Over the past few weeks, we’ve talked about what SEO means for technical documentation. Why it matters, common mistakes that hurt visibility, and how to structure your documentation to improve its visibility.
But even after getting all of that right, some questions still remain. How do you know if your documentation is actually helping? Are people finding it? Are they sticking around to read it? Are the right pages showing up when people search for certain topics? You might be doing all the right things, but how can you tell?
This article is about that final piece. Here, we’ll cover how to measure the performance of your documentation using simple, practical SEO tools and how to use that information to keep improving your work. Because the truth is, SEO isn’t a one-time fix. It’s something you monitor and tweak to make sure your documentation keeps working for the people who need it.
Why measurement matters in SEO for documentation
When you’re working on your technical documentation, it’s easy to focus on writing great content and optimizing it with the right keywords. But without measuring how it’s actually performing, it’s hard to know if all your hard work is paying off.
Here are a few reasons why measuring your SEO is so important:
- It shows if users are finding the right pages: You want the right people to land on the most important documentation. Tracking which pages get the most visits tells you if the content that should be visible is actually showing up in search results. If the key pages aren’t getting enough traffic, it could be a sign that those pages need better optimization.
- It reveals if your content is useful: Measuring metrics like bounce rate and time on page can tell you if users are leaving too quickly or sticking around long enough to get the information they need. A high bounce rate on a troubleshooting guide could mean it’s not providing what users expect.
- It helps identify content gaps: By looking at search performance and user behavior, you can find areas where your documentation might be lacking. If certain topics aren’t showing up in search results or users aren’t clicking through to related content, that’s a signal to improve or expand those sections.
- It keeps your SEO strategy up to date: Search engine algorithms change, and your content needs to adapt too. By measuring your rankings over time, you’ll spot when things start slipping and can tweak your strategy accordingly whether it’s adding more detail, optimizing for new keywords, or adjusting page structure.
Tracking your SEO performance helps you make smarter, data-driven decisions, ensuring that your documentation continues to meet user needs and performs well in search results.
Key SEO metrics for technical documentation
Now that you know why tracking matters, let’s talk about what to measure. When measuring SEO for your technical documentation, it’s important to focus on the right metrics. These numbers will show you how well your content is performing and help you figure out what needs to be improved. Here are some key metrics you should track:
1. Organic traffic
Organic traffic is the number of people visiting your documentation through search engines without any paid ads. It’s one of the most important metrics because it tells you if your content is getting found. If you’re not getting much traffic, it could mean your pages aren’t ranking well in search results, and you might need to change your keywords or content.
2. Search visibility
Search visibility measures how often your pages show up in search results for relevant keywords. The higher your search visibility, the more likely it is that people will find your documentation when they search for related topics. Monitoring this metric helps you see how your SEO efforts are paying off.
3. Traffic value
Traffic value is the estimated cost of getting the same amount of organic traffic through paid advertising. If your organic traffic is high, that means your SEO efforts are bringing in valuable visitors without paying for ads. This metric gives you an idea of the return on investment (ROI) of your SEO strategy.
4. Referring domains
Referring domains are the websites that link to your documentation. Having links from reputable websites improves your SEO because it shows that others trust your content. Tracking referring domains helps you see if you’re building backlinks and how your content is being shared across the web.
5. Organic traffic conversions
Conversions show how many visitors take a desired action on your page, such as downloading a guide or contacting support. For technical docs, this could mean completing a setup or troubleshooting task. Tracking this metric helps you understand whether your documentation is actually helping users and guiding them to the next steps.
6. Keyword rankings
Tracking your keyword rankings shows how well your pages are performing for the terms you want to rank for. If your installation guide ranks well for “how to install [software name],” then your SEO is working. If your rankings drop, it may mean the content needs to be updated or that your competition is doing better SEO.
7. Indexed pages
Indexed pages show how many pages of your documentation are being recognized by search engines. If search engines can’t index your pages, they won’t appear in search results. This metric helps you spot any issues with your site’s visibility and ensure that important pages are being indexed properly.
8. Index coverage errors
Index coverage errors occur when search engines have trouble indexing your pages. These errors could mean your pages aren’t being crawled correctly, which could hurt your SEO. Monitoring this metric helps you find and fix any technical issues that are preventing your documentation from showing up in search results.
