Measuring SEO: positions, traffic and conversions
Which numbers show progress, how to read them honestly and how to report them to clients.
- Lesson
- 7/7
- Reading time
- 7 min
- Sections
- 4
- Through the course
- 100%
Positions
Positions vary by location, device and day. Track a stable set of terms from a fixed location and device, and look at trends over weeks rather than single days.
Visibility
Share of visibility weights each position by typical click-through, so moving from 4 to 2 counts for more than 24 to 22. It's a fairer summary than average position.
Traffic and conversions
- Organic visits to the pages you're optimising, compared with the previous period and the same time last year.
- Goals: enquiries, sign-ups, purchases. Rankings only matter if they lead somewhere.
- Engagement: bounce rate, time on page and scroll depth suggest whether the page satisfies the search.
Reporting honestly
- Lead with outcomes (enquiries, revenue), then the drivers (positions, visibility, fixes shipped).
- Explain seasonality and algorithm updates rather than hiding dips.
- Keep the same metrics each month so trends are comparable.
Check your understanding
A client's traffic dips in August every year. What's the honest way to report it?
Lesson 7 of 7
Measuring SEO: positions, traffic and conversions