Essential SEO Metrics to Track for All Health and Wellness Practitioners

With the right SEO strategy, practitioners can ensure that their services and expertise reach their target audience effectively. But how do you measure the effectiveness of your SEO efforts? This is where SEO metrics come into play. Tracking these metrics is not just about numbers; it's about steering your content and SEO strategy in the right direction. In this article, we will explore the ideal SEO metrics for health and wellness practitioners, how often you should track them, how to use them to inform your strategy, and introduce helpful SEO metric tools and plugins to make the process easier.

The Foundation of Success: SEO Performance Metrics

A robust content and SEO strategy is essential for health and wellness businesses to thrive in the digital realm. To create a strategy that resonates with your target audience, it's imperative to track SEO metrics. These metrics act as the compass guiding your online journey, helping you identify what's working and what needs improvement. By aligning your content and SEO strategy with these metrics, you can ensure that your health and wellness services reach those who need them most.

Which Basic SEO Metrics to Track

Before diving into the nitty-gritty of how to use SEO metrics to your advantage, it's crucial to identify which metrics are most relevant to health and wellness practitioners. Here are some ideal SEO metrics to track:

1. Organic Traffic: The cornerstone of SEO success is an increase in organic traffic. Monitor the number of visitors/users who find your website through search engines. Rising organic traffic is a clear indication that your SEO efforts are paying off.
2. Keyword Rankings: Keep a close eye on where your website ranks for specific keywords related to your services. Climbing the search engine rankings for relevant keywords can significantly impact your online visibility.
3. Click-Through Rate (CTR): CTR measures the percentage of users who click on your website's link after seeing it in the search results. A higher CTR suggests that your meta titles and descriptions are effective at attracting clicks.
4. Bounce Rate: Bounce rate reflects the percentage of visitors who leave your website after viewing only one page. A high bounce rate could indicate that your content isn't engaging or relevant to your audience.
5. Conversion Rate: Conversion rate tracks the percentage of visitors who take a desired action, such as scheduling an appointment or subscribing to a newsletter. It's a vital metric for measuring the success of your website in converting visitors into clients.
6. Page Load Speed: Slow-loading pages can frustrate users and lead to higher bounce rates. Ensuring fast page load speeds is essential for a positive user experience.
7. Mobile-Friendly Design: As more users access websites via mobile devices, having a mobile-friendly website is crucial. Monitor how your site performs on mobile devices to ensure a seamless user experience.

Best SEO Metrics to Track for Health & Wellness Businesses

1. Reviews: Google LOVES reviews - and if your business is regularly getting good reviews on Google, you are likely to be rewarded with better ranking. If you haven't already, implement a review-gathering strategy and begin tracking it. Incentivize your happy clients and customers for leaving you 5-star reviews. Make your Google review profile easily accessible on your website, emails, business cards, etc. 
2. Keywords Specific to Local SEO: Most of our clients function out of a brick-and-mortar business, making them eligible for appearing in Google's highly-coveted Map Pack. Start tracking keywords that are relevant to your local searchers (ie: medical spa in Dallas Texas). Keeping a close eye on these keywords will provide valuable information on how you can better leverage SEO to garner more leads from Google. 

How Often Should You Track SEO Metrics

The frequency at which you should track SEO metrics can vary depending on your business goals and resources. However, here are some general guidelines:

1. Weekly Monitoring: Keep a weekly eye on essential metrics like organic traffic, CTR, and keyword rankings. This allows you to detect any sudden drops or spikes that require immediate attention.
2. Monthly Analysis: Conduct a more comprehensive analysis on a monthly basis. Look at metrics such as conversion rate, bounce rate, mobile performance and reviews. This longer-term view can help you identify trends and make strategic adjustments.
3. Quarterly and Yearly Assessments: Every three to six months, evaluate the overall effectiveness of your SEO strategy. This includes tracking progress toward your long-term goals and assessing the impact of major SEO changes.

Regular tracking and analysis of SEO metrics ensure that you stay agile in responding to changes in search engine algorithms and user behavior.

How to Use Metrics to Inform Your SEO Strategy

Once you've collected a treasure trove of SEO data, the next step is to leverage these insights to refine your SEO strategy for your health and wellness business. Here's how:

1. Identify Trends: Look for patterns in your metrics over time. Are there certain months when organic traffic surges? Are there particular keywords driving the most traffic? Identifying these trends can help you optimize your content calendar and keyword strategy.
2. Competitor Analysis: Compare your metrics to those of your competitors in the health and wellness industry. This can reveal opportunities and areas where you need to improve. Tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs can assist in competitor analysis.
3. Content Optimization: Use your keyword rankings and organic traffic data to identify high-performing content. Consider updating and expanding these articles to further boost their visibility. Additionally, identify low-performing content that may need improvement or removal.
4. Technical SEO: Metrics like page load speed and mobile-friendliness are crucial for user experience and search engine ranking. Address technical issues promptly to ensure your website is in top shape.
5. Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO): If your conversion rate is low, analyze which pages or elements of your website might be causing friction for users. A/B testing and user feedback can help you make improvements.
6. Content Gaps: Use keyword research and content gap analysis to identify topics that your competitors are covering but you aren't. This can lead to new content ideas that resonate with your audience.

Helpful SEO Metric Tools and Plugins

In the world of SEO, having the right tools at your disposal can make all the difference. Here are some helpful SEO metric tools and plugins tailored for health and wellness practitioners:

1. Google Analytics: A staple for tracking website traffic and user behavior, Google Analytics provides invaluable insights into your audience's interactions with your site.
2. Google Search Console: This tool offers data on how your website appears in Google search results, including keyword rankings, CTR, and indexing issues.
3. SEMrush: SEMrush is an all-in-one SEO suite that provides competitive analysis, keyword research, and site audit capabilities. It's a must-have for in-depth SEO analysis. Here at Salt Marketing, SEMrush is our main source for all keyword tracking, site auditing, and overall SEO reporting.
4. Yoast SEO Plugin: If your website runs on WordPress, the Yoast SEO plugin can help optimize on-page SEO. It offers real-time content analysis and recommendations for improving your content's SEO performance. Our favorite aspect off Yoast is the internal linking capabilities. With every post, Yoast provides helpful and accurate interrnal linking suggestions that make it so easy to share and spread authority across your site!
5. Moz Pro: Moz Pro offers a comprehensive suite of SEO tools, including site audits, keyword research, and rank tracking. It's a reliable choice for tracking and improving your website's SEO performance. A site typcially does not need both SEMrush and Moz Pro, but some businesses may find it helpful to have both. 
6. Ahrefs: Ahrefs is renowned for its backlink analysis capabilities, which can be instrumental in building a strong backlink profile and improving SEO.

Ultimately, health and wellness practitioners must harness the power of SEO metrics to thrive in the competitive online landscape. Regularly tracking and analyzing SEO metrics such as organic traffic, keyword rankings, CTR, bounce rate, conversion rate, page load speed, and mobile-friendliness provides the insights needed to refine your SEO strategy and ensure your services reach the right audience.

At Salt Marketing, we understand the unique challenges and opportunities that health and wellness businesses face. We offer full-service SEO strategy and implementation to help you achieve your online goals. Whether you need guidance on which metrics are most helpful for your specific business or comprehensive SEO support, we're here to assist you on your digital wellness journey. Contact us today!