Keyword Performance: What It Is and How to Track It

What Is Keyword Performance?

Keyword capacity refers to really good nan hunt position you’re targeting thief your business execute its goals.

This goes for each hunt motor trading (SEM)—both paid and integrated (unpaid). So, search really some your hunt ads and integrated contented execute tin thief you measure your success. 

This article discusses 5 ways to measurement really you’re performing for your target keywords. And offers tips for really to amended capacity for some SEO and paid search.

5 Keyword-Focused KPIs to Measure Your Performance

Key capacity indicators (KPIs) are quantifiable metrics that thief your business measurement whether you’re gathering peculiar objectives. 

KPI search tin thief you place high-value keywords. Or iterate connected your keyword strategy to present much web traffic, leads, aliases sales.

Here are 5 communal KPIs for keyword capacity analysis: 

Keyword Rankings

Keyword rankings are nan positions wherever your webpages look (rank) successful search motor results pages (SERPs). And they person a important effect connected really overmuch postulation your tract gets.

They’re separated into 2 categories: paid hunt positions and organic hunt positions.

For example, let’s usage nan keyword “dog supplements.” 

Hollywood Feed has nan No. 1 paid hunt position pinch their pay-per-click (PPC) ad. But Natural Dog Company has nan No. 1 integrated ranking position. 

Higher keyword rankings are mostly much valuable. 

Why? 

Because group are much apt to click connected nan top-ranking results. 

Our State of Search report shows that astir 22% of searchers click a webpage successful nan top-ranking position. But it’s person to 2% for webpages successful nan No. 10 position.

Use Semrush’s Position Tracking instrumentality to show each your keyword rankings. 

Open nan instrumentality and click nan bluish “+ Create project” fastener successful nan apical correct corner. 

Next, participate your domain sanction and click “Create project.” 

Configure your settings, including selecting a hunt engine, device, and target location. Then, click “Continue To Keywords.”

Enter some nan paid and integrated keywords you want to way positions for. Then, click “Add keywords to campaign.”

Check nan container if you want to person play ranking updates via email. And click “Start Tracking.”

When nan instrumentality is ready, click nan “Overview” tab and look for nan array branded “Rankings Overview.” Which will show your integrated keyword rankings by default. 

The columns see nan astir caller positions, visibility (which measures your site’s advancement successful Google’s apical 100 results for nan term), and nan estimated magnitude of postulation each keyword drives.

Lower positions tin awesome room for improvement. For example, nan page ranking successful position 47 for nan keyword “tick treatments for cats.”

So, you could amended nan topical extent aliases wide value of that article. 

We’ll spell complete really to amended rankings successful greater item later. But it’s adjuvant to cognize that doing truthful whitethorn consequence successful a higher keyword ranking.

Which tin mean much web postulation and visibility successful nan agelong run.

To spot your rankings for paid keywords, scroll to nan top, prime nan cogwheel icon, and click nan circle adjacent to “Google Ads.”

Click-Through Rate

Click-through complaint (CTR) is nan percent of users who click done to your webpage aft seeing it successful nan SERPs. Which tin show you whether searchers are enticed by your results.

To way integrated CTR, usage Google Search Console—a free Google instrumentality that helps you measure your integrated performance.

After you create an account, prime your website property. And click connected “Search Results.” 

Make judge to click nan container branded “Average CTR” to spot your CTR trends complete time.

The supra website’s Average CTR is 3.9%. 

To spot nan CTRs associated pinch circumstantial keyword terms, click nan “Queries” tab.

Since users thin to click connected top-ranking results, there’s a beardown relationship betwixt higher keyword rankings and higher mean CTR. So, it’s adjuvant to way some KPIs simultaneously.

How do you cognize whether your CTR is good?

It tin alteration by industry. But see that a 2023 study from Databox shows nan median CTR for integrated hunt is 1.51%. While nan median CTR for paid hunt is 3.89%. 

Further reading: How to Understand, Measure, and Improve Your Organic CTR.

Conversion Rate

Conversion complaint is nan percent of users who return a desired action (like booking a gathering aliases purchasing a product). And it tin springiness you an knowing of whether your contented and ads are helping you execute your goals.

