Is Your SEO Campaign Working? 27 Important SEO Metrics Defined & Explained
By Blair McFaden
October 16, 2025
When it comes to SEO, everyone wants to know their campaign is positively pushing their business into the top spots of their desired search queries. But what does actual organic growth look like and how do you prove it to a client, a boss, or yourself?
Many articles and AI generated answers will tell you that an SEO campaign can be measured by organic traffic, keyword rankings, impressions, click-through rates (CTR), conversions, and bounce rate. All data points in play can leave even industry experts a bit dazed. But what exactly do these Search Engine Optimization (SEO) metrics look like when you are in tools such as Google Analytics 4, Google Search Console, or Google Business Profile?
This blog breaks down tangible SEO-based metrics that define organic search growth. First, we’ll look at straightforward success indicators. Next, we will get a bit more advanced by showing what more specialized tools within the SEO world can show you about your organic traffic and SEO growth.
Decoding Organic Campaign Performance Data
This article will leave both industry professionals and business owners alike to answer these questions:
- What does this SEO metric mean or represent?
- Where do you find certain SEO metrics among all the tools available today?
- What do these SEO metrics actually look like in your organic search data?
As you read, keep in mind that no single metric indicates the success or failure of an organic search campaign.
Metrics That Show Organic Search Growth (The Basics)
These metrics are directly visible in tools like Google Search Console, Google Analytics, and your Google Business Profile. We sorted them all out, so you don’t have to waste any more time looking for indicators that your SEO strategy is working for you.
SEO Metrics Located in Your Google Business Profile
1. Google Business Profile Interactions
Definition: User actions taken on a company’s GBP showing local engagement.
Reporting Example: GBP shows 45 calls made, 55 clicks on directions, and 20 clicks to website this month
2. Local Map Pack Visibility
Definition: Presence in Google’s local search results for target keywords.
Reporting Example: Appearing for 6 target keywords vs. 3 last month
SEO Metrics Located within Google Search Console
3. Total Organic Clicks
Definition: Overall growth in organic traffic via search results.
Reporting Example: 8,200 total clicks in the past 28 days, up 12% from the previous period
4. Search Impressions
Definition: Visibility of the website in search, regardless of clicks.
Reporting Example: Impressions increased to 560,000, up 9% month-over-month
5. High-Impression, Low-Click Keywords
Definition: Website frequently appears in SERPs for the keyword(s) but users aren’t clicking to further navigate to your website.
Reporting Example: Identified 42 keywords with over 1,000 impressions each but click-through rates under 1.2%; top terms include “landscape design tips” and “garage door styles 2024”
6. Average Keyword Position
Definition: The average ranking position of your website’s pages for search queries where it appears; lower numbers (closer to #1) indicate better visibility.
Reporting Example: Average keyword position improved from 18.3 to 15.7 over the last 28 days; 26 keywords moved into the top 10 positions.
7. Mid-Page Rankings (Positions 10–20)
Definition: Keywords almost ranking within the top search positions.
Reporting Example: 20 terms currently sitting just outside page 1
8. Individual Keyword Wins
Definition: Notable keyword movement for a key content piece.
Reporting Example: Top blog post moved from position #9 to #3 for “best backyard design ideas” keyword queries
9. Image Search Performance
Definition: Organic traffic specifically driven through Google Images.
Reporting Example: Image search drove 160 clicks this month, up from 90 last month
10. New Keyword Discoveries
Definition: Growth in search footprint with newly ranking keywords.
Reporting Example: 28 targeted keywords now ranking in the top 3 positions.
11. Indexed vs. Non-Indexed Pages (Other SEO tool options: Screaming Frog, Sitebulb)
Definition: Overview of how many pages are being indexed properly by search engines.
Reporting example: 210 total pages found, 174 indexed, 36 unindexed
SEO Metrics Located within Google Analytics 4
12. Organic Sessions
Definition: Total number of website visits to a website from organic search. One user is capable of triggering multiple sessions.
Reporting Example: 3,100 organic sessions this month, compared to 2,750 last month
13. Goal Completions from Organic Traffic (Key Events)
Definition: The number of completed website actions (form fills, quote requests, or file downloads) by users who arrive via organic search. Key events are manually set up to track any event and within any parameters you choose.
Reporting Example: Organic traffic drove 46 goal completions this month—an increase from 38 last month, representing a ~16% growth.
* Historical comparisons may vary slightly due to adjustments in key event tracking methods.
14. Organic Key Event Rate Growth
Definition: The percentage of users month-over-month who trigger at least one key event during their interactions.
Reporting Example: Organic conversions increased 17% month-over-month, from 39 to 46.
15. Bounce Rate
Definition: The percentage of users who land on your site from organic search and did not stay longer than 10 sec, did not trigger a key event, or did not have at least 2 page views.
