Setting clear goals enables you to focus your efforts on influencing search rank, your market’s media (including social), or both. Consider these link building goals as you go about setting your own:

Examples of Clear Link Building Goals:

1) Increase conversions through targeted search traffic
2) Increase conversions through targeted referral traffic
3) Increase positive mentions from influential media

Once you’ve decided on your link building campaign goals – and set both target dates and target numbers – you must identify their key performance indicators. Key performance indicators, or KPIs, are measurable results that demonstrate movement towards or away from your goals. KPIs enable you to communicate the value of your link building campaign to everyone in your organization.

Here are examples of some key performance indicators based on the goals listed above.

Goal 1: Increase conversions through targeted search traffic
Conversions are valuable actions that people can make on your website, including direct sales, signing up for a newsletter, requesting more information, downloading a white paper and more. Once you know the key terms that bring your organization the highest rate of conversion you’re ready to begin building links that increase traffic volume for these terms.

Goal 1 KPIs:

-Search rankings for converting key terms
-Percentage of increase in converting search traffic
-Percentage of increase in search traffic from geographic regions
-Increase in number of pages on domain that yield traffic
-Percentage increase in non-branded search traffic
-Percentage fluctuation in engagement metrics such as time on site, time on pages and bounce rate

Goal 2: Increase conversions through targeted referral traffic
Referral traffic are the site visitors who click links on other websites to get to your website. Referrals – links – from trusted influentials within a market can result in conversions at a higher rate than even targeted search traffic.

Goal 2 KPIs:

-Number of links from sites/people deemed influential
-Percentage increase in targeted referral traffic
-Percentage increase in referral traffic conversions
-Percentage increase in engagement metrics such as time on site, time on pages. Decrease in bounce rate

Goal 3: Increase positive mentions from influential media
Websites that influence search rank often influence market perception. You’ll find that segments of your link prospects may respond well to public relations-styled outreach including offers of sneak previews and executive access for interviews. Here’s more about identifying these highly valuable purchase decision makers within large url data sets >>

Goal 3 KPIs:

-Percentage increase in branded search term traffic
-Percentage increase of mentions in target media over competitors
-Number of blog posts and articles about or citing your organization
-Number of customers indicating that media provoked their enquiry
-Number of 3rd party mentions and community pass alongs
-Number of positive responses in conversation thread exchanges
-Number of key influencers known to actively suggest your products or services to those who trust them
-Number of positive, goal-focused emails exchanged
-Number of newsletter/RSS subscriptions increase due to recommendation
-Number of customers indicating that an individual provoked their action

Your goals and KPIs inform all other stages of your rank and market influencing link building campaign and must serve as a touchstone for every action you take. By establishing and relentlessly pursuing clear goals and specific KPIs you produce results that everyone understands.