5.5 Measuring SEO Progress

Create a simple spreadsheet (Google Sheets works fine) with monthly columns and these rows:

• Organic sessions -- from Google Analytics (Acquisition > Traffic acquisition > Organic Search)
• Search impressions -- from Google Search Console (Performance > Total impressions)
• Average position -- from GSC (Performance > Average position)
• Click-through rate -- from GSC (Performance > Average CTR)
• Top 5 keywords by clicks -- from GSC (Performance > Queries tab)
• Pages indexed -- from GSC (Coverage/Indexing report)
• Leads/enquiries from organic -- from your CRM or contact form submissions

Record these on the same date each month (e.g., the 1st).

GSC is your most important SEO tool. Check these weekly:

• Performance report -- are impressions and clicks trending up? Filter by page to see which pages are gaining/losing
• Coverage/Indexing report -- any new errors? Pages not indexed? Fix errors immediately
• Core Web Vitals -- are your pages passing? If not, address speed issues (see section 3.8)
• Manual actions -- if Google has penalised your site, it shows here. This should always be empty

For your top 10--15 target keywords, check where you rank monthly:

• Open an incognito/private browser window (to avoid personalised results)
• Search each keyword and note your position (page 1 = positions 1--10, page 2 = 11--20)
• Free alternative: GSC Performance report > filter by Query > check Average Position
• Paid tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush automate this but cost $99+/month

SEO timelines for a new or newly-optimised small business site:

• Month 1--2: Google discovers and indexes your changes. Minimal visible movement.
• Month 3--4: Rankings begin to shift. Long-tail keywords start appearing in GSC.
• Month 5--6: Meaningful ranking improvements for low-competition keywords. Traffic starts growing.
• Month 6--12: Compounding returns. More keywords ranking, more traffic, more leads.
• If you see zero movement after 3 months, something is wrong -- revisit your keyword targeting and on-page SEO.

Once a month, spend 30 minutes on this checklist:

• Are organic sessions higher than last month?
• Are any target keywords moving into the top 20? Top 10?
• Are there new indexing errors in GSC?
• Have any pages dropped significantly in traffic? (could indicate a technical issue or algorithm update)
• Are competitors outranking you for key terms? Check what they're doing differently.
• Is your content calendar on track? (section 5.6)