The look for conversion complaint for integrated hunt is: Conversion complaint = (number of conversions / number of visitors) x 100.

And nan look for paid hunt is: Conversion complaint = (number of conversions / number of clicks) x 100.

Conversion complaint tin beryllium influenced by a number of factors, specified as:

• Content quality and relevance
• Page speed and load times
• Web page creation elements (e.g., calls to action, buttons, etc.)

For paid hunt ads, you tin spot your conversion rates successful your Google Ads dashboard. You tin besides spot your costs per conversion (the mean costs to make a waste aliases lead.)

To way integrated hunt conversion rates, travel our guideline to mounting up custom events successful Google Analytics (GA4). 

Average Cost per Click

In paid search, mean cost per click (CPC) is nan mean value that advertisers salary each clip a personification clicks connected their ads. And it’s a cardinal metric for determining which keywords to target successful your campaigns.

You tin usage nan Keyword Magic Tool to cheque nan mean CPC for target keywords successful your industry.

Type a word related to your niche successful nan matter barroom and prime your target location. Then, click “Search.”

In nan table, you’ll spot a database of keywords related to your seed keyword. Look for nan file branded “CPC.” That number is nan mean value that advertisers are paying per click successful Google Ads.

For example, “natural canine food” costs advertisers an mean of $5.70 per click. While “all earthy canine food” costs $4.92 per click.

It’s important to salary attraction to CPC erstwhile selecting keywords you want to bid connected successful Google Ads. 

Why?

Because if advertisers are consenting to salary a precocious CPC, that intends nan keyword is apt to consequence successful much income (if they nonstop highly qualified users to your website). 

But focusing connected high-CPC keywords tin besides lead to quickly spending your advertisement fund without getting galore eyes connected your content. 

So, see your run goals and which position are astir aligned pinch them. And support successful mind that you tin target high-CPC keywords done your integrated efforts—which doesn’t costs you thing speech from what it takes to create nan content.

Return connected Investment

In SEM, return connected finance (ROI) is really overmuch money your business generated done SEO contented and paid hunt versus really overmuch money you invested. Which intelligibly shows you whether your efforts are positively impacting your bottommost line. 

The look for calculating hunt motor trading ROI is: ROI = (return connected SEM - SEM finance / SEM investment) x 100.

For example, let’s opportunity you walk $3,000 connected paid hunt ads and contented creation and make $8,000 successful return. This leaves you pinch a nett profit of $5,000 and an ROI of 166%.

All of nan KPIs listed successful this article tin power your ROI. Which is why it’s important to way and optimize for them.

How to Enhance Your Organic Keyword Performance

Improving integrated capacity tin summation your web postulation and lead to higher ROI connected your SEO efforts.

Here’s are immoderate ways to boost performance: 

Conduct Keyword Research to Identify New Opportunities 

Keyword research is nan process of studying keywords to place ranking opportunities for your website. Which tin lead to much traffic, conversions, and moreover sales.

In general, nan much keyword rankings your website has, nan much eyes you tin get connected your content.

Use nan Keyword Gap instrumentality to place caller integrated ranking opportunities. 

Enter your domain sanction connected nan apical statement and past adhd up to 4 competitors’ domain names. Then, prime your target location and click “Compare.”

In nan Keyword Gap report, click nan “Untapped” select astatine nan apical of nan table. 

This will show you position astatine slightest 1 of your competitors is ranking for but you’re not. 

If you create contented that targets these terms, you tin summation your full keyword rankings. And link pinch much users who are searching for products, services, aliases contented for illustration yours.

Create Useful Content That Meets Search Intent

Search intent refers to what nan personification is really looking for erstwhile searching a keyword. And creating contented that matches intent is much apt to show successful SERPs.

Marketers abstracted hunt intent into 4 superior categories: Navigational, Informational, Commercial, and Transactional.

The hunt intent of a keyword should power what type of contented you create. 

For instance, merchandise pages are much apt to rank for transactional keywords. And blog posts often rank for informational keywords.

Use Keyword Overview to place nan hunt intent for your target keywords. 

