We are now at part 9 of our 10-part SEO series! In part 8 we covered how to build quality inbound links in order to improve search engine rankings. Today we will cover how to monitor the success of your SEO efforts.
The Importance of Monitoring Your SEO Efforts
You’ve got your website in a top position on Google and other search engines! Congratulations! It’s quite a feat to make it this far! Now that you’ve gotten to this position, let’s keep you there through consistent and in-depth monitoring of your SEO efforts.
There are three crucial steps in the monitoring process. They are:
- Monitoring your site’s rankings
- Monitoring your links
- Monitoring changes in SEO practices
Monitoring Your Site’s Rankings
Either manually check your website rankings or use software or various online tools. You don’t have to check your rankings everyday. Once a week or even once a month will suffice. You should be able to correlate your SEO efforts with your rankings. If your rankings improve, then you’ll know that what you’re doing is working. If on the other hand they decline, then you’ll know it’s time to stop what you’re doing and reassess.
Monitoring Your Links
Don’t assume that because you’ve built quality links, you are all set. You will constantly be fighting your competitors to stay in the position you have obtained on the various search engines. Stay on top of how many inbound links your competitors have, and how many links they build in a specific period of time. Continually strive to gain more quality inbound links, and never let your guard down. Your competitors are vying for your position so you have to stay one step ahead!
Monitoring Changes in SEO Practices
The SEO climate is constantly changing. 2011 brought the integration of social media into SEO ranking with Google +. Panda, a massive algorithm change, heavily penalized low-quality content sites back in February of 2012. You need to stay on top of these changes and adapt accordingly. There are several ways to keep on top of the latest SEO changes and practices:
Blogs
SEO blogs can keep you on top of what’s going on. Here are some quality sites that provide accurate news about SEO:
Subscribe to a few of these SEO blogs and you will certainly stay apprised of any major shifts in the wind.
Links To The 10-Part SEO Series on How To Rank on Google
Part 1: SEO Success Starts With Keyword Research
Part 2: Why Producing Quality Content for SEO Is Important
Part 3: Structuring Your Website For SEO
Part 4: Content Optimization for SEO
Part 5: Internal Linking Strategies for SEO
Part 6: Human Testing for SEO Success
Part 7: Search Engines Submissions for SEO
Part 8: Link Building for SEO
Part 9: Monitoring Your SEO Efforts
Part 10: Extra Tools & Resources for SEO Success