How to Know if SEO is Working for Your Website

Understanding SEO Performance: What Every Business Owner Should Monitor

TL;DR:

• Track organic traffic growth as your primary SEO success indicator
• Monitor quality keyword rankings (top 3 positions for high-value keywords)
• Look for natural backlink growth from authoritative sources
• Measure conversion rates and goal completions, not just traffic
• Ask your SEO agency specific, data-driven questions about performance

Knowing if your SEO services are working can feel overwhelming, especially if you don't know what metrics actually matter. Yet SEO remains crucial for your online presence - it helps you reach a larger audience, drive more qualified traffic to your website, improve visibility, and delivers surprisingly cost-effective results compared to paid advertising.

When potential customers use Google to find products, services, or solutions, they typically click on the first few results that appear. Why? Because Google has determined these are the most relevant and trustworthy answers to their search query. SEO is about making sure that when your target audience searches for what you offer, your website appears at the top of the page - ready to be clicked.

In today's digital marketplace, most buyers research and choose providers online before making contact. Having a strong online presence isn't optional anymore - it's essential for staying competitive and achieving your business goals. But how do you know if your investment is actually paying off?

We've created this straightforward guide to help you determine if your SEO strategy is delivering results, understand what questions to ask your agency for better transparency, and build a more effective strategy yourself.

How to Know if Your SEO Strategy is Paying Off

Increased Organic Traffic

Organic traffic represents the number of visitors who find your website through unpaid search engine results on Google, Bing, or Yahoo. This is arguably the most important metric to track because it directly shows whether more people are discovering your business online.

You can monitor your organic traffic using Google Analytics. Look for consistent upward trends over time - month-over-month and year-over-year growth. If your organic traffic numbers are climbing steadily, your SEO efforts are working.

Keep in mind that seasonal fluctuations are normal for many industries. Focus on long-term trends rather than week-to-week changes.

Improved Keyword Rankings (But Not Just Any Rankings)

Keywords are the specific phrases people type into search engines when looking for solutions you provide. Tracking where your website ranks for these terms helps you understand your visibility in search results.

However - and this is critical - not all keyword rankings matter equally. Some agencies will report impressive-sounding statistics like "jumped 700 positions this month" to mask poor performance. But if those 700 positions were for low-value keywords that never make it to page one, that achievement is essentially meaningless.

For keyword rankings to indicate real business results, you need:

• Quality keywords - Terms your actual customers search for with commercial intent
• Top positions - Page one rankings, ideally positions 1-3
• Relevant volume - Keywords that people actually search for regularly

According to Search Engine Journal, the top three organic search results receive the majority of clicks, with position one alone capturing approximately 28% of all clicks. Position four and below see dramatically reduced click-through rates.

Natural, High-Quality Backlinks

Backlinks are links from other websites pointing to your content. They act as votes of confidence, signaling to search engines that your content provides genuine value and can be trusted.

The emphasis here is on natural and high-quality. Google's algorithms have evolved significantly to identify and devalue spammy, purchased, or low-quality link schemes. What matters now is earning links from:

• Reputable industry websites and publications
• Relevant blogs and resources in your field
• News sites and authoritative content platforms
• Partners and professional associations

If your content is earning these types of backlinks organically, your SEO strategy is creating genuinely valuable content that others want to reference - exactly what search engines reward.

Low Bounce Rate and Increased Time on Site

Bounce rate measures the percentage of visitors who land on your website and leave without viewing additional pages or interacting with your site. Google Search Console provides engagement metrics that help you understand user behavior.

A consistently high bounce rate often indicates:

• Your content doesn't match search intent for the keywords you're ranking for
• Poor user experience or slow page load speeds
• Misleading titles or meta descriptions that set wrong expectations
• Your web development may need optimization for better performance

If visitors are staying longer on your site, viewing multiple pages, and engaging with your content, it's a strong signal that you're attracting the right audience with relevant content - which reinforces your SEO performance.

