Why total-page SERP visibility often trumps average rank

Time and time again, we've seen that a company’s search strategy is more effective when it generates multiple listings for the same query. But it’s not just about quantity of listings. The listings must rank high in each section to encourage searchers to trust a company and click on its links, and be seen often. We developed a new metric for search marketers to grade their performance in the three key SERP sections: SEM, SEO, and PLA. We called it the Search Marketing Visibility Score™ (SMVS) since it's a relative measure of your total-page visibility, and incorporates appearances, rank, reach, and frequency. And it scores you for each of your keywords.

Why Search Marketing Visibility matters

The SMVS gives search marketers several advantages over traditional search metrics:

• Learn About Current Competitors: The SMVS lets any search marketer see their relative score versus current competitors
• Identify New Competitors: Running an SMVS report also identifies unknown threats or industry entrants.
• Pinpoint Areas for Improvement:  For the Paid, Organic, and PLA sections, the SMVS helps you review your performance and compare it to that of each competitor. See table below. This information is crucial for budgeting and resource allocation since a search manager can decide where to focus their efforts and devote their next dollar to maximize their total SEM presence
• Justify PPC Spend Decisions: The SMVS provides search marketers at brands or their agencies with the evidence they need to increase spend (to be more competitive), maintain current spend levels, or re-allocate budgets between Paid, Organic, and PLA.

The SMVS tells you the formula for driving more clicks. If you're already beating your competitors, for example, it tells you in which areas you're the strongest, so you can keep up the good work. If you're falling behind a key competitor, it shows you which areas need improvement. For example, your paid performance might be fine (see example of Competitor B vs. A), but you need help with organic visibility.

Want to know if your search marketing scores an A or an F?

To see your own Search Marketing Visibility Score,  request a demo for your specific set of keywords and competitors, and any time frame or location. What gets measured, gets managed! [link url="https://www.thesearchmonitor.com/demo-request/"]Request Your Score[/link] Or contact us with any questions.