Before reading, learn more about the basics of SEO in one of our previous blogs:
If you've ever tried to prove the impact of SEO in a marketing campaign, you know it's not enough to say, "We got more organic traffic." Executives want to see more than pageviews. They want to know how those visitors moved through your pipeline, how many turned into qualified leads, and how many became paying customers.
Here's the hard truth: you can't win that argument if you can't measure the results in a clear, objective way.
That's where your choice of SEO platform becomes critical. With so many options—HubSpot, Google Analytics 4, Semrush, Ahrefs---it's easy to get caught up in feature lists without thinking about what you actually need to measure when implementing SEO for HubSpot strategies.
We get asked about this all the time as a HubSpot agency partner:
- Why do we use HubSpot over the other tools?
- Is it really effective for measuring SEO for HubSpot performance?
- Would we recommend it to every business?
- How does it stack up against SEO-specific platforms?
In this guide, we'll break all of that down—starting with the basics of what makes an SEO measurement platform worth using in the first place, especially when you're focused on SEO for HubSpot implementation.
What Makes a Good SEO Measurement Platform
Before you decide on a platform, it helps to understand the key capabilities you should be looking for. These are the areas that separate the "nice-to-have" tools from the ones that will actually help you prove your work's value when managing SEO for HubSpot campaigns.
- Keyword Tracking and Analysis — Knowing exactly which keywords are driving your rankings and how they're performing over time.
- Backlink Monitoring and Quality Checks — Backlinks are still a huge ranking factor; you need to know the strength and relevance of the links pointing to your site.
- On-Page SEO Performance Tracking — Keeping tabs on your site speed, mobile readiness, title tags, headings, and other on-page elements that influence rankings.
- Competitor Keyword Comparisons — Seeing where your competitors rank helps you spot opportunities and gaps in your own strategy.
- User-Friendly Interface — Even the most advanced tool is useless if it's too clunky to navigate.
- Integration with Other Platforms — Your SEO data should work with your CRM, automation, and reporting systems.
- Reporting Capabilities — Clear, customizable reports for sharing progress with stakeholders.
These criteria work no matter what industry you're in—they're the foundation for making sure your SEO reporting is meaningful and effective for your SEO for HubSpot initiatives.
Why We Use HubSpot to Measure SEO
HubSpot is a multi-purpose marketing and analytics platform. It's not built only for SEO, but that's exactly why we like it---because it ties search activity directly to your broader business goals. This integration is what makes SEO for HubSpot particularly compelling for businesses focused on ROI.
Where many platforms stop at showing you rankings or traffic spikes, HubSpot can link those numbers to actual leads, deals, and revenue. This makes it especially powerful for proving ROI when you're implementing comprehensive SEO for HubSpot campaigns.
Here are three features we rely on most:
1. Contact-Level Attribution
Plenty of tools will tell you which page got traffic from search. HubSpot goes a step further and tells you who came in through those pages, what else they looked at, and whether they became a customer.
That means you're not just tracking anonymous clicks—you're seeing exactly how your SEO for HubSpot efforts impact your pipeline. HubSpot isn't meant to replace a full-blown SERP tracker, but when the goal is to measure business impact from your search optimization work, it has a clear advantage.
2. Website Grader
This free tool scans your site for technical SEO issues, checking things like site speed, mobile-friendliness, and metadata. It's not a full audit, but it's a quick way to identify weaknesses and set priorities for your SEO for HubSpot strategy. Over time, you can use it to track how fixes improve your scores.
For more information on this tool, check out this article:
https://designers.hubspot.com/inspire/entry/hubspot-website-grader-expertise
3. HubSpot SEO Tool
This feature helps you optimize content by suggesting keywords, connecting with Google Search Console, and showing how your pages are performing. It's especially useful for blog-heavy strategies, where you can see how posts rank for your target terms and make quick changes to improve them. This tool is particularly valuable when you're scaling your SEO for HubSpot content efforts.
Where HubSpot Falls Short for SEO
Like any platform, HubSpot has its limits when it comes to comprehensive SEO for HubSpot management. The biggest one is cost.
Yes, there's a free version—but the advanced SEO features, including the dashboard, strategy tools, and deep reporting, live in the higher-tier plans. For smaller businesses with tight budgets, that jump can be hard to justify.
The other tradeoff is specialization. HubSpot isn't built to give you the same granular keyword tracking or backlink data as dedicated SEO tools like Ahrefs or Semrush. That's why many teams use it alongside another platform rather than relying solely on it for their SEO for HubSpot campaigns.
Alternatives to Consider
Even though we use HubSpot daily, we're quick to recommend pairing it with other platforms for a more complete SEO picture. Here's a breakdown of the top contenders that can complement your SEO for HubSpot approach:
Google Analytics (GA4)
- Pros: Free, rich traffic data, detailed user behavior tracking, conversion reports, and audience segmentation.
- Cons: No search query data, tricky attribution, and a steeper learning curve.
GA4 works well as a complementary tool to your SEO for HubSpot setup, especially for understanding user behavior and conversion paths.
Semrush
- Pros: Industry-leading keyword research, competitor analysis, customizable reporting, plus local SEO tools and PPC data.
- Cons: Higher cost, data limits on lower tiers, and less focus on hyperlocal search.
Ahrefs
- Pros: Excellent backlink analysis, keyword tracking, competitor research, and the "traffic potential" metric for targeting.
- Cons: Expensive, no free trial, extra cost for daily rank tracking, and occasional interface quirks.
Should You Use HubSpot to Measure SEO?
The short answer: it depends on your needs and how you plan to structure your overall search optimization strategy.
If you're looking for a marketing platform that's easy to use, integrates with your CRM, and lets you connect SEO directly to sales and revenue, then implementing SEO for HubSpot is a strong choice.
If you need deeper technical SEO insights—especially around rankings, backlinks, and site audits—you may want to supplement HubSpot with a specialized tool to create a more comprehensive approach.
The key takeaway? SEO for HubSpot works best when you can link optimization efforts to measurable business results. That's where it stands apart from many other platforms and why we continue to recommend it to clients who prioritize connecting their search performance to actual revenue outcomes.
