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SEO Metrics explainer

There are numerous metrics used in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to measure the performance and effectiveness of a website. Below is a list of some of the different SEO metrics in alphabetical order, along with descriptions, origins, use cases, and their level of common usage. The most important thing to know: Google doesn’t use these SEO metrics at all. They are only for usage by SEO specialists to determine the relevance or value of a certain backlink or practice.

In alfabetical order:

Ahrefs Traffic

  • What it shows: The estimated organic search traffic a website receives according to Ahrefs, based on the keywords and rankings that Ahrefs found.
    • Origin: Ahrefs.
    • Use: SEO specialists use this metric to estimate a website’s search engine visibility and traffic potential.

Alexa Rank

  • What it shows: A website’s global and country-specific ranking based on website traffic.

  • Origin: Alexa Internet, Inc.

  • Use: SEO specialists can use it to compare a website’s traffic to competitors and identify areas for improvement.

  • Commonly Used: Somewhat common, but not as popular as other metrics. Alexa Rank checker lets you check up to 100 links: https://www.alexarankchecker.com/.

Bounce Rate

  • What it shows: The percentage of visitors who leave a website after viewing only one page.

  • Origin: Commonly used web analytics metric.

  • Use: SEO specialists use it to assess the quality of landing pages and user engagement. In combination with the behaviour on the search page, this can tell Google either if a question is quickly answered, or if the page does not provide any answers.

  • Commonly Used: Very common.

CF (Citation Flow)

  • What it shows: Another Majestic metric that measures the quantity of backlinks to a website or web page.

  • Origin: Majestic.

  • Use: SEO specialists use CF to evaluate the volume of backlinks pointing to a site or page.

  • Commonly Used: Fairly common, often used alongside TF for a comprehensive backlink analysis. Majestic offers two free checks a day: https://majestic.com/.

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

  • What it shows: The percentage of users who click on a specific link or ad.

  • Origin: Widely used in online advertising and SEO.

  • Use: SEO specialists use CTR to measure the effectiveness of title tags and meta descriptions in search results. Optimizing these should result in a higher CTR.

  • Commonly Used: Very common.

Domain Authority (DA)

  • What it shows: A metric developed by Moz that predicts a website’s ability to rank in search engine results.

  • Origin: Moz.

  • Use: SEO specialists use DA to assess the authority of a website and make decisions about link-building strategies. Paired with Page Authority (PA).

  • Commonly Used: Very common. Various free checkers, such as https://www.dapachecker.org/.

DR (Domain Rating)

  • What it shows: Ahrefs’ metric that assesses the authority and strength of a domain’s backlink profile.

  • Origin: Ahrefs.

  • Use: SEO specialists use DR to gauge the overall strength of a domain, which can inform their link-building strategies. A high DA does not automatically mean a high DR and vice versa.

  • Commonly Used: Very common, especially among Ahrefs users. Freely available https://ahrefs.com/nl/website-authority-checker.

Keyword Difficulty

  • What it shows: A metric that estimates how difficult it is to rank for a specific keyword based on the competition.

  • Origin: Commonly calculated by SEO tools like Ahrefs, Moz, and SEMrush.

  • Use: SEO specialists use keyword difficulty to select target keywords that are realistic to rank for.

  • Commonly Used: Very common.

MT (MozTrust)

  • What it shows: A Moz metric that evaluates the trustworthiness of a website’s backlink profile.
    • Origin: Moz.
    • Use: SEO specialists use MozTrust to assess the reliability and trustworthiness of backlinks.

    • Commonly Used: Not very common, especially among Moz users.

OS (Off-Page Score)

  • What it shows: A metric that evaluates the overall strength of a website’s off-page SEO factors, which can include backlinks and social signals.
    • Origin: Various SEO tools and platforms.
    • Use: SEO specialists use off-page scores to assess the external factors influencing a site’s search engine performance.

    • Commonly Used: Varies based on the SEO tool or platform being used.

Page Authority (PA)

  • What it shows: Moz’s metric predicting the likelihood of a specific page ranking well in search results.

  • Origin: Moz.

  • Use: SEO specialists use PA to assess the strength of individual pages on a website. Paired with Domain Authority (DA).

  • Commonly Used: Very common. Various free checkers, such as https://www.dapachecker.org/.

Page Rank (by Google)

  • What it shows: Google’s algorithmic measurement of the importance of web pages, typically on a scale of 0 to 10.
    • Origin: Google.
    • Use: Although Google officially stopped updating PageRank publicly in 2013, it was historically used to assess the authority of web pages.

    • Commonly Used: Not applicable today, as Google no longer updates or provides public PageRank data.

Page Speed

  • What it shows: The time it takes for a web page to load fully.

  • Origin: Google and other web performance testing tools.

  • Use: SEO specialists focus on improving page speed to enhance user experience and search rankings.

  • Commonly Used: Very common, since it’s very important. Google offers the free tool PageSpeed Insights: https://pagespeed.web.dev/. Funny enough, Google.com doesn’t score 100/100.  

QB (Quality Backlinks)

  • What it shows: The number of high-quality and authoritative backlinks to a website or page, according to Moz.
    • Origin: Moz.
    • Use: SEO specialists focus on quality backlinks as they have a more significant impact on search rankings.

    • Commonly Used: Common, especially among Moz users.

Rankings

  • What it shows: A website’s position in search engine results for specific keywords.

  • Origin: Fundamental SEO metric.

  • Use: SEO specialists monitor keyword rankings to evaluate the effectiveness of their SEO efforts.

  • Commonly Used: This is a key SEO metric.

Return on Investment (ROI)

  • What it shows: The profitability of SEO efforts compared to the costs.

  • Origin: Common business metric.

  • Use: SEO specialists use ROI to justify SEO expenses and assess the financial impact of their work.

  • Commonly Used: Very common.

Search Impressions

  • What it shows: The number of times a web page appears in search results.

  • Origin: Standard metric in search engine analytics.

  • Use: SEO specialists use impressions to evaluate a website’s visibility in search results.

  • Commonly Used: Very common. The best tool is Google’s free Search Console: https://search.google.com/search-console/.

Spam Score

  • What it shows: A metric by Moz that indicates the likelihood of a website being penalized or considered spammy by search engines.
    • Origin: Moz.
    • Use: SEO specialists use spam score to identify and avoid low-quality or potentially harmful websites for link-building. Do note: high SS does not automatically mean low traffic, but there is often a correlation.

    • Commonly Used: Common, especially among Moz users.

TB (Total Backlinks)

  • What it shows: The total number of backlinks pointing to a website or page, as reported by Moz.
    • Origin: Moz.
    • Use: SEO specialists use total backlinks to understand the link profile’s scale and growth. Please note that not all backlinks will be found.

    • Commonly Used: Common, especially among Moz users.

TF (Trust Flow)

  • What it shows: A metric by Majestic that measures the quality of the backlinks pointing to a website or web page.

  • Origin: Majestic.

  • Use: SEO specialists use TF to assess the trustworthiness and quality of a website’s backlink profile.

  • Commonly Used: Fairly common, especially among SEO professionals who use Majestic as their primary tool. Paired with Citation Flow (CF). Majestic offers two free checks a day: https://majestic.com/.