Better Conversion Rate

The conversion rate measures the percentage of visitors who complete a desired action - whether that's filling out a contact form, requesting a quote, making a purchase, or downloading a resource.

This is where SEO success translates into actual business results. Traffic growth means nothing if those visitors don't become leads or customers. If your organic traffic is increasing but conversions remain flat or decline, you're likely:

• Ranking for the wrong keywords (informational rather than commercial intent)
• Attracting the wrong audience
• Experiencing user experience issues on key conversion pages
• Missing clear calls-to-action or value propositions

The ultimate measure of SEO success combines traffic growth and conversion growth. Both metrics rising together indicates you're attracting qualified visitors who are genuinely interested in what you offer.

10 Questions to Ask Your SEO Agency for Better Transparency

If you're working with an agency to manage your SEO, asking the right questions ensures you understand what you're paying for and whether it's delivering results. Here are the key questions that separate effective agencies from underperformers:

1. What are the quick wins you can see for my website's SEO?

What to look for: They should identify specific, actionable improvements that will deliver return on investment quickly - things like fixing critical technical issues, optimizing high-traffic pages, or capturing low-hanging keyword opportunities.

2. Are you staying updated with the latest SEO trends and algorithm changes?

What to look for: Ask about recent Google algorithm updates, current industry challenges, and emerging trends. If they can't discuss these confidently, that's a significant red flag. SEO changes constantly, and your agency needs to adapt.

3. What is your recommended timeline for achieving noticeable SEO results?

What to look for: SEO is not a quick-fix solution. Legitimate results typically take 3-12 months depending on your industry competitiveness, current website status, and goals. Be wary of anyone promising first-page rankings in weeks.

4. What kind of reporting and communication can I expect?

What to look for: You should receive regular reports (typically monthly) showing key metrics, progress toward goals, and work completed. The reporting should be clear enough that you can understand performance without needing to ask for explanations.

5. Are you monitoring and analyzing my competitors' SEO activities?

What to look for: Competitive analysis should be part of any comprehensive marketing strategy. Your agency should understand who's ranking for your target keywords, what content strategies they're using, and where backlink opportunities exist.

6. How do you approach link building?

What to look for: Ethical, "white hat" link building should be the foundation. Google has moved decisively away from rewarding volume-based or spammy backlink tactics. Your agency should focus on earning quality links through valuable content, digital PR, and genuine relationship building.

7. How do you handle website optimization and technical SEO?

What to look for: A clear process that maps keywords to specific pages, optimizes on-page elements (titles, headings, meta descriptions, content), and addresses technical factors like site speed, mobile-friendliness, and crawlability.

8. What is your approach to keyword research and targeting?

What to look for: They should balance high-intent commercial keywords with informational queries, and mix competitive terms with achievable quick wins. A good strategy targets keywords across the entire customer journey.

9. How do you measure the success of your SEO efforts?

What to look for: This is crucial. Are they focused primarily on traffic metrics, or on actual business outcomes like leads, sales, and revenue? Establish agreed-upon success metrics upfront - this prevents confusion and misaligned expectations later. Since SEO is a long-term investment, you might start by measuring search impressions, progress to traffic growth, and ultimately focus on conversions and revenue.

10. What specific SEO strategies are you implementing for my website?

What to look for: Ensure they're taking a comprehensive approach. Effective SEO requires:

• On-page optimization (content, keywords, meta data)
• Off-page strategies (link building, digital PR)
• Technical SEO (site speed, mobile optimization, structured data)
• Content strategy (addressing search intent, topic coverage)

If they're only focusing on one or two areas while neglecting others, you're not getting complete SEO service.

Create a Better SEO Strategy Yourself in 9 Steps

Whether you're managing SEO in-house or want to better understand what your agency should be doing, these nine steps provide a foundation for effective SEO:

1. Define Your Goals

Start by determining exactly what you want SEO to achieve. Common goals include:

• Increasing overall website traffic by X%
• Generating more qualified leads
• Improving online visibility for specific products or services
• Boosting e-commerce sales
• Establishing thought leadership in your industry

Clearly defined objectives guide your entire strategy and help you measure success meaningfully.