Enter your keyword into nan matter container and prime your location. Then, click “Search.”

The keyword “dog excavation toys” has commercialized intent. Meaning searchers are still successful nan investigation shape and whitethorn not beryllium fresh to make a acquisition correct now.

To optimize for commercialized intent, you could create an article that lists different canine excavation toys. Along pinch cardinal accusation astir them, for illustration material, size, and price.

This meets nan user’s hunt intent by allowing them to comparison and opposition aggregate products.

Optimize On-Page Elements 

On-page SEO is nan process of making improvements to elements for illustration title tags and meta descriptions connected your webpages. 

This tin thief hunt engines amended understand your content. Making it much apt to look successful hunt results. 

Plus, Google often pulls nan title tag and meta explanation to create nan bluish hyperlink successful nan SERP.

Like this:

So, optimizing those elements tin entice users and lead to higher CTRs.

Here are a fewer tips for a assortment of on-page optimizations:

• Ensure that your title tags are betwixt 50-60 characters and your meta descriptions are nether 105 characters
• Include your target keyword aliases a keyword variety successful your title tag, meta description, and H1 (the heading tag that identifies nan superior taxable of a webpage)
• Add valuable aliases enticing accusation (e.g., “Free shipping,” “Book Now,” aliases “35% off!”)
• Use logical URL slugs (the extremity information of nan URL) that are easy for users to understand

How to Boost PPC Keyword Performance

To amended your PPC campaigns’ performance, travel nan suggestions below.

Improve Your Quality Score

Quality Score is simply a metric from Google that tin beryllium utilized to measure your ads’ value and is expressed connected a 1-10 scale. 

Google calculates it using:

• Expected click-through rate
• Search advertisement relevance
• Landing page relevance

Quality Scores tin springiness you a consciousness of really your advertisement is apt to execute successful nan advertisement auction. Meaning an advertisement pinch a precocious people is apt to look prominently. Which tin past lead to amended CTRs, conversion rates, and ROI.

To amended your Quality Score:

• Find and bid connected much applicable keywords
• Organize keywords into groups 
• Optimize your advertisement transcript for hunt intent

Use Bid Adjustments

Bid adjustments are percent increases aliases decreases to your hunt advertisement bids depending connected factors for illustration nan searcher’s instrumentality aliases geographic location. And you tin usage them to make amended results.

For example, if you thin to gain a higher conversion complaint from mobile clicks, you tin bid somewhat much to rank for mobile searches.

Let’s opportunity you bid $5 to rank for nan keyword “natural canine food.” With a mobile bid accommodation of 20%, your advertisement bid increases to $6. Which could thief you unafraid a higher advertisement position.

Bid adjustments are a awesome measurement to amended nan ROI of your hunt ads. Because you tin salary somewhat much to target those searchers who are astir apt to convert.

Further reading: 6 Smart Bidding Tips That Will Take Your Google Ads to nan Next Level

Target Long-Tail Keywords

Long-tail keywords are highly circumstantial hunt position that are often longer. And targeting them pinch your advertisement campaigns tin lead to much clicks and conversions.

Why?

Because they often correspond users who are looking for very circumstantial accusation and are apt to return nan adjacent step.

They besides thin to person little search volumes and CPCs. Making them much affordable for ads. 

Add Negative Keywords

Negative keywords are position that you don’t want your hunt ads to look for. And you tin usage them to debar driving irrelevant postulation to your site.

For example, if your website sells luxury furniture, you mightiness want to rank for “buy furniture.” But not “buy utilized furniture,” “buy inexpensive furniture,” aliases “buy affordable furniture.”

Adding “used,” “cheap,” and “affordable” arsenic antagonistic keywords will forestall your ads from being shown for those types of queries.

In summation to preventing irrelevant traffic, summation nan ROI of your paid hunt advertising.

Track Keyword Performance pinch Semrush

If you want to amended your results for your target keywords, you’ll request to person nan correct devices to show your metrics and make improvements to your contented and ads. 

To get started executing nan tips above, leverage Semrush’s suite of SEO and PPC tools. 

Get started coming pinch a free account.