Data Analysis in SEO

What is data?

Data is numbers or information gathered about certain events. Over the course of a normal day, an SEO agent will create and observe large amounts of data, for example, website changes, performance statistics, and action logs. All of this data is useful in illustrating the story of a website. 

Why is data collection important?

Data collection can sometimes seem pointless, but the importance of data collection tasks can be judged on the following purposes:

By regularly collecting data from different web diagnostics sources, problems can be identified very quickly. Regular data collection means that an SEO agent is never in the dark about his or her website's health.

Perhaps the most important indicator of "pointless data collection", data that is not used is useless data, especially in relation to website health. If data shows a problem, the next step is action. The benefit of regular data collection in this regard is that it shows both the pre- and post-action status of the website after actions have been taken.

It can be difficult to see the causes behind unforeseen changes to a website's health or performance. With just a few different data sets, possible causes can be narrowed down for deeper investigation. If the agent does not have a sufficient bank of data, this analysis must be built up from the ground.

What makes data collection effective?

Effective data collection can be defined by four factors: sources, recording, regularity, and usability.

The sources of data should provide the opportunity to see different perspectives of the website performance. An inaccurate image of a website may be formed if the agent only uses a few different data sources. Diversify data sources by using a mixture of analytic tools and first-hand observations.

Data collection can be laborious, so it is important that the fruits do not spoil. Discipline is essential for recording data because effective data collection is based on consistent behaviour. Each time it is collected, data should be recorded in the same way. It should be easy to access, and clear enough to show to another SEO agent.

Regularity is possibly the most important factor in the potential of data collection to support SEO. If data is not collected regularly, the main purposes of the long-term effort are destroyed. It is essential to establish a fixed interval of time for data collection before the collection task is started. The interval should be based on manageability, as overly frequent collection can take up too much time. Finally, the establishment of regular intervals of time should not prevent spontaneous data collection in between set dates; the more the agent observes the website the better.

Data collection must result in data sets that can actually be used to guide SEO strategies. All SEO agents must always be conscious of how the data they are collecting can be used to make their jobs easier, or it will just turn into "pointless data collection".