How to Read Organic Traffic and Keyword Metrics | Just starting SEO or Hired someone, Now What?

Weezle Team
Nov 6, 2025
3 min read

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I'm doing SEO! YAY!

Now what?

Wait... what is SEO? What is organic traffic? HELP!

It will be okay. We have a lot of clients who don't trust SEO agencies, but choose us because we show them how we do it not just better, but transparent. You will find yourself hiring an SEO agency and sniff the bullshit right after you get "sold". We are not that.

But first...

Understanding organic traffic and keyword metrics is essential for evaluating your website's SEO performance and identifying opportunities for growth. These metrics provide insights into how users find your website through search engines and which keywords are driving traffic. Here's a breakdown of how to read and interpret these metrics effectively:

1. Organic Traffic Metrics

Organic traffic refers to the number of visitors who land on your website through unpaid search engine results. Tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Ahrefs, and SEMrush can help you track and analyze this data.

Key Metrics to Monitor:

Impressions: The number of times your website appears in search results for a keyword. High impressions with low clicks may indicate a need for better meta titles or descriptions.
Clicks: The number of users who click on your website from search results. This directly reflects how well your content attracts users.
Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of impressions that result in clicks. A low CTR may suggest that your meta titles or descriptions need optimization.
- CTR Formula: (Clicks / Impressions) x 100
Bounce Rate: The percentage of visitors who leave your site after viewing only one page. A high bounce rate may indicate irrelevant content or poor user experience.
Session Duration: The average time users spend on your site. Longer durations suggest engaging content.
Conversion Rate: The percentage of organic visitors who complete a desired action (e.g., purchase, sign-up). This is a critical metric for assessing the effectiveness of your organic traffic.

2. Keyword Metrics

Keywords are the foundation of organic traffic. Understanding which keywords drive traffic to your site helps you refine your SEO strategy.

Key Metrics to Monitor:

Keyword Rankings: The position of your website in search engine results pages (SERPs) for specific keywords. Higher rankings typically lead to more traffic.
Search Volume: The average number of monthly searches for a keyword. High-volume keywords can drive significant traffic but may also be more competitive.
Keyword Difficulty (KD): A score that indicates how hard it is to rank for a keyword. Focus on keywords with a balance of high search volume and low difficulty.
Traffic Potential: The estimated amount of traffic a keyword can bring to your site if you rank well for it.
Trends: Analyze keyword trends to identify seasonal or emerging opportunities.
Parent Topic: A broader topic that encompasses your keyword. Targeting parent topics can help you rank for multiple related keywords.

3. Tools to Analyze Organic Traffic and Keywords

Google Search Console: Provides data on impressions, clicks, CTR, and average position for each keyword.
Google Analytics: Tracks user behavior, including session duration, bounce rate, and conversions.
Ahrefs/SEMrush: Offers detailed reports on keyword rankings, search volume, traffic potential, and keyword difficulty.
HubSpot: Combines keyword tracking with user behavior metrics to assess conversions and engagement.

4. How to Use the Data

Identify High-Performing Pages: Use tools to see which pages are gaining or losing positioning for target keywords. Look for trends in traffic and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Optimize Low-CTR Keywords: If a keyword has high impressions but low CTR, improve your meta title and description to make them more compelling.
Focus on Conversions: Track which keywords drive conversions, not just traffic. This ensures your SEO efforts align with business goals.
Adapt to Trends: Monitor keyword trends and adjust your content strategy to capitalize on seasonal or emerging opportunities.

Reading organic traffic and keyword metrics involves analyzing impressions, clicks, CTR, rankings, and user behavior to understand how your website performs in search engines. By leveraging tools like our custom software (Weezlesearch.com) or others like Google Search Console, Ahrefs, and Google Analytics, you can identify opportunities to optimize your content, improve user engagement, and drive more conversions. Ours is different because it actually improves your SEO straight from the app so you don't have to login / logout, ours uses AI to even just automate literally everything for you ;)