship with your company?

Number of Customers Example:

• Campaign average monthly traffic: 5,000
• Conversion rate to lead: 2%
  • 100 leads
• Closing conversion rate (lead to sale): 2%
• Customers attributed to the campaign per month: 2

Customer Lifetime Value Example:

• Average customer contract is $90,000
• X average duration (3 years) = $270,000
• Profit margin per client is 15%
• Average customer lifetime value is $40,500

Projected Profit:

• CLV x # of new customers = $81,000

Content Marketing ROI Formula

Content marketing ROI can be calculated by multiplying customer lifetime value by the number of new customers per month minus cost of investment divided by cost of investment.

Example Continued:

($40,500 x 2) – $10,000 / $10,000

($81,000 – $10,000) / $10,000

$71,000 / $10,000 = 7.1

The ROI for this content marketing campaign example is 710%.

How Soon Can You Expect to See the Return?

When content strategies are intentional and built on a solid audience analysis, you can begin seeing results as early as two weeks of indexing.

Larkin SEO has been providing search engine optimization services since 2008. Ensuring content marketing agencies are targeting the key phrases users are searching, on the platform users are engaging with.

To learn more about our seo content creation, send a note here.