Impact Analysis for SEO Changes

Analyzing the Impact of Changes

Understanding the effects of SEO changes—whether it’s a content update, new keyword targeting, or technical improvements—is essential for refining your strategy. In this section, we’ll walk through how to use Google Search Console, BigQuery, and Looker Studio to perform an effective SEO impact analysis that helps you track and measure the outcomes of changes over time.

1. Why Analyzing SEO Impact is Essential

Analyzing the impact of changes helps answer critical questions like:

• Did the recent update improve rankings or click-through rates?
• How have impressions, clicks, or positions changed since implementing the adjustment?
• Are the changes having the desired effect on target keywords or pages?

These insights enable data-driven decisions, allowing you to focus on tactics that deliver results and adjust those that don’t.

2. Setting Up a Change Analysis in BigQuery

To track changes accurately, you’ll need to store historical data in BigQuery and then compare it over custom timeframes.

• Step 1: Access Historical Data in BigQuery

  • Set up a dataset in BigQuery that captures data snapshots from Google Search Console over time.
  • Ensure that your data includes metrics such as clicks, impressions, average position, and CTR (click-through rate) for the specific pages or keywords where changes were made.

• Step 2: Define the Change Period

  • Determine the timeframe for your SEO change analysis. For example, if you updated a page two weeks ago, set the analysis period to compare data two weeks before and after the change.

• Step 3: Write Queries to Compare Metrics Before and After Changes

  • In BigQuery, write queries to compare performance metrics over the selected timeframes. For example:

    SELECT
      query,
      SUM(clicks) AS total_clicks,
      SUM(impressions) AS total_impressions,
      AVG(position) AS avg_position
    FROM
      `your_project.your_dataset.search_data`
    WHERE
      date BETWEEN '2024-10-01' AND '2024-10-14' -- Before change
    GROUP BY
      query
    UNION ALL
    SELECT
      query,
      SUM(clicks) AS total_clicks,
      SUM(impressions) AS total_impressions,
      AVG(position) AS avg_position
    FROM
      `your_project.your_dataset.search_data`
    WHERE
      date BETWEEN '2024-10-15' AND '2024-10-28' -- After change
    GROUP BY
      query;

  • This query compares metrics from before and after the change. Replace dates with those specific to your analysis to see trends in total clicks, impressions, and average position.

3. Creating Visualizations in Looker Studio to Track SEO Impact

Looker Studio lets you visualize the data from BigQuery, making it easier to see the results of your BigQuery SEO impact analysis.

• Step 1: Connect BigQuery to Looker Studio

  • In Looker Studio, add BigQuery as your data source and link the dataset with the before-and-after data you prepared.

• Step 2: Build Visualizations for Key Metrics

  • Create line charts or bar graphs to visualize changes in clicks, impressions, and average position.
  • For instance, set up a chart that displays clicks and impressions before and after the change. This layout allows you to quickly see if your adjustments led to improvements.

• Step 3: Use Comparison Features for Enhanced Analysis

  • Looker Studio has comparison tools that help highlight differences. Use these to set a baseline and compare current performance with past data, showing you if SEO changes have driven positive results.

Example: A line graph that tracks clicks for a keyword before and after an update reveals a clear increase, indicating that the change positively impacted performance.

4. Practical Applications of SEO Change Analysis

With this setup, you can analyze the impact of a wide range of SEO activities, including:

• Content Updates: Measure whether content adjustments—like adding new keywords or restructuring the text—have improved search performance.
• Technical Improvements: Analyze if changes to site speed, mobile-friendliness, or indexing have positively affected impressions and CTR.
• Link-Building Campaigns: Track how external links might be contributing to increased visibility and clicks for targeted pages.

Summary

Performing an SEO impact analysis is crucial for understanding what’s working and optimizing your approach. By using Google Search Console, BigQuery, and Looker Studio together, you can effectively track changes over time and determine the real impact of your SEO efforts. This approach provides the insights needed to make informed, data-backed adjustments to your SEO strategy.