What is SEO testing?

We get this question a lot, and it's fair. WHAT exactly is SEO* testing, and how does it differ from, say, CRO* testing?

• Search Engine Optimization
• Conversion Rate Optimization

In short: SEO testing involves making changes to a website, either to page content, design layout or technical setup such as the HTML structure, to measure their impact on organic traffic and visibility.

What's the difference between CRO and SEO testing?

It's all about how you execute each test.

CRO testing is about what users do when they enter a website. SEO testing is all about what happens before you enter the website on search engine surfaces.

You do not control when or how a search engine picks up your SEO changes, but with CRO you can split traffic to one page version against another. CRO has nothing to do on how you rank in keywords or search terms.

What is organic traffic?

When we say organic traffic, we refer to website traffic from search engines such as Google, Bing, Yahoo and Yandex that is coming naturally. Not from any paid advertising, but organically due to ranking high on various surfaces.

Organic traffic is usually considered to be "free" traffic, a flow of website visits free of charge.

What are search engine surfaces?

Search engine surfaces are where a user can search for anything on avenues offered by search engines.

For instance on Google, this could be (but not limited to):

• Traditional search results pages (blue links)

• Featured snippets/position zero

• People Also Ask boxes

• Knowledge panels/Knowledge Graphs

• Google Discover feed

• Google News

• Google Images

• Google Videos

• Google Maps/Local Pack results

• Google Shopping (organic product listings)

• YouTube (owned by Google)

• Google Assistant voice search results

• Rich results (recipes, events, FAQs, etc.)

• Google My Business profile visits

Lately, AI systems has become more integrated with search experiences (like Gemini being integrated into Google Search), so while chatbots are not typically considered organic traffic but rather referral traffic, the line may blur further and become a considerable source of organic traffic.

What is organic ranking / What is SEO?

Traffic from search engines is influenced by how good a website is positioned on search terms. If our website has position 3 on the search term "seo tests", it usually means a landing page from our website is showing up as the third search result in Google search. Ranking is therein the overall positions of search terms.

SEO (search engine optimization) is the art of getting better rankings than your competitors on strategic search terms and keywords, to increase organic traffic.

How does a SEO test work?

If SEO is all about what happens before a user enters your website, it's all about how a search engine reacts to your SEO changes.

We don't have the luxury to tell a search engine to A/B test something for us. If you want to test a new title, you change it and Google picks up that change when they want. We cannot tell them to show Title A vs Title B for the same landing page

SEO changes needs to be picked up by search engines, it usually takes longer time and it's hard to separate your changes to overarching trends such as seasonality or marketing campaigns.

How do you measure the success of SEO testing?

SEO testing is all about making changes to a website to see what increased organic traffic from search engines.

It's not always easy to measure the impact of changes due to the nature of how SEO tests are executed. SEO changes needs to be picked up by search engines, it usually takes longer time and it's hard to separate your changes to overarching trends such as seasonality or marketing campaigns.

To

Discuss tracking metrics like organic traffic, keyword rankings, conversion rates, bounce rates, and backlink quality using tools such as Google Analytics and Search Console.

What are some effective SEO testing ideas?

Examples include title tag variations, meta description changes, header tag adjustments, content refreshes, internal linking tests, and schema markup implementation.

How do external factors affect SEO testing results?

Highlight the influence of seasonality, competitor actions, algorithm updates, and other variables on test outcomes.

What tools can be used for SEO testing?

Mention popular tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, Google Search Console, and others for analyzing test results and monitoring performance.

Topics to Cover in Your Article

1. Basics of SEO Testing Define SEO testing and its importance for improving rankings and user engagement.

Differentiate between types of tests (e.g., serial testing vs. before-and-after tests).

2. Types of SEO Tests Title Tags: Testing different keywords or phrasing to optimize click-through rates.

Meta Descriptions: Experimenting with calls-to-action to improve user engagement.

Content Variations: Comparing long-form vs. short-form content for rankings.

Technical Enhancements: Testing page speed improvements or schema markup changes.

Internal Linking: Assessing how link distribution impacts site navigation and rankings.

3. Step-by-Step Guide to Running an SEO Test Formulating a hypothesis based on data.

Implementing changes systematically.

Monitoring results using analytics tools.

Iterating based on findings.

4. Challenges in SEO Testing Discuss how external factors like algorithm updates or competitor actions can skew results.

Highlight the need for patience since SEO changes often take time to show measurable effects.

5. Tools for Effective Testing Provide an overview of tools like SEMrush, Google Search Console, and Ahrefs for keyword tracking, competitor analysis, and performance monitoring.

6. Advanced Topics Mobile-first indexing and its role in modern SEO.

Optimizing for voice search using natural language queries.

Core Web Vitals metrics (LCP, FID, CLS) and their impact on rankings.

7. Real-Life Examples Share case studies or examples of successful SEO tests (e.g., adding videos to blog posts or optimizing URLs).

By addressing these questions and topics comprehensively in your article, you can create a valuable resource for readers interested in understanding and implementing effective SEO testing strategies.