Maximize Google Webmaster tools
Nearly 60% of the traffic to this blog comes from search engines. Of that traffic, Google sends the most visitors here. This means I can utilize some of the tools they have in Webmaster tools to further maximize on this traffic by providing even more content aimed at these visitors.
The report I use to do this is the “Top search queries” report. Firstly if you have a Google account, sign up for Webmaster tools. You will need to verify your ownership of the website that you wish to examine, either by uploading an html page or by adding a specific meta tag to your website page.
Once your site has been verified you will gain access to the extra reports contained within this section. It will take a few days for statistics to become available (depending on your site traffic). Once they are you will be able to view the Top Search queries report via Statistics>Top Search Queries menu option.
There are two groups of figures that are of interest.
- The top Google search queries in which your site appeared.
- The top search queries from which users clicked through to your site.
Now it is interesting to note the difference in the two reports on this page. This blog appears in a variety of searches from photography related to auctions with varying success, however I notice that the click through from these searches are much less successful. I will probably need to improve on those eye catching headlines to get the percentage of searches that users click to rise.
You can filter the results in this report based on search locations (google regional sites) and by the type of search (mobile, image, web etc). You can also download the full report as a csv, although at first glance I found it a little difficult to fathom.
My interest in web statistics rises and falls with the tide, so how much I will concentrate on the contents of my Top searches report and ‘design’ content to maximize on the results therein is a little hard to define at this stage. I promise, if I make a concerted effort to chart the difference, I will post the results right here.
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Search engine do contribute a lot but I have to say that the recent trend is such that there are more traffic coming in through referrals and that means it does not matter if people come in, it means that there should be quality to back it up.
Every tool can only add to your website but it cannot be the foundation.