If you own a WordPress site, you know the frustration of spending countless hours refining your content and optimizing for search engines, only to be left uncertain about whether your efforts are paying off.
Even worse, there’s always the lingering worry that a recent update may have unintentionally harmed your search rankings. We’ve experienced this ourselves, and we understand that monitoring your SEO performance is essential for achieving peace of mind.
At CanadaCreate, we utilize a simple method with All in One SEO to track the effects of our modifications. This enables us to identify what is effective and promptly address any issues.
In this guide, we will outline the precise steps to monitor SEO changes on your website. First, let’s discuss why developing this habit is crucial.
Here’s a brief overview of what we will discuss in this guide:
The Importance of Tracking SEO Changes in WordPress
Creating high-quality blog posts is only one aspect of blogging or managing a website. You also need to optimize your content for search engines like Google to drive traffic to your site. This process is known as search engine optimization (SEO).
SEO changes refer to any alterations you have made to your content or overall website aimed at enhancing its performance in search engine results.
For example, modifying meta tags, adjusting headers, and incorporating keywords are just a few ways to implement SEO changes on your site. For additional examples, check out our comprehensive WordPress SEO guide.
Without understanding how your SEO changes influence search engine rankings, you are essentially operating without a clear direction. You won’t know if a modification to your title tag or meta tag is increasing clicks or if adding keywords has improved your article’s rankings.
Additionally, changes you make to your content can sometimes have a negative effect on your search results.
For instance, if you modify the title or meta description for better readability, you might inadvertently alter the keyword density, which could lower your SEO score according to Google.
Alternatively, if you’ve changed URLs or accidentally introduced a broken link, this can lead to 404 errors and damage your site’s credibility.
By monitoring these changes, you can determine which SEO strategies are effective and enhance your visibility in search engine results. This insight allows you to concentrate your efforts on the most impactful methods.
With that in mind, let’s explore how to monitor SEO changes in WordPress.
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Monitoring SEO Changes Using All in One SEO
The simplest method to track SEO changes in WordPress is by using the All in One SEO (AIOSEO) plugin. AIOSEO is the top WordPress SEO plugin featuring an SEO revisions tool that allows you to quickly review the SEO modifications you’ve made to your content.
It also includes on-page SEO optimization features, instant sitemap generation, and much more.
Expert Insight: Why We Choose All in One SEO
At CanadaCreate, we rely on All in One SEO (AIOSEO) as our preferred plugin for search optimization management. We use it for everything from creating sitemaps to implementing schema markup throughout our websites.
After using another popular plugin for several years, we transitioned to AIOSEO due to its advanced features. The SEO Revisions tracker, which we will discuss shortly, is a significant factor in our decision to rely on it for our business.
For more information, check out our article explaining why we made the switch from Yoast to AIOSEO.
You can find our comprehensive AIOSEO review for additional insights.
To get started, install and activate the All in One SEO plugin. If you need assistance with the installation process, refer to our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Once the plugin is activated, navigate to any post or page where you’ve made SEO adjustments. Scroll to the bottom of that page, and under ‘AIOSEO Settings,’ click on the ‘SEO Revisions’ tab.
The AIOSEO ‘SEO Revisions’ feature allows you to view the revisions you’ve made that could have impacted your rankings. These changes are displayed in chronological order, with the most recent at the top.
AIOSEO will also provide the date and time for each change made.
Please note that while this report does not show your rankings, you can compare this information with other AIOSEO reports. We will explain how to do this later in the article.
You can add notes to each SEO change to track its impact on your content rankings. This will help you decide if similar changes should be applied to other blog posts.
Simply hover over the item and click ‘Add Note.’ A box will appear above the SEO change where you can type your note.
Clicking the ‘View’ icon will display the specific change you made.
You can also click the ‘Compare’ link to see the differences between the two revisions.
On the next screen, you will see all the SEO changes compared to previous versions.
This allows you to visualize your changes and assess whether they contribute to improving your search rankings.
By toggling the adjuster at the top, you can restore a previous version of the page.
This way, if a change isn’t effective, you can revert to an earlier version before the SEO modifications were applied.
Monitoring SEO Rankings with All in One SEO
In addition to tracking SEO changes, it’s important to evaluate whether those changes have actually enhanced your search rankings.
Fortunately, All in One SEO includes a Search Statistics feature that allows you to track essential SEO metrics and keyword rankings. This enables you to enhance your strategy and increase organic traffic to your content.
Simply navigate to the All in One » SEO Search Statistics section in your WordPress admin dashboard.
In the dashboard, you will find important SEO metrics such as your site’s Search Impressions, Total Clicks, Average Click-Through Rate (CTR), and Average Position.
