SEO promotion: how to verify results and growth

1. How do I know if it's working?

When you invest in search engine promotion, the most common question is: "How do I know if it's working?". Whether you're focusing on SEO or paid campaigns (SEM), knowing how to read the data is essential. This article offers a clear guide, suitable even for those new to the field, to understanding how to measure the results of your online efforts.

2. SEO and SEM: two sides of the same coin

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) covers all the activities aimed at improving a website's organic ranking — that is, non-paid — on Google and other search engines.

SEM (Search Engine Marketing), on the other hand, also includes paid advertising campaigns, such as Google Ads.

Both strategies aim to increase visibility and conversions, but with different approaches: SEO takes longer but delivers lasting results, while SEM delivers immediate results, tied to the budget invested.

3. How to define "results" in digital marketing

Before you can verify anything, you need to know what to look for. Results in digital marketing are measured through so-called KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). These indicators change depending on your goals: you might want to increase site traffic, generate leads, drive sales, or simply raise brand awareness.

A common mistake is relying only on "vanity" numbers, like visits, without accounting for the quality of those visitors.

4. Analysing SEO results

To understand whether SEO is working, you need to look at several elements: keyword rankings over time, organic traffic (the traffic that arrives from search engines without advertising), user behaviour on the site (time on page, pages visited, bounce rate — the percentage of visitors who leave after viewing just one page), as well as backlinks received and domain authority.

Essential tools include Google Search Console to check performance in search results, and Google Analytics 4 to study how visitors behave on the site.

For more technical and competitive insights, professional tools like Semrush and SEOZoom are useful.

5. Measuring SEM campaign effectiveness

When it comes to Google Ads or sponsored listings, the key metrics are different. The most important include impressions (how many times the ad is shown), clicks received, CTR (click-through rate, the percentage of viewers who click), CPC (cost per click), and, above all, conversions.

It's essential to know how much a customer costs you — CPA (cost per acquisition) — and what return you get on your investment, ROAS (Return On Ad Spend).

Google Analytics 4 and Google Ads, when properly linked, give a complete overview. With Google Tag Manager you can track goals, analyse conversion funnels, and optimise in real time.

6. Measuring visibility in generative search

As of 2026, SEO is no longer just about traditional blue links: an increasing number of searches show AI-generated answers (Google's AI Overviews) before the classic organic results. Getting cited within these answers — an activity now also called AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) or GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) — has become a visibility goal in its own right.

To read this data: open Search Console, go to Performance → Search Results, and use the "Search Type" filter to select "AI Overviews" or "AI Mode" instead of the default "Web". It's a useful first step to understand whether your content is being picked up by generative search systems, alongside classic results.

7. Setting up good reporting

You don't need to be an analyst to build a good report. You just need to know what to keep an eye on: traffic sources, top-performing keywords, the pages driving the most results. A good dashboard gives you a weekly or monthly overview and lets you immediately see what's improving and what isn't. With tools like Looker Studio, you can create visual, shareable, automatically-updated reports.

8. Mistakes to avoid

• Looking only at visits, without analysing their quality: traffic alone tells you nothing.
• Not setting trackable goals before launching a campaign.
• Ignoring "hidden" data such as on-site searches or micro-goals (sign-ups, button clicks).
• Not accounting for how often users return to the site.

9. Checklist for monitoring performance

10. Frequently asked questions