Module 8: Analytics, Tracking & Iteration

Google Search Console Mastery

Google Search Console (GSC) is the most important SEO tool — and it's free. It shows you exactly how Google sees your site: which queries trigger your pages, which pages are indexed, and what errors need fixing. Most SEOs underuse it.

• Performance report: Track impressions, clicks, CTR, and average position by query and page
• URL Inspection: Check how Google renders any specific page and request indexing
• Coverage report: Identify indexation errors, excluded pages, and crawl anomalies
• Core Web Vitals report: See which URLs fail LCP, INP, or CLS thresholds

GA4 for Organic Search Tracking

Google Analytics 4 replaced Universal Analytics and requires a different approach to organic traffic analysis. Key reports for SEO monitoring are organised differently — understanding the new model is essential for accurate reporting.

• Organic channel: Traffic → Acquisition → Traffic Acquisition → filter by Organic Search
• Landing page performance: Engagement → Landing pages — filter by organic medium
• Search Console integration: Connect GSC to GA4 for query-level data inside Analytics
• Conversion tracking: Set up key events (form fills, purchases, sign-ups) to attribute to organic

Rank Tracking Setup

Rank tracking monitors your keyword positions over time — essential for measuring SEO progress and detecting algorithm update impacts. Manual Google searches are unreliable (personalisation skews results) — use dedicated tracking tools.

• Track primary and secondary keywords for every key page
• Track at the correct location — especially for local SEO
• Set up competitor tracking to monitor your share of voice
• Configure weekly email alerts for significant ranking changes

The Monthly SEO Reporting Framework

A consistent monthly reporting framework transforms data into decisions. The goal is not a comprehensive data dump — it's a clear narrative: what improved, what declined, why, and what the next action is.

• Organic traffic trend: Month-over-month and year-over-year comparison
• Keyword ranking movement: Top movers and losers since last report
• Indexation health: New pages indexed vs. errors in GSC coverage report
• CWV status: Pass/fail rate across the site and specific failing URLs
• Actions for next month: Specific pages to update, links to build, technical fixes to ship

AI Prompts for This Module

Use these prompts directly in ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini to apply the concepts from this module to your own site.

I'm going to paste my Google Search Console performance data below. Analyse it and tell me: 1) The top 5 pages by click potential (high impressions, low CTR), 2) Keywords ranking positions 8–15 that could reach page 1 with optimisation, 3) Any concerning trends in the data, 4) The single highest-priority action based on this data. [Paste GSC data export]

Create a monthly SEO report template for [describe site/business]. Include: an executive summary section (3 bullet points max), a metrics table with the 8 most important KPIs and their month-on-month change, a wins/losses narrative section, and a prioritised action list for next month. Format for a non-technical stakeholder audience.