How to Track Your SEO Progress Over Time

Tracking your SEO progress helps you understand what's working, measure ROI, and make data-driven decisions for future optimization.

Why Track SEO Progress?

**Benefits of consistent tracking:**

**Measure ROI**: Know if SEO efforts are worth it

**Identify what works**: Double down on successful tactics

**Catch issues early**: Spot problems before they become crises

**Report results**: Show stakeholders tangible progress

**Guide strategy**: Make informed decisions about priorities

Key Metrics to Track

Traffic Metrics

**1. Organic Clicks**

Total clicks from search

Week-over-week and month-over-month growth

By landing page

By keyword category

**Why it matters**: Direct indicator of SEO success.

**Goal**: Consistent upward trend.

**2. Organic Impressions**

How many times you appear in search

Expansion of keyword portfolio

Brand visibility growth

**Why it matters**: Shows reach and potential.

**Goal**: Growing alongside clicks.

Ranking Metrics

**3. Average Position**

Overall keyword ranking performance

By keyword groups

For priority terms

**Why it matters**: Ranking improvements lead to more traffic.

**Goal**: Trending downward (better positions).

**4. Keywords on Page 1**

Count of first-page rankings

By difficulty level

Growth over time

**Why it matters**: Page 1 gets 90%+ of clicks.

**Goal**: Increasing monthly.

Engagement Metrics

**5. Click-Through Rate (CTR)**

Overall and by position

By page type

Trending over time

**Why it matters**: Higher CTR = more traffic from same rankings.

**Goal**: Improving or maintaining above benchmarks.

**6. Time on Site / Pages per Session**

From organic traffic

Compared to other channels

By landing page

**Why it matters**: Indicates content quality and relevance.

**Goal**: Meeting or exceeding site average.

Conversion Metrics

**7. Organic Conversions**

Sales, signups, downloads, etc.

Conversion rate from organic traffic

Revenue from organic channels

**Why it matters**: Ultimate measure of SEO ROI.

**Goal**: Growing conversion count and rate.

**8. Assisted Conversions**

Organic touchpoints in conversion paths

First-click attribution

Last-click attribution

**Why it matters**: SEO often assists conversions beyond direct attribution.

**Goal**: Understanding full impact.

Setting Benchmarks

Initial Baseline (Month 1)

**Record:**

Total organic clicks (week and month)

Average position across all keywords

Keywords ranking in top 10

Keywords ranking in top 3

Average CTR

Conversion rate from organic

**Purpose**: Know where you started to measure growth.

Monthly Benchmarks

**Track each month:**

Absolute numbers for all key metrics

Percentage change from previous month

Percentage change from baseline

Progress toward goals

**Review**: First week of each month.

Quarterly Reviews

**Every 3 months, assess:**

Overall trend direction

Which tactics are working

ROI of SEO efforts

Strategy adjustments needed

New opportunities identified

**Deep dive**: Half-day analysis session.

Goal Setting

SMART Goals

**Specific**: "Increase organic clicks"

Not: "Get more traffic"

Better: "Increase organic clicks from 1,000 to 1,500 per month"

**Measurable**: Use concrete numbers

50% increase in organic clicks

20 new keywords ranking on page 1

Improve average position from 15 to 10

**Achievable**: Based on current situation

New site: 25-50% growth per quarter

Established site: 10-25% growth per quarter

Mature site: 5-15% growth per quarter

**Relevant**: Align with business goals

E-commerce: Focus on product page rankings

SaaS: Focus on problem-solution keywords

Content: Focus on traffic volume

**Time-bound**: Set clear deadlines

3-month goals (realistic for SEO)

6-month milestones

12-month vision

Example Goals

**New website (0-6 months):**

Rank for 50 keywords in top 20

Achieve 1,000 organic clicks per month

Get 10 keywords to page 1

**Growing website (6-18 months):**

Increase clicks by 100%

Move average position from 20 to 12

Double conversion rate from 2% to 4%

**Established website (18+ months):**

Grow clicks by 25%

Maintain top 3 positions for core terms

Expand to 50 new keywords in top 10

Tracking Methodology

Weekly Check-ins (15 minutes)

**Review:**

Latest weekly report metrics

New suggestions generated

Approved suggestions status

Any major ranking changes

**Document:**

Notable changes (up or down)

