Ultimately, to measure Search Engine Optimization (SEO) success, you aren’t necessarily looking at individual metrics – you are looking for a connection between the metrics – and the resulting affect on revenue.
If my lead seems to negate the name validity of the SES San Francisco session, ‘Meaningful SEO Metrics,’ it is completely unintentional.
Moderated by John Marshall, CTO of Market Motive and SES Advisory Board Member, this excellent session featured on its panel:
- Richard Zwicky, Founder & CEO, Enquisite
- Ray “Catfish” Comstock, Director of SEO, BusinessOnLine
- Jon Glick, VP of SEO and GM European Web Properties, Become.com
“Infinitely measureable means adjustable,” opens Zwicky. “And online marketing is completely measureable.”
Web Analytics are a key indicator to the health and performance of any website, but online marketers often get lost in the complexities and details, forgetting how important analytics actually are and why.
Did you realize that search engines have gone full circle on URLs in variables? It used to be considered something to avoid, now search engines are saying variables in URLs are good, as long as you use the canonical meta tag. Google is pushing them with FeedBurner and if webmasters aren’t careful, they could fall victim to a new onslaught of duplicate content issues.
With more and more marketers jumping onto the social media bandwagon, a lot of questions come up. Is it possible to track metrics and ROI? What are other companies doing? Why isn’t it working? Being prepared to answer questions like these can make a difference in how a company interacts with social media and if they can succeed.
There’s a certain sentiment amongst many marketers that, “If you can’t measure it, it’s not worth doing.” While that perspective may not be entirely applicable to all online marketing, it certainly draws attention to the need for insight from measuring what we do to market, communicate, promote and influence on the web. The need to better understand the value and application of web analytics data as well as social media measurement is critical for companies that want to compete online.
What does Van Halen have to do with Search Marketing?
Measuring the effect of online marketing and PR efforts is essential for both understanding the return on investment but also for feedback that will improve subsequent efforts. 