Reporting Example: Decreased from 62% to 54% on core landing pages over the past 30 days.
16. Average Engagement Time
Definition: The average amount of time users actively engages with your website (scrolling, clicking, or interacting with content).
Reporting Example: Rose to 1m 47s from 1m 25s.
17. First-Time Purchases from Organic
Definition: Specific to any eCommerce offerings, revenue-driving actions initiated through organic search.
Reporting Example: Organic search drove 18 first-time purchases this month.
Advanced SEO Tools Showing Organic Search Growth
For business with an in-house SEO specialist or a professional digital marketing agency, more SEO specific software is utilized to cast a wider net over your website’s online performance. These SEO tools help fill in gaps that Google-based tracking methods may not necessarily track.
SEO Metrics Located in Specialized SEO Tools
18. Featured Snippet (SERP) (SEO tool option: SEMrush, Moz, Ahrefs)
Definition: Identifies which of your tracked keywords appear within a Featured Snippet that Google displays at the top of the search page results.
Reporting Example: You rank in the Featured Snippet for 7 keywords, and 22 other tracked keywords trigger snippets you don’t own
19. Backlink Audit or Backlink Growth (SEO tool option: SEMrush, Ahrefs)
Definition: Increase in other legitimate websites linking back to your website supporting domain authority and visibility.
Reporting Example: Backlinks increased by 15 new referring domains this month
20. Domain Authority / Domain Rating (SEO tool option: SEMrush, Ahrefs)
*This metric is one worth being aware of, however, the score is calculated differently depending on the SEO tool used. For this reason, it is not a standard or common metric to seek out to determine organic search growth or the effectiveness of an SEO campaign.
Definition: Measurement of a site’s overall strength and likelihood to rank.
Reporting example: Domain Rating increased from 42 to 47 this month
21. Toxic Backlinks Identified (SEO tool option: SEMrush)
Definition: Harmful or low-quality links flagged.
Reporting example: 12 toxic backlinks flagged and submitted for review to determine if action is needed.
22. Broken Links (Internal & External) (SEO tool options: SEM rush, Screaming Frog, Sitebulb)
Definition: Links that return errors or lead to dead “non-existing” pages.
Reporting example: 27 broken internal links identified across 11 pages
23. Keyword Gap Analysis (SEO tool options: Semrush, Ahrefs, Moz)
Definition: Comparison showing which keywords your competitors rank for that your site currently isn’t.
Reporting example: Identified 67 keywords competitors rank for but your site does not.
24. Lost Backlinks (SEO tool options: Semrush, Ahrefs, Moz)
Definition: Valuable referring domains that recently dropped off.
Real World Example: 8 high-authority backlinks lost this month, including one from example.com
25. Anchor Text Distribution (SEO tool options: Ahrefs, Moz)
Definition: Overview of how backlinks reference your site and spotting any over-optimization.
Reporting example: 35% of backlinks use branded anchor text; 12% are exact match
26. Top Linked Pages (SEO tool options: Ahrefs, Moz)
Definition: Pages on your site attracting the most valid types of backlinks.
Reporting example: Blog post “/ultimate-guide-to-roofing” received 26 new backlinks this month
27. Content Decay (SEO tool options: Ahrefs, Animalz Revive, or Google Search Console Trends)
Definition: Older content gradually loosing rankings, impressions, or traffic due to outdated information or increased competition.
Reporting example: 4 blog posts showed a 25–40% drop in traffic over the past 90 days
Organic Search Growth Is Multi-Dimensional
It’s not enough to focus ONLY on keyword rankings. It’s not enough to weigh success solely on monthly traffic shifts. And it’s definitely not enough to say an entire SEO campaign will start failing due to a page speed report.
True organic search growth is a combination of user behavior, content reach, trust signals, and technical performance all working together to tell one complete story. The best SEO professionals don’t just chase keywords; they connect the dots between every SEO metric that matters (like the ones we explored above).
Focus All SEO Metrics into a Single Location: Reporting Dashboards
How do you measure the performance of SEO when so many metrics are in play? A centralized reporting dashboard or client portal is one of the most valuable assets a business can have in today’s competitive online search landscape. By pulling in specific data points from Google Search Console, Google Analytics 4, Google Business Profile, and specialized software, you have a real-time snapshot of how your SEO strategy is performing, where growth is happening, what needs attention, and what to prioritize next.
As a full-service digital marketing agency, we know how critical it is to make sense of performance data. Socius uses custom reporting dashboards to uncover insights that drive real growth, something both our strategists and clients rely on.
If you’re looking to better understand your current reporting or want to explore how we can help improve your organic search performance, let’s start the conversation.
