Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing a website to improve its visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) for specific keywords or phrases. When it comes to measuring the success of an SEO campaign, many people focus solely on their website’s rankings for particular keywords or phrases. However, while ranking is an important metric, it is not the most important one. Instead, traffic is the key metric that website owners and marketers should focus on when measuring the success of their SEO efforts.
Here are a few reasons traffic is more important than ranking with SEO:
1. Traffic reflects actual website visitors: A high ranking on a search engine results page is certainly an achievement, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that your website is receiving a lot of visitors. Focusing on traffic as a metric means that you are measuring the actual number of people who are visiting your website because of your SEO efforts.
2. Traffic is a better indicator of user engagement: When someone visits your website, they are engaging with your content in some way, whether it’s reading a blog post, watching a video, or making a purchase. Traffic is a better indicator of how engaged users are with your website than rankings are.
3. Traffic is more closely tied to business outcomes: Ultimately, the goal of SEO is not just to increase rankings, but to drive more business to your website. Focusing on traffic as a metric helps you see the impact of your SEO efforts on your business outcomes, such as leads, sales, and revenue.
4. Rankings can fluctuate: Search engine rankings are constantly changing because of factors such as algorithm updates, competition, and user behavior. Focusing solely on rankings can be frustrating because they can fluctuate from one day to the next, even if you are doing everything right with your SEO efforts. In contrast, traffic tends to be more stable over time, making it a more reliable metric to track.
In conclusion, while rankings are important in SEO, they are not the be-all and end-all. Traffic is a better metric to focus on because it reflects actual website visitors, is a better indicator of user engagement, is more closely tied to business outcomes, and tends to be more stable.
