SEO metrics: why they lie and which ones you can trust

In this article, we'll look at common SEO metrics that many teams use to measure their progress. We'll look at which ones are truly useful and which ones can be misleading.

Let's go!

SEO metrics

Currently, most SEO teams use various metrics such as % top 3, % top 5, % top 10 and site visibility to evaluate the effectiveness of their work. These metrics are available in most SEO analysis tools.

But how accurate are these metrics? Can they be indicative? The answer is not as simple as it seems. Let's find out!

  • % top 3 (% top 5 / % top 10) – this is the share of queries that are in the top search results.

The metric for calculating this share highly depends on the selected queries. If only low-frequency queries are taken into account, the result may look too optimistic. In addition, this metric does not give the full picture, since it does not take into account important aspects such as the topic of requests or their real value to the business.

This is not the most objective metric.

  • Visibility is another popular metric that is often used to evaluate SEO progress.

Visibility is calculated based on search volume and click-through rates (CTR) for each position in the top 10. This is a much more objective indicator than % top 3, since it takes into account both the frequency of queries and the likely number of clicks on certain positions.

However, different tools may use different CTR values, which may affect the accuracy of the calculations.

Theory vs reality: how appearances work

Our research has shown that the differences in click-through rates between positions in Yandex and Google can be significant. For example, in Yandex the CTR for all positions is noticeably lower than in Google, which can be explained by the peculiarities of user behavior and the presence of advertising blocks in Yandex search results.

We also noticed that the click-through rate of the first positions varies greatly depending on the subject of the request. For example, in the “Electronics” niche, the CTR for the first positions differs from the indicators in the “DIY” or “Information projects” niches. This is due to differences in niche competitiveness and user behavior.

Key findings from the study

After analyzing a lot of data, we came to the conclusion that when calculating visibility it is important to take into account:

  • Difference in CTR between Yandex and Google;
  • Differences in click-through rates of positions in different niches;
  • Different CTR rates for first positions in different search engines.

What's happening in the market?

Our research has shown that many SEO services use their own coefficients to calculate visibility. We compared this data to actual CTRs from our research and found that the results could vary greatly.

For example, services that use the same CTR rates for the first three positions give greatly inflated visibility indicators that do not correspond to the actual click-through rate. This can lead to incorrect conclusions and underestimation or overestimation of the results of SEO work.

Conclusion

In summary, we can say that different SEO services calculate visibility differently, which leads to different results due to the use of different CTR values. However, with careful analysis, you can obtain more accurate data and correctly evaluate the effectiveness of SEO work.

If you want to improve the accuracy of your calculations, it's important to consider the specifics of your niche and use the appropriate CTR rates for your industry. This will allow you to more accurately measure visibility and traffic, which in turn will help you make informed SEO decisions.

If you have any questions or need help with SEO optimization, you can contact the SEO studio "SEO COMPUTER" with any questions by email info@seo.computer.

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