9. Core web vitals
Core Web Vitals are a set of metrics that focus on the user experience of your pages. They measure things like page load speed, interactivity, and visual stability. These factors are important because Google uses them to determine how user-friendly your site is. If your Core Web Vitals are poor, it could impact your rankings, so it’s worth paying attention to.
10. Website health
Website health is a general measure of how well your site is performing from an SEO perspective. It includes factors like page speed, mobile-friendliness, security, and overall usability. If your website’s health is good, it means your site is well-optimized for both users and search engines.
By tracking these key metrics, you can get a clear picture of how your documentation is doing and make adjustments to improve it. These metrics help you understand what’s working, what’s not, and where you can make your documentation even better.
Tools for tracking SEO performance
Tracking SEO for your technical documentation doesn’t have to be complicated. There are plenty of tools out there that make it easier to measure your SEO performance and get the insights you need.
Here are some of the most useful tools you can use:
1. Google Analytics
Google Analytics is one of the most widely used tools for tracking website performance. It shows you how many people are visiting your documentation, which pages they’re viewing, how long they’re staying, and where they’re coming from. You can also track bounce rates, exit rates, and other key metrics. It’s free to use and offers detailed reports, making it an essential tool for any SEO strategy. Check out this guide from Google on how to go about using this tool.
2. Google Search Console
Google Search Console gives you direct insight into how your site is performing in Google’s search results. It shows you which keywords are driving traffic to your docs, how your pages are ranking, and if there are any issues with your site’s search visibility. You can also use it to submit sitemaps and see if Google is having trouble crawling your pages, which is important for SEO.
3. SEMrush
SEMrush is a powerful SEO tool that helps you track keyword rankings, analyze competitors, and find opportunities to improve your content. It’s particularly useful for tracking your SEO progress over time and spotting keywords that you might be missing. You can also use SEMrush to audit your content and get suggestions on how to improve it for better performance.
4. Ahrefs
Ahrefs is another great tool for SEO tracking. It gives you detailed reports on your website’s backlinks (links from other sites pointing to your docs), keyword rankings, and traffic. Ahrefs is known for its comprehensive site audits, which help you find and fix SEO issues on your pages. If you want to improve your technical documentation’s SEO, Ahrefs can give you the data you need to make informed decisions.
5. Moz Pro
Moz Pro is a popular SEO tool that offers a wide range of features, including keyword tracking, site audits, and on-page optimization. Moz’s keyword research tool is particularly helpful for finding the best terms to target in your documentation. It also provides actionable recommendations on improving your site’s SEO and making sure your docs are visible to search engines.
6. Yoast SEO (for WordPress)
If you’re using WordPress to manage your documentation, Yoast SEO is a must-have plugin. It helps you optimize your pages by giving you real-time suggestions on how to improve your content for search engines. Yoast SEO checks things like keyword usage, meta descriptions, and readability, making it easier for you to follow best SEO practices.
7. Ubersuggest
Ubersuggest is a user-friendly tool that offers keyword suggestions, tracks SEO rankings, and audits your site. It’s a great tool for beginners and small teams, as it provides easy-to-understand data and insights. Ubersuggest also gives content ideas based on popular search terms, which can help you improve your documentation and target more relevant keywords.
Each of these tools offers different features, but they can help you track your SEO performance and improve your technical documentation visibility. Some are free, while others offer more advanced features with paid plans. Choosing the right tool depends on your needs, budget, and the level of detail you want to track.
How to improve your technical documentation based on SEO insights
Once you’ve tracked the right SEO metrics for your technical documentation, the next step is to use that data to make improvements. But how do you turn raw numbers into meaningful actions? Let’s break it down.
1. Identify areas for improvement: Start by looking at the metrics where you’re not seeing the results you want. Pinpointing these areas gives you clear focus points for your improvements.
2. Improve content quality: Content is king, especially when it comes to SEO. If your keyword rankings are low or your pages aren’t performing well, it might be time to review your content. Make sure it’s clear, up-to-date, and answers users’ questions thoroughly. Here are a few steps you can take:
- Update old content: Revisit older docs that might be outdated or lacking in detail. Refresh them with new information, add more examples, or improve the structure.
