How to Set Effective SEO Goals and KPIs for Your Business: Examples and Tips

If you're reading this article, you're probably thinking about growing a business, gaining customer trust, and improving online visibility. And you might be wondering whether SEO can help you with all of these. The short answer is yes, but goal setting is crucial.

This is a practical guide to setting SEO goals for marketers and business owners. Here, I will discuss how Netpeak Ukraine defines realistic SEO goals based on marketing and business objectives. 

You will learn how to turn SEO into a strategic promotional tool so that each step of your SEO strategy brings real value to your business.

1. Why do businesses need SEO promotion?
2. Why is SEO difficult to deal with at first?
3. What are SEO goals?
4. How to interpret business tasks
5. How to set realistic goals for SEO?
6. Step 1: Set SEO goals
7. Step 2: Set KPIs and break down goals
8. Step 3: Align SEO goals with other marketing strategies
9. Step 4: Measure the progress

Why do businesses need SEO?

SEO (search engine optimization) is no longer just a technical tool. Today, it is a key element of marketing that directly affects business growth. 

According to the FirstPageSage report, organic search results have a significantly higher click-through rate (CTR) than paid ads.

The first organic position gets 39.8% of the clicks, while the first paid ad gets only 2.1%.

Why does this happen? Sites that rank high are usually the most relevant to the search query. And therefore, users perceive them as trustworthy. 

Why is SEO difficult to deal with at first?

When first thinking about using search engine optimization, marketers and business owners tend to face certain difficulties.

1. Communication difficulties. Marketers and SEO specialists often speak different languages. An SEO specialist works with technical terms, metrics, and analytics, while a marketer focuses on overall strategy, sales, and audience interaction. 
2. Integrating SEO goals with the marketing strategy. It can be tricky to fit SEO goals into a company's overall marketing strategy. It may seem like SEO works in isolation, and its metrics (traffic, positions, links) do not relate to the overall business picture and business results.
3. Setting appropriate SEO goals. Another pain point is determining the real capabilities of search engine optimization. What does it affect directly, and what only indirectly? Ambiguity in this matter leads to exaggerated expectations or, on the contrary, underestimation of SEO opportunities.

Despite the initial challenges, SEO is worth the trouble. Let me show you step-by-step, using B2C as an example, how SEO promotion works to improve rankings and increase sales.

SEO KPI for business

The figure shows the impact of different levels of SEO metrics on business results.

• The top level (artificial SEO KPIs) includes technical metrics, such as positions and clicks. This is the foundational level that provides the basis for subsequent results.
• The middle levels (SEO KPIs and marketing KPIs) represent the move from traffic and market share to user actions and conversions.
• The lower level (business KPIs) shows the relationship between SEO and key business metrics, such as revenue and partnerships.

SEO is not a separate, isolated process but an important part of the overall strategy synchronized with business goals.

4.  Difficulties in measuring results. Many clients want to see quick results but do not realize that search engine promotion is a long-term process and its results accumulate gradually. However, the results are long-lasting even after the SEO tasks are finished.
5. Not knowing where to start. The next difficulty is understanding task priorities. What tasks should be performed first: the collection of semantics, headline optimization, content creation, improving the site's structure, or link building? Such a long list of actions can be confusing.

This is where a marketing agency's help becomes crucial. Specialists will systematize the process, define a clear action plan, and monitor the results.

So, how do you determine what SEO promotion tasks to set to achieve the desired growth? 

Below, I will show you how we at Netpeak Ukraine interpret your business objectives and turn them into effective SEO goals.

What are SEO goals?

They help promote the resource in search engine rankings and support key business objectives:

• Increase sales
• Increase brand awareness
• Attract new customers

To achieve effective results, our team defines the goals before the promotion begins. Understanding the expectations of our partners allows us to produce results that match the request, going beyond technical indicators.

Interpreting business tasks as SEO goals

Before we start a project, we look at the specifics of your business and get to the bottom of your business goals so we can translate them into SEO goals and KPIs. Here's how it works.

