Every blogger or content marketer wishes to have his blog post or content displayed on the first page of search engines when a query is being queued in. It gives joy and a sign of relief when such height is achieved, and you will always want to give yourself a tap at the back for a job well done. But in all your efforts, there are important SEO metrics that ensure your content or blog post maintains the top spot on Search Engine Ranking Pages (SERP).

Though I cannot actually give you a clear indication of what Google bots to like or dislike in a blog post, the important search engine optimization metrics I will be revealing to you in this post are actually coming from Moz experts. By now you should already know that when it comes to SEO (Search Engine Optimization), the closest you can get to Google is through Moz. A recent article coming from Moz revealed some important factors or metrics that can keep your blog post or content on the first page of Google search. Take a look at the below.

4 Important SEO Metrics You Should Care About As a Content Marketer

From the report, the Moz experts revealed that the organic ranking metrics are a little bit similar to the AdWords quality score (that is the algorithm that Google uses to rank ads and determine its costs). Though we all know that the organic ranking algorithm is quite sophisticated and complicated too, the simplification of these important SEO metrics can go a long way in helping many online businesses and content creators.

1. Actions taken on your site

The actions taken on your site are one important SEO metric that determines the position of your content on search engine pages. Okay, let’s say a user came to your page, read the content, then what was the next action taken? Google loves to see users take action on websites (for example clicking a button) after reading through a blog post or scanning one of your pages. If no action is taken after reading through, then Google will assume your site is not really interesting.

How to tackle this issue?

You can simply correct this issue by adding “Call To Actions” (CTAs) to each of your blog posts. From common sense, you might be thinking that since your blog post has some value then a user can easily head to your contact page and ask for a request or guide, but it does not work that way. Simply add a CTA in your blog post (preferably at the end) so as to drive them in making a decision.

Also read: 10 Actionable SEO Tips That Has Huge Benefits For Bloggers

2. Bounce rate

Bounce rate is simply the minutes or time users spend on your page before leaving. There are some users that jump off almost immediately after arriving on a blog page (we call the Crickets). Though it might not be intentional, it simply means they did not find what they are looking for or your blog post is not relevant for their searched query. By now you should already know that a high bounce rate sends a negative signal to Google as well. It is one of the important SEO metrics that determine your content’s position too.

How to tackle this issue?

Internal linking is key in tackling this issue. Though they might not see exactly what they are looking for on that page, a link to another page might direct them to their solution. CTAs can also come in handy in this aspect, as it makes users continue clicking and browsing lots of your pages before they decide to leave.

Also read: How To Choose The Right Keywords For Each Blog Post

3. Time spent on your page

Another important SEO metric that determines your content’s position is the time spent by users on that particular content page. You might think that this issue can be fixed through your bounce rate, but it is not exactly the same thing. Users can spend few seconds on a page, then get distracted by a link at the top of the page and click on it. This action tells Google that though your website is interesting, that particular blog post is not.

Recent studies revealed that most users scan through web pages, they do not read them word for word. So, since you cannot change user behaviors, you can offer them something captivating to scan for longer periods.

How to tackle this issue?

Do not clutter your blog content. Don’t be afraid of the white spaces and add as many photos or videos as you can to captivate your audience and to break down the texts in your blog post. Using subtitles, spaces between paragraphs and bullet points is highly advisable. If users bump on a great wall of text on your page, they will definitely bounce off. But when you broke them into sub-headings and titles, it becomes more interesting and tends to keep them for a while.

4. Links to your website

This important SEO metric was confirmed by a Google representative. It revealed that the more links you have pointing to your website, the better you will rank on search engine pages.

You might be curious about this fact. The theory behind it is simple.

it means that when people cite you, you are actually doing a great job. Andrey Lipattsev, the Google representative clearly states that content and links are very important for ranking on SERP.

How to tackle this issue?

Having great content on your blog pages is your gold mine. When you create lots of them, the links will come in naturally. Though not as fast as you will expect, but they will definitely come with time. So, all you have to do is to keep publishing great content.

Also read: 5 Link Building Facts Every Blogger Should Know

Conclusion

If there is a common thing between all these important SEO metrics, it is content quality. When you write good content, the tendency of users to spend time on your page and site as a whole is high. They will love to click more pages and get other useful information. Some will actually love to link to your blog post as a trustworthy source. In summary, write good content and they will have reasonable positions on SERP.