Whether you’re running an e-commerce store, a service-based business, or a blog, working with an SEO agency can significantly improve your website’s ranking on search engines, driving more traffic and potential customers to your site.
However, measuring the effectiveness of your SEO strategy is essential to determine if the agency is truly delivering results. Here’s how you can assess if your SEO agency is on track to meet your goals.
Understand the SEO Goals and KPIs
Before you can evaluate the performance of your SEO agency, it’s important to understand the goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) for your SEO campaign. These goals will vary depending on your business needs, but they should be clearly defined from the outset. Some common SEO goals include:
Increasing organic traffic
Attracting more visitors to your site through search engine results.
Improving keyword rankings
Moving up in search engine results for specific target keywords.
Boosting conversion
Encouraging site visitors to take specific actions, such as making a purchase or filling out a contact form.
Enhancing local visibility
Improving your rankings in local search results, especially if you’re a brick-and-mortar business.
Your SEO agency should be clear about these goals and how they plan to achieve them. If you’re unsure about the goals set for your business, it’s a good idea to have a conversation with your agency to align expectations.
Track Website Traffic

One of the most straightforward ways to measure the success of an SEO campaign is by tracking your website traffic. Organic traffic refers to the visitors who arrive at your site through search engine results, without being directed by ads or paid promotions. Monitoring this traffic regularly will give you insight into how well your website is performing in search rankings.
Using tools like Google Analytics, you can track:
- The volume of organic traffic over time.
- The sources of traffic (e.g., which search engines or keywords bring visitors to your site).
- Bounce rates (the percentage of visitors who leave your site after viewing only one page).
Monitor Keyword Rankings
Keywords are the foundation of any SEO strategy. An SEO agency should target specific keywords that are relevant to your business, ensuring your website appears when potential customers search for those terms. Regularly tracking how your website ranks for these keywords is another way to evaluate the effectiveness of your SEO efforts.
There are several keyword tracking tools available, such as SEMrush or Ahrefs, that can help you monitor keyword rankings. Look for the following trends:
Improvement in rankings
Your site should begin ranking higher for your target keywords over time, especially for competitive search terms.
Keyword visibility
A broader range of relevant keywords should be driving traffic to your website, not just the highly competitive terms.
If your SEO agency is using the right strategies, your rankings should improve as they optimize your website for the targeted keywords.
Evaluate Conversion Rates

It’s not just about attracting traffic; it’s also about converting that traffic into leads or sales. A key indicator that your SEO agency is delivering results is whether your conversion rates are improving. This includes any action that adds value to your business, such as completing a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or filling out a contact form.
By tracking conversion rates in Google Analytics, you can see if SEO efforts are leading to more valuable actions. If your traffic is increasing but conversions aren’t improving, it may indicate that while your agency is driving more visitors, they’re not the right kind of visitors for your business.
Your SEO agency should work on improving both the quality of traffic (targeting the right audience) and your site’s user experience (making it easy to convert visitors into customers).
Analyze Backlinks
Backlinks—links from other websites that point to your site—are an essential component of SEO. Google views backlinks as a vote of confidence in your content, signaling that other authoritative sites find your content valuable. A good SEO agency will focus on building high-quality backlinks from reputable sources in your industry.
You can monitor your backlink profile using tools like Ahrefs or Moz. Look for:
An increase in backlinks
Your site should be gaining more backlinks over time, especially from high-authority domains.
Quality over quantity
Ensure that the backlinks are relevant to your industry and come from reputable websites.
If your SEO agency is working on your backlink profile, you should see a steady growth in the number of high-quality backlinks, which can significantly improve your search engine rankings.
Regular Reports and Communication
A reliable SEO agency should provide regular updates on the progress of your SEO campaign. This includes detailed reports on key metrics such as traffic, keyword rankings, backlinks, and conversion rates. If your agency is not transparent about their work or doesn’t provide regular communication, this may be a red flag.
SEO takes time, and it’s important to be patient while working with an SEO agency. However, consistent progress in these key areas is a clear sign that your agency is on the right track. If you’re not seeing the results you expect, it’s worth discussing your goals with your agency to realign your strategy and expectations for future growth.