2. Identify Your Target Audience

Understand who you're trying to reach:

• What are their demographics, job roles, and decision-making authority?
• What problems are they trying to solve?
• How do they search for solutions online?
• What content formats do they prefer?

This understanding shapes everything from keyword selection to content creation.

3. Conduct Keyword Research

Keyword research is foundational to SEO success. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Moz to:

• Discover what your audience actually searches for
• Identify search volume and competition levels
• Find long-tail keyword opportunities
• Understand search intent (informational, commercial, transactional)

Create a keyword map that assigns target keywords to specific pages on your website.

4. Optimize Your Website

Ensure your website meets technical and on-page SEO requirements:

On-page optimization:

• Write compelling, keyword-optimized titles and meta descriptions
• Use header tags (H1, H2, H3) to structure content logically
• Create clear, descriptive URLs
• Optimize images with descriptive filenames and alt text
• Write high-quality, original content that addresses search intent

Technical optimization:

• Improve page load speed (compress images, minimize code, enable caching)
• Ensure mobile-friendliness and responsive design
• Fix broken links and crawl errors
• Implement structured data markup where appropriate
• Create and submit XML sitemaps

5. Build Quality Backlinks

Focus on earning backlinks from reputable, relevant websites through:

• Creating genuinely valuable, shareable content
• Guest posting on industry-relevant blogs
• Digital PR and media outreach
• Building relationships with industry influencers
• Participating in industry communities and forums
• Creating original research or data that others will reference

Avoid purchasing links or participating in link schemes - these tactics can result in penalties.

6. Create a Content Marketing Strategy

Develop a content plan aligned with your SEO objectives:

• Identify topics your audience cares about
• Create content that addresses different stages of the buyer journey
• Mix content formats (blog posts, guides, videos, infographics)
• Incorporate target keywords naturally into valuable content
• Publish consistently on a realistic schedule
• Update and refresh existing content regularly

Content should solve problems, answer questions, and provide genuine value - not just chase keywords.

7. Optimize for Local Search

If your business serves specific geographic areas or has physical locations:

• Create and fully optimize your Google Business Profile
• Ensure consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) across all online listings
• Encourage and respond to customer reviews
• Create location-specific content where relevant
• Build local citations and backlinks

8. Monitor and Analyze Performance

Regularly track your SEO performance using:

• Google Analytics - Traffic sources, user behavior, conversions
• Google Search Console - Search performance, indexing status, technical issues
• Rank tracking tools - Keyword position changes over time
• Backlink monitoring - New and lost backlinks, link quality

Analyze the data to identify what's working, what isn't, and where opportunities exist. Make data-driven decisions about where to invest your efforts.

9. Stay Updated with SEO Trends

SEO evolves continuously as search engines refine their algorithms and user behavior changes. Stay informed by:

• Following reputable SEO blogs and publications
• Attending industry conferences and webinars
• Participating in SEO communities and forums
• Testing new strategies and tactics
• Learning from competitors and industry leaders

Commit to ongoing learning and adaptation - what works today may need adjustment tomorrow.

Need Better Results?

SEO delivers powerful, long-term results for businesses willing to invest in doing it right - but it requires patience, expertise, and consistent effort. The difference between effective SEO and wasted investment often comes down to focusing on the metrics that actually matter: qualified traffic that converts into customers.

If you're struggling to see real ROI from your SEO efforts, or you're not sure whether your current strategy is on the right track, we can help. At Ziff Digital, we specialize in delivering measurable results for Australian businesses through comprehensive SEO strategies, high-performance web development, targeted Google Ads, and data-driven Facebook advertising.

We focus on transparency, clear reporting, and strategies that drive actual business growth - not just vanity metrics. Request a custom SEO strategy session today and let's discuss how we can help you achieve sustainable organic growth.

Thanks for reading - from the results-driven team at Ziff Digital.