How to Use Search Console to Determine if Your SEO Efforts Are Working
You’ve put a lot of effort into improving your website’s SEO and getting in front on people when they’re searching for your service. But how do you know if that effort is actually giving you results? Google Search Console is the easiest way to see what queries your website is showing up under and how many people are clicking on your website from those searches.
Once Search Console is set up, you can use it to see exactly which terms people are searching for that are leading them to your website.
How to see your search queries:
Log into Search Console and select your website from the drop-down.
Open the Search results tab.
Set the date range you want to review.
Review the total impressions, visits, and the queries.
What should you pay attention to?
The first thing I like to look at is the list of the top 10 queries that are showing up in search results (impressions) and how many people actually end up on your website (clicks).
This will let you know if the keywords your website is getting known for are actually related to your business, location, and specialty.
If they are, great! Keep publishing content related to those keywords and answering questions similar to those that are bringing in traffic.
If they aren’t, take a deeper look.
Are the queries related to old blog posts? Can you update those posts to better relate to your current offers?
Are they related to something you don’t want to be known for? Concentrate on writing more content that answers questions that your patients are asking.
The most important thing you can do when it comes to reviewing your Search Console is remember that change takes time. You may not see the most popular queries change in the first month or two, but over a few months, you should see more impressions and clicks related to the content you’re writing. It’s also important to note that even old content and queries that seem unrelated to what you do now can bring in clients (this happens to me with my Words to Describe Your Brand post).
