SEO Without Analytics is Like Driving Blind

Suppose someone asked you to drive from your home to the nearest grocery store. It would be a strange request but easily fulfilled. Now suppose they wanted you to be blindfolded for the trip. That’s an impossible task and the assumption would be that the requester was crazy. Even if the store was close and the route familiar, there is no way that you could get there without seeing your progress. There would also be no accounting for hazards like stopped vehicles or pedestrians. The whole exercise would be a danger to yourself and others. Implementing SEO tactics without analytics is like driving blind.

Years ago we spoke with a potential client who was requesting SEO help. When we asked to see his analytics he did a few searches on Google to show where he ranked. It was a good illustration but we wanted to see the actual analytics.

The consultant said, “I don’t have any tracking set up really, I just type searches in Google to see how I’m doing. I really just need some new ideas to improve. I don’t want all the tracking bells and whistles.”

The problem with what we were being asked to do was that we weren’t sure where we were or where we were going. Not only could we not measure success, but we couldn’t be sure of what affects our efforts were having holistically.

Trainers, consultants, and professional coaches often don’t have time to pour through analytics. That’s not an excuse not to have it available though. Analytics are a necessity for your web marketing and even more so for SEO initiatives. Skipping analytics is like driving blindfolded and it poses a danger to you and your users.