SEO Metrics That Matter: Outdated vs. Modern SEO KPIs

Tracking the right SEO KPIs is crucial to measuring success, optimizing your strategy and delivering consistent results. As search algorithms, user expectations, and the SERPs (search engine results pages) become increasingly more complex, relying on more traditional SEO metrics no longer tells the full story of performance—and can often lead to misguided strategies.

In this blog, we will illuminate our strategic approach to SEO measurement, including:

Why the changing SEO landscape requires smarter SEO data
Which SEO metrics to leave behind
Which SEO metrics to start tracking
How to communicate the value of modern SEO KPIs to stakeholders

SEO has changed—your metrics should too. Now let’s dig in!

Why traditional SEO metrics no longer tell the full story of organic performance

The evolution of search engine optimization and the changing search landscape have challenged us to revisit our approach to SEO measurement. There are many factors that have contributed to more traditional SEO metrics no longer being a true indicator of performance.

Let’s dive into some of the biggest changes in the landscape that impact SEO reporting:

1.) The rise of zero-click searches and AI-powered search engines:

Google’s AI Overviews and other AI-powered search results are providing answers directly on the SERP, satisfying search queries without the user having to click through to a website. These advanced SERP features have caused zero-click searches to become more prevalent.

In fact, Search Engine Land reports that nearly 60% of Google searches in 2024 end without a click. I would bet that this number will continue to grow as various search engines become more skilled at answering the user search queries directly on the results page.

The impact: This trend directly impacts how we measure SEO success, as more traditional metrics like website traffic, clicks and click-through rates no longer fully capture performance.

2.) More complex user journeys and the rise of non-traditional search engines:

The user search journey today is more fragmented and complex than ever. As mentioned, the growing presence of SERP features, such as AI Overviews, FAQs, video results, and featured snippets are causing fewer people to click through to websites.

On top of that, users are becoming more likely to interact with content outside of the more traditional search engine path. Non-traditional search engines, such as TikTok, YouTube, and Amazon, are becoming increasingly more popular for users to search for information online—and these platforms play a strong role in overall search behavior.

The impact: SEO success must be measured not just by traffic and clicks from Google and other traditional search engines, but also through user engagement across various digital platforms and touch points.

3.) Increasing complexity of search algorithms:

Over the years, search engines have become more sophisticated, most recently placing greater emphasis on content quality, context, user search intent, and user experience (among many other factors). While Google’s algorithm prioritizes delivering the most relevant and useful content to users, they now consider more technical factors, such as semantic context of the content, user and page experience, Core Web Vitals, site load times, and the visual stability of your website.

The impact: As search algorithms get smarter, you must strengthen your SEO measurement frameworks. The ongoing evolution of SEO ranking factors bring with it a new set of SEO data to learn, understand and measure.

Now that we’ve discussed how the evolution of organic search is impacting SEO measurement, let’s break down the specific SEO KPIs to leave behind, and why they are losing relevance in today’s search landscape.

SEO KPIs to deprioritize (and why they no longer work)

More traditional SEO metrics no longer give the full picture of SEO performance. To avoid misguided insights and strategy, you should deprioritizing the following SEO data:

Keyword rankings: For years, keyword rankings were the go-to metric for measuring SEO success. Today, however, high rankings don’t always translate to meaningful website traffic. Focusing too heavily on achieving top keyword ranking positions ignores the growing complexity of the SERP, the user search journey, and advanced AI-driven features.
Exact match keywords: Search engines have become more effective at understanding the semantic relationship between terms, prioritizing overall search intent and context over individual use of keywords. A well-optimized page can rank for a broad range of related keywords without needing exact-match phrasing or optimization. These changes have caused tracking exact-match keyword ranking positions to become less relevant.
Organic traffic: This one may be controversial. While tracking organic traffic remains important, it shouldn’t be the sole measure of SEO performance. More website traffic doesn’t always mean more conversions or high-quality visitors. For example, if a website is attracting a large volume of traffic, but that traffic doesn’t engage, convert, or take meaningful action on the website, those high traffic numbers become less valuable. There are better ways to understand whether your SEO efforts are driving the right audience to your website, and growth in organic traffic is not always a true indicator of success.
Organic CTRs (click-through rates): Historically, organic CTRs from search engines like Google have been a key indicator of improved SEO performance. But, this metric is becoming less reliable due to changes in search behavior, SERP features, and the aforementioned rise of zero-click searches. A lower CTR doesn’t always mean failure—it could indicate that your content is ranking in a featured snippet or AI Overview, effectively answering the user’s query directly in the SERP and expanding your brand trust.
Total keyword footprint: The total number of unique keywords a website ranks for is often used as a sign of SEO progress. The truth is not all keyword rankings are valuable and relevant to your business, your offerings, or your audience. I’d rather see a website rank for fewer keywords overall, but for keywords that are genuinely relevant and align with strong user intent.