Once we've translated business objectives into SEO terms, we can formulate and set goals.

How to set realistic SEO goals?

To set goals, we use the SMART framework so that the goals are

• Specific: Defines what we want to achieve.
• Measurable: Includes an appropriate KPI to evaluate the results.
• Achievable: Realistic and attainable.
• Relevant: Aligned with the project's needs.
• Time-bound: Has set deadlines for achievement.

Based on these characteristics, let's break down the following goal. 

Goal: Achieve a positive return on investment (ROI) in 12 months. The ROI as of September 2024 is -98%.

1. Specific: The goal is to achieve a positive ROI. The desired outcome is clear and well-defined.
2. Measurable: The key performance indicator (KPI) is ROI, which can be tracked to measure the goal’s success.
3. Achievable: The goal is doable, and it can be confirmed by calculating the ROI and comparing it with expected traffic growth and other relevant metrics.
4. Relevant: This goal is highly relevant to the project. For example, if this goal is for a new website, it is important to break even and generate a positive return sooner rather than later.
5. Time-bound: The goal must be achieved within 12 months. The timeframe for reaching this target is clearly set.
6. Baseline: As of September 2024, the ROI is -98%. This serves as a starting point against which we can measure the goal.

*The current data is the point from which we will begin to set the goal. It will help us understand if we can measure the results and draw conclusions. It is also important to see the dynamics of previous periods and the amount of possible investments. 

However, it is not enough to just translate business goals into SEO goals. It is also important to be ready for long-term interaction and cooperation.

Long-term investment in SEO provides stable results that continue even after active promotion is stopped.

Before launching an SEO campaign, it is essential to define goals and key performance indicators. Let's go through them step by step.

Step 1: Set SEO goals.

Before starting an SEO campaign, you must define goals and key performance indicators. 

These are based on the business model (B2B, B2C, SaaS, e-commerce) and its current stage of development. These factors determine the approach to SEO and help prioritize KPIs.

SEO goals for B2B and B2C segments

B2B SEO Campaigns 

The goal in B2B is to increase brand awareness and generate leads. 

For mature companies, the strategy depends on the current SEO level, the previous work that was done, and the results it produced. Here, metrics such as the number of orders, stable growth of organic traffic, improvement in search result rankings, and high CTR are important.

B2C SEO Campaigns

In the B2C segment, SEO campaigns are designed to attract more visitors and encourage them to take targeted actions on the site, such as placing an order, subscribing to a newsletter, or filling out a form.

SaaS and product sites 

These sites should focus on increasing audience quality and encouraging lead growth. Their goals are to increase leads, subscriptions, and demo requests.

Online stores

Online stores are usually focused on acquiring new customers, reducing the cost of acquiring a lead, increasing sales, and increasing the average order value. 

Step 2: Set KPIs and break down goals.

SEO goals are the results you want to achieve with your SEO strategy. Key performance indicators (KPIs) measure how successful your efforts are in achieving your SEO goals. 

There are a few different categories of core SEO KPIs.

Marketing KPIs:

• Organic traffic volume: A measure of the overall effectiveness of engaging audiences through search engines.
• CTR: Click-through rate, which reflects content engagement and relevance.
• Conversions: The percentage of users who perform targeted actions (purchases, subscriptions, applications, etc.).
• New and returning users: A metric that shows how effectively the site is attracting new customers and retaining existing ones.
• Visits: The total number of unique users, reflecting audience interest in the resource.

SEO KPIs:

• Site position in search engine rankings: The competitiveness of the site for key queries.
• Number of indexed pages: This shows how effectively search engines index site content.
• Search queries that bring users to the site: These indicate keyword relevance and content quality.
• External link quality: Reflects the authority of the links leading to the site.

Artificial KPIs:

• Search queries without clicks: The frequency of queries for which the site appears in the SERPs but does not generate clicks.
• Search engine visibility: The total percentage of the site's presence in the SERPs for key queries.

KPIs represent how you are moving toward a goal from month to month.

