A tech blog is easy to start, but growing big requires a lot of attention to what your audience really wants. However, it is not simply about creating good content; it is much more about testing what works and what does not with the audience. That is why tech blogs need to track SEO metrics to grow steadily.
Tech blogs covering the latest topics are up against tough competition and have to fight hard to stay visible. Traffic changes with every new Google update, so you must adapt quickly to keep people’s attention.
But the question is, "Where do you start? And more importantly, "What to track?". Well, here are a few recommendations.
Analyze Your Backlink Profile
Backlinks are digital votes of confidence from other websites. When other websites link to your content, search engines notice.
Imagine your quantum computing article gets linked by MIT Technology Review. That’s not just a link; it’s a seal of approval from an authority. Search engines like Google see these backlinks as a vote of trust and reward you with better rankings.
To stay on top of these digital endorsements, backlink tracking software has become essential. A backlink checker doesn't just track the number of links but also dives into link quality, helping you identify strong, high-quality links that boost your SEO and flag potentially harmful, spammy links that could hurt your rankings.
Backlink analysis helps you adjust your link-building strategy in real-time. If you see a drop in backlinks or a change in link attributes, you can adjust fast so your strategy stays effective.
Keep an Eye on Organic Traffic
Organic traffic is visitors coming to your site through search engines, not paid ads or direct links. With more than 84.2 billion visits generated in December 2023 alone, getting organic traffic from Google makes a world of difference to your business.
Unlike paid traffic, which ends when you stop paying money, organic search traffic keeps flowing as long as your content ranks. This is a goldmine for long-term growth without the hefty price tag. Plus, users see these results as more credible. A tech blog that ranks high in organic search results is seen as authoritative and reliable in its niche.
When you want to track organic traffic, you must know how to do it right. Here's what to check:
- Total Visitors: This gives you the overall view, like how many people find your tech blog through search engines.
- Top-Performing Pages: Which pages are your traffic magnets? These pages are likely to rank for valuable keywords. Optimize and promote these to get even more traffic.
- Sources of Traffic: Where are your organic visitors coming from? Google, Bing, or other search engines? This helps you tailor your SEO strategies to the most effective platforms.
Tracking organic traffic is not just about numbers. It means genuine interest. By tracking organic traffic, you can see what’s working and adjust your content strategy based on what users find valuable. From on-page optimization to technical SEO, you see what needs more attention.
Pay Attention to Keyword Rankings
Tracking your keywords tells you how well you’re playing the SEO game. Tech blogs feed on information. Targeting industry-specific keywords isn’t just about visibility; it’s about authority and becoming the go-to source.
Terms like “AI tools” or “quantum computing updates” aren’t just keywords; they’re your ticket to getting an audience looking for the latest tech updates.
Just remember tech keywords are battlegrounds. High competition means high search volume but also high difficulty in ranking. To survive, your content must not only include the keyword but also provide value based on what searchers are expecting. You can only make changes when you track keyword rankings regularly. Again, there are tools to use:
- Google Search Console (GSC): When you want to keep an eye on SEO analytics, GSC is your starting point. Within a month of connecting your site, you’ll get full clicks, impressions, CTR, and average position data. Dive into the ‘Queries’ section to see the keywords driving traffic and track their performance over time.
- Free Tools: Beyond Google Search Console, there are also free SEO tools that give you quick insights. Enter your keyword, website, and location, and get a snapshot of the SERP. These are great for regular check-ins for smaller tech blogs without the premium price tag.
Measure Click-Through Rate (CTR) Regularly
CTR is the number of people clicking on your link or ad after noticing it. It’s easily calculated by dividing the number of clicks you get by impressions x 100. For example, if your ad gets 10,000 impressions and 200 clicks, your CTR is 2%.
The more often you check CTR, the better you’ll understand your SEO campaign. For example:
- Engagement Metric: High CTR means the content or ad is engaging enough for your audience. It’s obvious the users are interested enough to click through from SERPs.
- SEO: CTR is not a ranking factor but indirectly impacts your SEO performance. Since your content gets consistent clicks, it sends a positive signal to the search engines, leading to a better ranking.
- Campaign Performance: CTR allows you to review your ads, keywords, or campaigns. It helps you know what works for your audience and what needs optimization and refinement.
If your CTR is not up to the mark, return to the drawing board and be prepared to re-strategize. Here are a few things to consider.
- Rankings: More clicks occur on higher positions because they are seen more often.
- Relevance: In many cases, pages relevant to the user’s search purpose are likelier to get clicked.
- Good copy: A good copy can have a very high CTR depending on its relevance to the target audience.
- Visuals: Rich snippets, images, or other visual elements will get more attention and clicks.
Based on your CTR, you can experiment with different things. You can first optimize the titles and descriptions. You can use structured data to increase the visibility of your content. Then, you can use A/B testing for headlines, copy, and CTAs for your audience.
Don't Ignore Bounce Rate and Dwell Time
The bounce rate shows how engaging your content is. Essentially, when someone lands on a page and leaves without interacting, that’s a “bounce” for you.
A high Bounce Rate means your content is irrelevant and your audience doesn't find it impressive. Or, it means your site fails to deliver the best user experience due to bad navigation, slow loading times, or cluttered design.
Dwell Time is the opposite of bounce rate; it’s the time a user spends on your page before returning to the search results. If your tech blog has a high Dwell Time, it means users find your content valuable or engaging. Here's how to increase Dwell Time:
- Write In-depth Content: Write detailed, useful, and entertaining content. Longer content tends to increase dwell time as it takes longer to consume.
- Optimize User Experience: Make sure your site is easy to navigate, fast, and visually appealing. Good UX means longer dwell time as users explore more pages.
- Engage with Comments: Encourage comments. Dwell Time increases when readers comment and engage with your blog.
For tech blogs, dwell time, bounce rate and SEO go hand in hand. It's about understanding your audience and improving content and user experience. Engage, retain, optimize.
Conclusion
For tech blogs, monitoring top SEO metrics is something they can't afford to ignore. SEO metrics such as backlink quality, organic traffic, keyword rankings, CTR, and engagement indicators should be tracked regularly to keep a tech blogger responsive to audience needs as well as to search engine standards. Various SEO monitoring tools make it easy, but be sure to research, compare, and select the best tool to run comprehensive audits and create winning strategies.