While we believe these metrics should no longer be the sole focus of your SEO reporting, we do not recommend that you ignore them altogether. Let’s just say there is a better set of metrics to track that provide a more holistic view into the performance of your SEO strategy.

Smarter SEO measurement: KPIs to start tracking now

True organic search success comes from understanding how users engage with your website and content, how visible your brand is in the search results, and how SEO contributes to real business outcomes. But how do you tell that story?

Here is my full list of the most essential SEO KPIs to track that align with the new world of organic search—broken down into six key categories:

Engagement-based metrics
SERP visibility metrics
Business impact metrics
Brand loyalty metrics
Technical health and site experience metrics
Competitive visibility in search metrics

Now let’s get into the details of each, including the specific KPIs to start tracking.

1.) Engagement-based metrics:

Tracking engagement-based metrics allows you to understand if your content resonates with your target audience and if you are driving the right-fit audience into the website. This goes beyond the typical surface-level data like website traffic, rankings, or clicks to uncover more meaningful insights into how successful your website is at meeting user expectations.

Engagement-based data to track include:

Engaged sessions: This GA4 metric indicates that a user engages and interacts with your content in a meaningful way—whether that is through a session that lasts longer than 10 seconds, has a key event, or has at least 2 page views. Tracking engaged sessions is one of the most effective ways to understand the positive impact your SEO, content, and UX strategies have on site performance.
Engagement rate:This is another important GA4 KPI to track that is defined in terms of engaged sessions. Engagement rate allows you to see the percentage of visits to your website that involve some form of meaningful engagement.
Average engagement time:This metric shows the average time your webpage was in the focus of your user. A longer visit on the website indicates users find your content valuable and informative.
Bounce rate:While I don’t recommend using this as a standalone success metric, tracking your bounce rate alongside these other engagement-based metrics can highlight overall content effectiveness.
Scroll depth:This helps analyze whether visitors consume the full page of content or drop off early, indicating the content or page layout may need optimization.
Social shares and interactions:These data points are great indicators of content relevance, audience interest and engagement beyond traditional search engines.

In addition to the standard SEO reporting platforms like GA4 and Google Search Console (GSC), I recommend exploring user behavior analytics tools to track and analyze important engagement metrics, such as Microsoft Clarity, VWO, and Lucky Orange.

2.) SERP visibilitymetrics:

This data helps you assess how well your content captures user and search engine attention. Success in SEO is much more than which position your page ranks in—it’s now all about visibility, engagement, and impact.

SERP visibility metrics to track include:

Organic impressions: Indicates growth in organic brand reach and awareness across the search results. I like to measure impressions for the website as a whole, for individual keywords, and for larger content topic clusters or “categories” of keywords. Google Search Console is the go-to source for measuring Google impressions.
New users: By driving more people to your website who have never visited before, you can tell a compelling story of how SEO contributes to overall growth in brand visibility and awareness.
SERP features rankings: Your brand appearing in rich results on search engines indicates that you are gaining overall visibility and users are engaging with your brand beyond traditional organic clicks. SERP feature rankings may include AI Overviews, featured snippets, People Also Ask, local pack, videos, or knowledge panel (among many others). Ahrefs is my favorite SEO tool to measure and analyze SERP features rankings performance.

Referral traffic from AI search engines: With the rise of AI search engines, it’s important to understand the volume of visitors to your website who arrive by clicking a link provided by an AI-powered search engine, such as ChatGPT or Perplexity. This newer SEO metric can be set up and tracked as referrals in GA4.