It will also show the number of keywords for which you’ve achieved rankings, along with their respective positions.
Scroll down to the bottom to access the ‘Content Performance’ section. Here, you can identify your top-performing pages, the pages that are losing rankings, and the content that is improving in rankings for the specified date range.
You can also explore the ‘Content Rankings’ tab found under ‘Search Statistics.’
For each page, there is a ‘Last Updated On’ column that indicates the date the URL was last modified. This feature allows you to easily monitor how your SEO adjustments have affected that specific page or post.
The ‘Performance Score’ offers a clear visual representation of your content’s performance in search engine results pages (SERPs) over the last 12 months.
The comprehensive content rankings report is an effective tool for tracking content performance, allowing you to update your blog posts and avoid significant drops in search rankings.
To monitor specific keywords crucial for your website, navigate to the ‘Keyword Rank Tracker’ tab under ‘Search Statistics’ and click the ‘Add Keywords’ button.
You can add keywords in several ways: manually input them, import from your existing focus keywords, retrieve them from Google Search Console, or upload via a CSV file.
You can also categorize related keywords. If your SEO strategy includes topic clusters, this feature helps you monitor the overall performance of those clusters.
After adding your keywords, you will have access to an overview of their ranking positions.
Scroll down the page to view detailed metrics for each added keyword, including its position, clicks, average click-through rate, impressions, and historical position data.
To find out which pages rank for a specific keyword, expand the row by clicking on the keyword and then select ‘Keyword Ranking Pages.’
Keep an eye on Google Algorithm Updates.
Managing your search rankings can be challenging due to Google’s frequent algorithm updates. Even pages that rank well can unexpectedly lose their position, resulting in decreased traffic.
Google regularly implements significant updates that can greatly affect your search rankings. These updates often prioritize critical factors such as search intent and content quality.
The positive aspect is that you can easily monitor these updates directly within WordPress. In the ‘SEO Statistics’ tab, you will find a Google icon that indicates when each major algorithm update occurred.
Clicking on that icon will provide you with more information about the changes. The accompanying line graph illustrates how your traffic has fluctuated in relation to the timing of the algorithm changes.
For a more comprehensive guide, be sure to read our blog post on how to track Google algorithm updates in WordPress.
Bonus: Monitor Your Performance with MonsterInsights
In addition to All in One SEO, there are numerous other SEO rank tracking tools available to help you keep an eye on your rankings.
However, you may want to track more than just your SEO metrics. For instance, you might be curious about:
- How many page views am I receiving?
- Where are my page views originating from?
- What is the bounce rate for those pages?
User experience and conversion rates are crucial, just like your page rankings. Attracting thousands of visitors means little if they don’t subscribe to your newsletter or engage with your site.
MonsterInsights can assist you with this. The plugin dashboard provides a wealth of information. As the leading Google Analytics plugin for WordPress, MonsterInsights delivers real-time statistics and conversion tracking directly to your dashboard.
In the ‘Reports’ section of MonsterInsights, you can access data on pageviews, bounce rates, traffic sources, and more.
Both All in One SEO and MonsterInsights enable you to see the keywords that lead users to your WordPress site. However, AIOSEO offers tools for easy site optimization, while MonsterInsights provides more comprehensive analytics.
To learn more about the features and statistics available with MonsterInsights, check out our detailed MonsterInsights review.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Tracking your SEO performance often raises many questions. Here are answers to some of the most frequently asked ones.
What are the key SEO changes I should monitor?
Monitor changes to your SEO title, meta description, focus keyphrase, and any significant content updates closely. These factors influence your site’s visibility in search results and can significantly affect your click-through rates.
What is the typical timeframe to see results from SEO adjustments?
The timeframe for observing results can differ. Minor changes may yield results within a few days, while more substantial updates could take several weeks or even months. This largely depends on how quickly Google recrawls your page and the competitiveness of the targeted keyword.
Is it possible to track SEO changes without cost?
Yes, the free version of All in One SEO provides basic tools to help you get started. However, advanced features such as the SEO Revisions log, comprehensive keyword rank tracking, and content decay monitoring are available in the AIOSEO Pro plan.
Further Resources and Next Steps
We hope this guide has equipped you with the knowledge to track SEO changes on your WordPress site. Now that you have the necessary tools, explore these additional resources to continue boosting your traffic:
- Ultimate WordPress SEO Guide for Beginners – Your comprehensive A-Z guide to optimizing your entire site for search engines.
- How to Increase Your Blog Traffic – Discover our effective strategies for attracting more visitors to your website.
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