A Practical Guide to SEO Benchmarking

Imagine you’re a solo professional, like a health coach or therapist, working to grow your client base. You’re pouring your heart and soul into your business, but you’re not sure if all that effort is paying off when it comes to your online visibility. You want to ensure your website helps people find you, but you're unsure if your efforts are actually making a difference. What can you do? 

“SEO benchmarking” can help. By making specific, scheduled changes to your website over time, you can track the improvements you are making, and know for certain if your effort is paying off. This guide will show you how to benchmark your SEO, step-by-step, so you can make informed improvements that bring more clients through your virtual door.

What is SEO Benchmarking?

SEO benchmarking is simply figuring out how well your website is doing compared to others in your field, and testing your progress against your previous efforts. 

It helps you see if your website is easy for people to find through search engines like Google, and if visitors are taking action, like booking a consultation. Benchmarking helps you to know what is working and what isn't as you work at making your website the best it can be.

Why Benchmarking is Essential for Your SEO Success

Think of SEO benchmarking as a checkup for your website—kind of like taking your car in for a tune-up, but with less grease and better coffee. If you’re getting inquiries but don't know if your visibility is actually improving, benchmarking helps you find out:

• See if your website traffic is increasing.
• Identify which keywords are attracting visitors.
• Spot opportunities to do better than other health coaches.

This way, you know exactly where to focus your efforts.

Tools You’ll Need for SEO Benchmarking

To benchmark effectively, you’ll need some tools. But don't worry—they're easier to use than you might think.

• Google Analytics: Shows how many people visit your site and how they interact with your pages.
• Google Search Console: Monitors keyword performance and technical issues.
• Ahrefs or SEMrush: Provides deeper insights, such as how your website compares to others.

Using a mix of these tools will give you a clear picture of how visible you are online.

Step-by-Step Guide to Conduct SEO Benchmarking

1. Identify Your SEO Metrics

First, decide what you want to measure. This will often include:

• How many people find your website through Google (organic traffic).
• Which words they search for to find you (keyword rankings).
• How many of those visitors reach out for a consultation (conversions).

Choosing metrics that match your business goals helps you focus on what matters most.

2. Analyze Your Current Performance

Use Google Analytics to see how many people are visiting your website each month. Google Search Console can tell you which words they’re using to find you. 

Let’s say you notice that the term “stress management health coaching” is bringing in visitors, but many of them leave quickly. This might mean your content isn’t quite matching their expectations, and you might need to make it more engaging or informative. 

You might consider creating a landing page outlining how you work with people who need help with stress management. Or you could write a blog post exploring the topic and addressing common questions and approaches.

3. Compare Against Competitors

Take a look at other health coaches who rank well on Google. Use Ahrefs or a similar tool to see what keywords they rank for and what kind of content they’re posting. 

If you see that another health coach is getting a lot of traffic for “tips for healthy eating,” and you don’t, that could be a sign that you need to add more content on that topic to your website.

If you provide content searchers are looking for, search engines will have an easier time connecting searchers to your web pages.

4. Establish Benchmarks and Goals

Based on your findings, set specific goals. Remember, these goals should be realistic. For example, “Be #1 on Google” might be a bit unrealistic for your starting goal. Start with small wins.

For instance, if you have 500 website visitors each month, aim to get 700 by the next quarter. Or if you are on the second page of Google for “career health coaching for young professionals,” set a goal to move to the first page by updating your content and getting more backlinks.

Creating an SEO Action Plan Based on Your Benchmarking Results

Now that you know where you stand, it’s time to take action:

• Improve Content Engagement: If visitors leave your “stress management health coaching” page quickly, consider adding engaging content like FAQs, or a self-assessment quiz, or a short video introduction.
• Build Backlinks: If competitors are getting backlinks from local news sites or directories, reach out to those sources to see if they might list your website as well.
• Address Blindspots: If your initial research identified search terms your website is missing, make sure you address those content gaps during this round of benchmarking so that you can test your progress next time around.

Monitoring and Adjusting Over Time

The difficult thing about SEO is that it is not a one-and-done task. Search engine optimization is always changing because it is a matter of keeping up with the way people perform searches online. Since people can change their habits, you will need to alter your tactics from time to time. It's a good idea to set a reminder to review your SEO metrics regularly:

• Monthly Reviews: Ideal if your website receives 3000+ visitors each month.
• Quarterly Reviews: Suitable for websites with less traffic.
• Track whether new content (e.g., for “stress management health coaching”) is bringing in more clients.
• Monitor keyword rankings and adjust as needed.

Benchmarking is a habit that keeps you on track.

Common SEO Benchmarking Mistakes to Avoid

It is easy to make mistakes when you’re just starting with benchmarking. To avoid these, use a checklist to make sure you cover everything, and set calendar reminders to keep up with your reviews.

One common mistake is focusing on numbers that don’t matter, like total visitors, rather than what really counts, such as how many visitors book a consultation.

Another mistake is not doing benchmarking regularly. If you stop periodically checking in with your SEO standing, your website will start to lose out to websites that are attending to their SEO more regularly.

Ready to Improve Your SEO?

SEO benchmarking might seem complicated at first, but taking it one step at a time makes it totally manageable. Just riding a bike, it’s one pedal push at a time… except in this case you’re pedalling your way toward a larger audience.