Your choice of metrics depends on your business goals:

• If the goal is to increase brand awareness, it's important to look at metrics like market share and brand traffic.
• If the goal is to increase sales, focus on conversions, revenue, and average order value.
• If the goal is audience interaction, focus on engagement metrics, such as subscriptions, time on site, and bounce rate.

How monthly KPI tracking helps at a strategic level 

The frequency of KPI monitoring depends on many factors:

• The metrics being tracked
• The length of the sales cycle
• Seasonality of business fluctuations

At Netpeak Ukraine, we follow a basic structure that includes both monthly monitoring and semi-annual reviews.

Monthly monitoring to track KPI dynamics

Frequent monitoring is crucial. Comparing the current metrics with the planned KPIs allows us to:

• Assess where we are in relation to the goals (ahead, on track, or behind).
• Respond to changes in a timely manner and adjust the strategy to achieve the set goals.

Semi-annual review

Semi-annual reviews are done to assess the dynamics of change, identify trends on a larger scale, and compare them to the targeted values. 

During these reviews, we analyze all indicators from previous phases, as well as identify new growth points and evaluate the performance of old ones.

Based on the findings, we will revise strategy as needed. The reviews are done at least every six months.

Step 3: Align SEO goals with other marketing strategies.

Content is king, but only if it eases the pain of your target audience. A strong content strategy will help synchronize SEO goals with business goals.

For example, you may be aiming to increase leads for a particular service. In this case, the content should not only be optimized for relevant keywords, but it should also answer potential customers' questions, dispel doubts, and guide them to perform targeted actions. 

Aligning SEO with PPC also helps to achieve balanced results by comprehensively covering all stages of customer interaction, from first contact to repeat purchases. 

Step 4: Measure the progress.

Analytical tools are a must — tracking progress will be impossible without them. There are many tools for analyzing data, and their functionality varies. 

Tools for traffic monitoring:

1. Google Analytics. The most popular tool for assessing the overall situation across all traffic channels and analyzing different sources. 
2. Google Search Console. Suitable for monitoring metrics for organic traffic only.
3. Amplitude. Allows you to track user behavior across web and mobile applications.

Tools for analyzing positions:

1. Serpstat is a multipurpose SEO platform for tracking a website's keyword position in search engines, analyzing competitors, and estimating market share.

Source: serpstat.com

2. Rank Tracker and SE Ranking are tools for analyzing website positions by keywords. They allow you to generate detailed reports on the dynamics of changes.

Source: seranking.com

Comprehensive SEO platforms like Ahrefs and Moz Pro provide tools to compare a site's performance to your competitors and analyze their link weight.

We also use visualization services to analyze data and get a big-picture overview of the results. 

Our team uses Looker Studio and Power BI. We combine data and create detailed reports to show the big picture.

Example of a summary report with GA, Google Search Console, and Serpstat data.

Read more about this topic in the article How to Connect GA4 with Looker Studio (Google Data Studio).

Conclusions

SEO goals are a set of objectives designed to increase a website's visibility in search engines and increase organic traffic.

SEO goals should be determined based on business objectives, and key performance indicators should be monitored. If done effectively, SEO can help companies increase profits, attract customers, and strengthen their market position. 

Using this approach, SEO is not an isolated tool but part of an overall business strategy.

1. Investing in advertising takes time, but it produces consistent results, especially if your business is ready to engage in the process for the long haul. 
2. To ensure that SEO goals meet the needs of the business, we set them before commencing work. Realistic expectations and specific metrics are crucial.
3. Netpeak Ukraine experts can interpret your business goals and translate them into SEO goals. 
4. We use the SMART method when setting SEO goals. Goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
5. Depending on the type of business (B2B, B2C, SaaS, or e-commerce) and the development stage, the approach to SEO and the choice of key metrics will differ.
6. Only what can be measured can be improved. To track change dynamics, we use various analytical tools: Google Search Console, Google Analytics, and Serpstat.
7. We conduct regular reviews according to a clear schedule — monthly KPI monitoring and semi-annual retrospective analysis. They allow us to make timely adjustments to the strategy and improve the promotion results.