Track & Monitor Website Changes and how they affect SEO

Instructions to Track and Monitor Website Changes and Their Impact on SEO

  1. Understand the Challenge:
    Tracking changes on a website and their SEO impact can be difficult due to the lack of annotation features in tools like Google Search Console (GSC) and Google Analytics 4 (GA4).

  2. Set Up a Google Sheet for Tracking:

    • Create a Google Sheet to log all website changes.
    • Include the following columns:
      • Date: The date the change was made.
      • Category: Type of change (e.g., technical, metadata, content, backlinks).
      • Change Details: A brief description of the change (e.g., "Fixed broken 404 pages").
      • Links: Optionally, add links to supporting documents or lists (e.g., a sheet of fixed 404 pages).

  3. Integrate the Google Sheet with Looker Studio:

    • Open Looker Studio (formerly Data Studio).
    • Add data sources such as GA4, GSC, and the SEO Update Sheet by navigating to Resource > Manage Added Data Sources.

  4. Create a Blended Data Source:

    • Combine data from GA4, GSC, and the SEO Update Sheet into a single blended data source.
    • Include metrics such as page views, bounce rate, impressions, and sessions alongside your annotated changes.

  5. Visualise Changes and Impacts:

    • Create time series charts showing:
      • SEO updates (as bars) on one axis.
      • Metrics like page views or bounce rate on the other axis.
    • Clearly display the impact of individual changes over time.

  6. Analyse the Impact of SEO Changes:

    • Observe trends, such as increases or decreases in page views, bounce rate, or impressions following specific changes.
    • Use filters to focus on particular landing pages, search queries, or categories of changes.

  7. Investigate Specific Changes:

    • Sync the data visualisations with the Google Sheet annotations.
    • Click on specific data points or lines in the charts to filter and view details of the associated changes in a table.

  8. Use Custom Filters:

    • Apply filters for specific queries or landing pages (e.g., all landing pages containing “technical research”).
    • Drill down by date ranges, categories, or other criteria to focus on particular impacts.

  9. Iterate and Improve:

    • Use insights to evaluate whether changes had positive or negative effects.
    • Reverse or adjust changes if they negatively impact key metrics.
    • Monitor the long-term effects of significant updates, such as site migrations.

  10. Enhance and Complement:

    • Tools like Ahrefs can supplement this process with additional on-page change tracking.
    • Improve the Looker Studio report for better aesthetics and user experience while keeping it functional.

By following these steps, you can methodically track website changes and measure their impact on SEO, creating a detailed and customisable workflow.

 

 

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