Suggestions implemented this week

Issues identified

**Action:**

Approve 3-5 high-priority suggestions

Flag anything needing immediate attention

Monthly Deep Dives (1-2 hours)

**Analyze:**

Month-over-month metric changes

Progress toward goals

Content performance by type

Keyword category trends

**Compare:**

This month vs last month

This month vs same month last year

Current trajectory vs goals

**Document:**

What worked well

What didn't work

Lessons learned

Action items for next month

**Report:**

Create summary for stakeholders

Highlight wins and challenges

Present recommendations

Quarterly Strategy Reviews (Half day)

**Deep analysis:**

90-day trend analysis

Strategy effectiveness assessment

Competitive landscape changes

Resource allocation review

**Planning:**

Update goals if needed

Adjust tactics based on results

Identify new opportunities

Plan next quarter's priorities

**Documentation:**

Comprehensive quarterly report

Updated strategy document

Resource needs and allocation

Success criteria for next quarter

Measuring Suggestion Impact

Track Implementation

**For each implemented suggestion:**

Date implemented

Type of change

Target page/keyword

Expected impact

Monitor Results

**After 4-8 weeks:**

Position changes for target keywords

Traffic changes to target pages

CTR improvements

Conversion impacts

Calculate Success Rate

**Formula**: (Suggestions that improved metrics ÷ Total implemented) × 100

**Benchmarks:**

60%+: Excellent

40-60%: Good

20-40%: Needs improvement

<20%: Reassess approach

Learn from Results

**Identify patterns:**

Which suggestion types work best

Which pages respond well to optimization

Optimal implementation timing

Resource requirements

Common Progress Indicators

Positive Signs ✅

**Consistent upward trends** in clicks and impressions

**Growing keyword rankings** (more in top 10)

**Stable or improving CTR** as rankings improve

**Increasing diversity** of ranking keywords

**Rising domain authority** over time

**More organic conversions** month-over-month

Warning Signs ⚠️

**Declining click volume** for 2+ consecutive months

**Major ranking drops** without recovery

**Shrinking keyword portfolio** (fewer rankings)

**Declining CTR** despite stable positions

**Increasing bounce rate** from organic traffic

**Algorithm update impacts** not recovering

Reporting Progress

Internal Dashboards

**Weekly dashboards** should show:

Key metric snapshot

Week-over-week changes

Active suggestions status

Quick action items

**Monthly dashboards** should show:

Trend charts (3-6 months)

Goal progress

Top wins and challenges

Next month priorities

Stakeholder Reports

**Executive summary:**

Business impact (revenue, conversions)

Top-line metrics

Key wins

Resource needs

**Detailed report:**

All tracking metrics

Strategy explanation

Competitive context

Recommendations

Client Reports

**For agencies:**

Custom branded reports

Client-specific KPIs

Before/after comparisons

Strategic recommendations

Next period plan

Tools and Templates

Progress Tracking Spreadsheet

**Columns:**

Date

Organic clicks

Organic impressions

Average position

Keywords in top 10

CTR

Conversions

Notes

**Update**: Weekly or monthly

Goal Tracker

**Track:**

Goal description

Target metric

Baseline value

Current value

Target value

% complete

Deadline

Status (on track / at risk / achieved)

**Review**: Monthly

Suggestion Log

**Record:**

Suggestion ID

Implementation date

Expected impact

Target pages/keywords

Actual results after 4-8 weeks

Success? (Yes/No)

Lessons learned

**Review**: Quarterly

Long-term Success Metrics

Beyond rankings and traffic, track:

**Authority Building:**

Backlink growth

Domain authority score

Brand search volume

Featured snippet wins

**Content Performance:**

Content ROI (traffic per piece)

Evergreen content stability

Content refresh success rate

Topic authority expansion

**Business Impact:**

Organic revenue growth

Customer acquisition cost (CAC)

Lifetime value (LTV) of organic customers

Organic channel contribution to total revenue

Next Steps

[Performance Analytics Guide](/help/articles/performance-analytics-guide) - Dashboard deep dive

[Understanding GSC Metrics](/help/articles/understanding-gsc-metrics) - Data interpretation

[Reading Weekly Reports](/help/articles/reading-weekly-reports) - Regular tracking