3.) Business impact metrics:

SEO success should always be measured first and foremost in terms of business impact. This data goes beyond vanity metrics to uncover how organic search contributes to conversions, an essential component for proving the ROI of your SEO investment. It’s important to mention that this specific data will vary greatly based on your business, goals and how you define conversions.

Business impact metrics to track include:

Conversions: Conversions metric shows you the number of times a user triggered an event that you’ve deemed valuable to your business on your website. Tracking the key actions of your user is essential in tying SEO effort backs to business impact.
Conversion rate from organic search: How effectively does traffic from organic search turn into leads, sign-ups or drive sales?
Event count:Measuring micro-conversions such as content downloads, form submissions helps you connect SEO strategy to meaningful user actions on the website.
Total revenue: This one speaks for itself. If you are managing an SEO program where revenue is the end goal, be sure to track total revenue in GA4 to effectively evaluate real business performance against your outlined SEO strategy.
Lifetime value: Indicates whether SEO-acquired customers have higher retention rates or spend more overtime. This data allows you to demonstrate how valuable organic search users are to your business over time, and can help justify further SEO investment.

4.) Brand loyalty metrics:

While SEOs typically prioritize non-branded performance, branded search performance must not be ignored. Branded performance is a strong signal of trust, customer loyalty, market presence, and competitive standing.

Branded queries often indicate strong intent to convert, making them valuable indicators of conversion potential. Plus, Google appears to be paying much closer attention to authority signals when ranking a website, so measuring branded performance is something to pay close attention to.

Brand loyalty metrics to track include:

Branded keyword impressions: How often does your brand appear in search results?
Branded keyword clicks: Are users engaging with your brand on the search results page?

5.) Technical health and user experience metrics:

Search engines are prioritizing site usability and performance now more than ever, so tracking technical and user experience-adjacent metrics are critical for long-term success. This data allows you to assess the overall health and efficiency of your website, and its impact on your organic search performance.

Technical and site experience metrics to track include:

Core Web Vitals: Tracking the metrics that Google itself uses to measure user experience on a site will allow you to provide strategic SEO recommendations and improve user engagement over time. You can track and monitor Core Web Vitals performance directly in Google Search Console, and you can connect this data to a more comprehensive SEO dashboard in Looker Studio for consistent tracking.
Page load speed: We should all know by now that users prefer quicker site load times. In fact, the average human attention span is roughly 8 seconds, and this number is projected to decrease as more online distractions become available. Monitoring your website’s load speed is essential to increase engagement and lower bounce rates. You can explore tools like PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix and Pingdom to analyze page load speed.
Mobile responsiveness: Monitoring how your website performs on mobile is imperative to a successful SEO measurement framework. With mobile-first indexing, mobile responsiveness plays a significant role in overall site visibility and user interaction.

6.) Competitive visibility in search:

This data point provides you with a holistic view of how your brand performs against top competitors in organic search. While this may not be something you report on each month, it’s worth monitoring to identify significant trends and growth over time.

Competitive visibility metrics to track include:

Organic share of voice: This metric indicates whether your SEO strategy is helping your brand dominate its niche, taking into consideration insights such as total keyword visibility for a category vs. competitors, presence in high-value search results, and overall share of organic search traffic within your industry. Ahrefs is a great place to start when measuring organic share of voice.

Current SEO measurement requires a shift from outdated metrics to those that truly reflect impact. By focusing on these SEO metrics, you can create a more strategic, data-driven SEO program.

An often overlooked part of this process is winning over your stakeholders and educating them on the value of these modern SEO KPIs. It can be hard to break old habits, so I’ve outlined my tips for getting stakeholder buy-in on new ways of SEO reporting.

Stay ahead of the curve with smarter SEO KPIs and insights from Envisionit

Success in organic search requires SEO professionals to embrace change and evolve our old ways of reporting to drive real sustainable results. It’s an exciting time in the world of SEO, and our team is committed to staying at the forefront of this evolving landscape. Are you?

Don’t let outdated SEO metrics hold you back any longer. Let’s talk.