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5 Hidden SEO Metrics That Can Improve Your Search Rankings

  • Felix Rose-Collins
  • 5 min read

Intro

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an essential strategy for improving your website’s ranking when searching for keywords. While basic SEO elements such as titles and descriptions, keyword optimization, and backlinks are relatively well-known, there are lesser-known indicators that also affect your search rankings. In particular, there are some important SEO metrics that can be easily overlooked but are definitely worth paying attention to. In this article, we will look at hidden SEO metrics and their importance.

Targeting Keyword Niches

You can use a niche keyword strategy to improve your SEO rankings. For example, in a field such as Toto sites, you can use niche keywords such as ‘best Toto site reviews’, ‘safe Toto betting methods’, and ‘Toto site guides’ to target users’ interests and drive organic traffic related to your site. In general, niche marketing can be effective in improving your rankings by targeting a niche market with specific keyword search intent for a specific topic. Niche keywords may have relatively low search volume, but they are more relevant to what users are looking for, which can increase click-through rates and reduce page bounce rates. Niche keyword optimization plays an even more important role in SEO because Google favors highly relevant, specialized content. These strategies ultimately help target a specific niche and increase user engagement.

Page Bounce Rate

Bounce rate refers to the percentage of users who leave a page immediately after landing on it. Users may leave a page for a variety of reasons, including that the content does not match their search terms, that the content is unattractive, that there are broken links, that the page is error-prone, that pop-ups and ads appear too frequently, or that the layout and design are unreadable. A high page bounce rate can be interpreted as a sign that the site is not providing satisfactory information or is not useful to users. In particular, page bounce rate is an important metric for evaluating user experience, and can affect search rankings through SEO algorithms. To improve this, you can experiment with different versions of your content or design to compare which ones are more effective and adjust them accordingly to drive engagement. You can try various methods, such as changing the page layout or modifying the content.

Average Session Duration

How long your visitors stay on your page can be an indicator of the quality of your content. If they stay on your page for a long time, this is a positive sign, while if they stay on your page for a short time, it may be time to re-evaluate your content strategy. SEO considers user engagement as a ranking factor, so a longer average session duration is considered more valuable. Of course, there are many factors that can contribute to a short session duration, but there are some actionable ways to improve it:

Maintain quality content: Make sure your content is engaging and informative. It’s also important to mix in visual elements, such as images, to make it more readable.

Update your content: Regular updates increase user trust and make them more likely to stay on your page. Keeping your content fresh also increases the likelihood that users will return to see new content.

Use psychological mechanisms: You can engage users and use psychological mechanisms to increase engagement. For example, you can display the number of real-time users viewing your page or offer content that is only available for a limited time. Sharing cryptocurrency price forecasts and placing a free Bitcoin lecture or newsletter subscription at the end can also be effective strategies for driving site engagement.

Pages Visited per Session

Pages Visited per Session is an indicator of the average number of pages a user navigates on your site during a session. A higher value can be interpreted as meaning that users are consuming more content on your site, which contributes to the trustworthiness and usability of your site. It is also a sign that your internal link structure is well designed. If users can easily navigate to related pages within your site, it indicates that your content is attractive and useful. This has a positive effect on reducing bounce rates and is an important factor in improving the overall performance of your site.

For example, if a user who visits your site with an interest in meme coins is curious about how to buy Pepe Unchained in addition to related information, or if the user can naturally navigate to content such as a list of popular coin recommendations for cryptocurrency investors, it shows that your site’s internal link strategy is effective. A systematic internal link structure like this not only creates an organic flow between pages, which enhances the user experience, but also helps search engines better understand the importance of your site’s pages. As a result, increasing the number of pages visited per session can help you rank better in search results. This is more than just a simple metric; it’s a key strategy that has a positive impact on both users and search engines.

Page Loading Time

Optimizing page loading time is one of the most important SEO metrics that is often overlooked. Slow or delayed loading pages are at a greater risk of being ranked lower in search results. It’s natural for users to abandon pages that take longer to load. Common factors that affect loading times include images, JavaScript, and browser cache. Here are some easy-to-implement methods that anyone can use.

Image Optimization: Large images are a major cause of slow page speeds. You can use tools that can compress the size while maintaining resolution and quality, and change the extension to formats such as JPEG 2000, JPEG XR, and WebP for better compression ratios.

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Compress Code on Page: Removing unnecessary characters from JavaScript, CSS, and HTML code can help reduce its size. Tools that can help with this include UglifyJS and cssnano.

Utilize browser cache: Internet browsers remember previously downloaded resources to make subsequent visits faster. This means that they utilize cached data instead of having to reload the page every time. Setting up a cache can save loading time for returning users.

Strategic CSS placement: Prioritize loading content that appears first on the screen. This allows users to read content from the top and experience fast loading without delays, allowing them to navigate the site without inconvenience.

Utilize SEO strategies flexibly

When users search for a keyword, it is natural to choose the site that catches their eye first. Some users may navigate to the next page, but most find the information they want within the first or second page of search results. This once again confirms the importance of SEO.

There are many factors that affect SEO, and content creators and site managers should regularly analyze these trends and data and strategically improve them. Understanding where users enter the site and where they leave the site is key to successful operation. If a specific page has a high bounce rate or a short average time on the site, you need to check the attractiveness or quality of the content. It is important to structure your content so that it clearly conveys the information that the user needs while maintaining interest.

Google is constantly changing the SEO landscape by introducing new criteria and algorithms. It is essential to check relevant materials and understand the updates to keep up with these changes. A strategy that was effective today may not be effective tomorrow, so you need to be able to quickly adapt and respond flexibly to changes. SEO strategy is not simply a technical task, but an ongoing process that simultaneously satisfies the expectations of the user and the demands of the search engine.

Felix Rose-Collins

Felix Rose-Collins

Ranktracker's CEO/CMO & Co-founder

Felix Rose-Collins is the Co-founder and CEO/CMO of Ranktracker. With over 15 years of SEO experience, he has single-handedly scaled the Ranktracker site to over 500,000 monthly visits, with 390,000 of these stemming from organic searches each month.

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