Search Tools and Analytics

When it comes to building a successful website for your business, 0:00 search engine optimization isn't just a step on a checklist. 0:03 It's a process that requires refinement and regular review. 0:07 To help you discover ways to identify great key words 0:12 and to see how your current SEO efforts are going and improve them across your site, 0:15 let's discuss a few of the online tools to get you started. 0:20 [Google Analytics] [http://google.com/analytics] Millions of websites use Google Analytics 0:24 to begin their analysis. 0:27 By dropping in some code, Google can begin to track the activity on your site. 0:29 Even the most basic stats can reveal great insights about your business 0:35 such as sources of traffic and common locations of website users. 0:39 But it can also reveal which search terms brought users to your site. 0:43 These key words can reveal patterns, 0:48 and you might be able to infer which content 0:50 works best to attract the users to your site. 0:52 It would be helpful to know what competitors are also benefiting from those same key words, 0:55 and you could do a search with those key words to see what comes up. 1:01 Or you can use a site like SEMrush to see [SEMrush] [http://semrush.com] 1:04 a detailed analysis of related key word phrases and the top organic results. 1:08 For example, if your business prints business cards you'd certainly be interested in 1:13 knowing some of the similar phrases users type in when they search 1:18 for products like yours. 1:22 You'd also like to know which sites are dominating the organic results right now. 1:24 [Google Trends] [http://google.com/trends] Google Trends can also tell you if the 1:28 key word phrase is one that's growing in demand or decreasing. 1:30 This might provide some ideas on what SEO efforts-- 1:35 not to mention products, services, and content-- 1:38 you might want to introduce or phase out. 1:41 There are many additional tools out there 1:44 that can check your key words, your search results, and more. 1:46 But remember that strong SEO isn't just about key words 1:50 but about generating great content in interesting ways. 1:53 [HubSpot] [http://hubspot.com] HubSpot is an Internet-marketing company that provides 1:58 paid software solutions for analyzing online marketing efforts. 2:01 They also provide a number of free tools like their Marketing Grader 2:06 that you can try out on your own. 2:10 From SEO, to mobile, to social, and beyond-- 2:12 this free tool will look at your site--and a competitor's, if you'd like-- 2:15 and provide feedback and tips on how you can improve various parts 2:20 of your online marketing efforts. 2:24 Keep an eye out for more tools 2:26 that can help you track and improve your SEO efforts. 2:28 SEO is a heavily-researched and talked about topic online 2:32 because of its influence on business, so there's no shortage of tools, 2:36 checklists, and advice. 2:40 Just be sure to monitor what you're doing and how your site is performing 2:42 and you'll have a place to start when considering any new strategies. 2:46