- Add more relevant keywords: If your docs aren’t ranking for important keywords, consider adding them naturally into your content. But avoid keyword stuffing; it’s about quality, not quantity.
- Focus on user intent: Make sure your content answers users’ needs. Are they looking for quick answers or in-depth explanations? Adjust the content based on what users are searching for.
3. Optimize for search engines: If you’re seeing issues like low search visibility or indexing problems, it might be time to optimize for search engines. You can make changes like:
- Fix technical SEO issues: Use tools like Google Search Console to check for issues like broken links, missing metadata, or slow page load times. Fixing these can improve how Google views and ranks your pages.
- Enhance meta tags: Ensure your meta descriptions, page titles, and headers are optimized for both users and search engines. These elements help search engines understand what your page is about and encourage users to click.
- Improve internal linking: Linking to other relevant pages within your documentation helps users discover more content and keeps them on your site longer. It also helps search engines understand the structure of your site.
4. Improve user experience: Improving user experience helps your SEO. If your technical documentation is easy to read, loads quickly, and guides users clearly, they’re more likely to stay longer and find what they need. This tells search engines that your content is helpful.
5. Monitor and repeat: Improvement doesn’t stop after one change. SEO is an ongoing process. Keep tracking your metrics, adjusting your content and strategies, and seeing how things improve. Don’t expect instant results, as SEO changes take time, but by consistently measuring and refining, you’ll keep improving over time.
For more specific tips on improving certain metrics, check out this table:
| Metric | What It Tells You | What You Can Do |
| Organic traffic | People aren’t finding your docs through search. | Add relevant keywords, update old content, and link to it from other pages in your docs. |
| Keyword rankings | You’re not showing up for important search terms. | Use the main keywords in your titles, headings, and first paragraphs. |
| Search visibility | Your docs aren’t appearing high in search results. | Improve title tags and meta descriptions. Make your docs mobile-friendly and easy to load. |
| Traffic value | You’re ranking for low-impact keywords. | Focus on keywords that match your users’ real questions. |
| Organic traffic conversions | Visitors aren’t taking the next step after reading. | Add helpful and compelling CTAs, and make next steps obvious. |
| Referring domains | Few sites are linking to your docs. | Create helpful, easy-to-understand guides. Share them and ask trusted sites or partners to link to them. |
| Indexed pages | Some of your docs aren’t showing up in search. | Submit a sitemap, use internal links to those pages, and check for crawl issues in Google Search Console. |
| Index coverage errors | Google is having trouble accessing or indexing your docs. | Fix broken pages, redirects, and misused tags. Remove “noindex” tags where needed, and check your robots.txt and canonical tags. |
| Core Web Vitals | Your pages are slow or hard to use. | Optimize loading speed, compress large images, avoid heavy scripts, and make sure buttons and links are easy to tap to improve the experience. |
| Website health | Your docs may have technical SEO issues. | Use SEO tools to run audits and fix broken links, missing metadata, or structure issues. |
By measuring key metrics and acting on what you find, you can create better, more accessible technical documentation that both users and search engines love. Focus on quality, user experience, and technical optimization, and your SEO will steadily improve.
Final thoughts
Good documentation doesn’t end at writing. It ends when someone finds it, understands it, and uses it to solve a problem. SEO helps make that happen. Whether it’s the developer debugging at 2 AM, the new user trying to set things up, or the team searching for quick answers, SEO helps your work reach the right people at the right time. It’s not about just chasing traffic or adding fancy words. It’s about making your content useful and easy to reach.
This series, How to Use SEO to Make Technical Documentation Easier to Use, has been all about exactly that. If you’ve made it this far, we hope you leave with practical ways to write, track, and improve content that actually works.
If you missed any part of this series, catch up on it below to learn more about how SEO can make your technical documentation more effective.
- Article 1: What is SEO, and why does it matter for technical documentation?
- Article 2: How to Improve Documentation Visibility for Search Engines.
- Article 3: Common SEO Mistakes in Technical Documentation (and How to Avoid Them).
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