Should You Use HubSpot to Measure SEO?

Before reading, learn more about the basics of SEO in one of our previous blogs:

Defending the business impact of SEO can feel impossible. It’s got to be more than just “we increased organic traffic” or “we increased overall website traffic.” You need to prove that website optimization is crucial in building brand awareness, nurturing leads into the next step or through the pipeline, and converting prospects into long-lasting client relationships.

Do you know what is actually impossible?

Trying to make a business case for SEO if you can’t objectively measure its success.

That’s where having the right platform comes into play that can efficiently organize and monitor your efforts. HubSpot, Google Analytics (GA4), Semrush, Ahrefs… There are so many options to choose from.

But what makes them all different from each other?

As a HubSpot agency partner, we often get asked a myriad of questions about why we chose it out of all the other options on the market. How effective is HubSpot in measuring organic search optimization? Would we recommend every business use it? How does it compare to other tools? We answer all of those questions in this blog.

What Makes a Good Platform for Measuring SEO

Before diving into what made us choose HubSpot, it’s important to understand what makes a good platform for measuring SEO in the first place.

Some key features to keep an eye out when researching a platform include:

Keyword Tracking and Analysis- crucial for understanding your website's visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs)
Backlink Monitoring and Quality Assessment- remain as a significant factor in search engine algorithms
On-Page SEO Performance Tracking- fundamental to ranking well in search results
Competitor Keyword Comparison- understanding your competitors' strategies is vital for staying competitive
A User-Friendly Interface- a clean, intuitive interface is essential for efficient website optimization management
Integration with Other Platforms- integration with other marketing tools is crucial for a comprehensive view of your digital performance
Reporting Capabilities- effective reporting is essential for communicating SEO progress to stakeholders

Why We Use HubSpot to Measure SEO

HubSpot is a versatile analytics platform designed to track all kinds of customer and business efforts, but what we love about it is that it ties it all together so we can see the entire customer journey — and tie it back to revenue.

Offering a range of tools across its various hubs to help businesses improve and measure their SEO efforts. Here's an overview of some key features that cement itself as an amazing tool for measuring organic search optimization:

Tying Back to Contacts

While other platforms can provide more granular measuring tools than HubSpot, most we’ve worked on cannot show you the actual leads and customers you've received as a result of SEO. In HubSpot, you not only can see the contacts that were created from organic sources, but you can also see what page they entered the site on (plus the pages they navigated to). Being able to connect your strategy back to real people is vital.

Why? Because it can give you a clear indication of whether your SEO strategy is working or not, which can then help determine your ROI for the time and energy you put into your efforts. HubSpot will never be the source for tracking keyword rankings/SERP analysis, but it gives it a big leg up over other platforms.

Website Grader

The HubSpot Website Grader is a great tool for assessing a website’s technical SEO performance. It helps identify areas that need improvement, such as mobile responsiveness, site speed, and on-page elements like title tags and meta descriptions. This tool gives a clear starting point, allowing businesses to prioritize changes and track progress over time.

For more information on this tool, check out this article:

https://designers.hubspot.com/inspire/entry/hubspot-website-grader-expertise

SEO Tool

HubSpot’s SEO Tool is a powerful feature for optimizing on-page elements to improve search engine visibility. It provides keyword suggestions and connects to Google Search Console to track/monitor keyword rankings. For example, when managing a blog, it gives insights into how well posts are performing for specific keywords, enabling quick adjustments to things like meta descriptions, alt text, and internal links. This tool makes it easier to apply data-driven SEO changes and boost rankings efficiently.

Potential Drawback of HubSpot for SEO

While HubSpot offers many advantages for SEO, there are a few potential drawbacks to consider. No platform is perfect, and bias aside, the thing to be most mindful of here is cost consideration. HubSpot is a powerful tool, but it can go up in cost as the complexity of your processes, the number of users, and the size of your contact list grows.

While there is a free Starter tier, many of the more advanced applications, like the SEO Dashboard, content strategy tools, and reporting features, are only available with higher-tier plans. This may not be the most cost-effective option for businesses with tight budgets, but does allow for lots of flexibility to only implement what you need and scale it accordingly with your business as you grow.

Alternatives to HubSpot

Although we may use HubSpot, there are still other tools that we encourage you to consider. So, we thought it would only be fair to compile some common pros and cons of the top HubSpot substitutes in the market today.

Google Analytics (GA4)

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is a powerful tool for website optimization, offering several benefits. It's free, provides comprehensive traffic data, tracks user behavior, and allows conversion tracking. GA4 also enables audience segmentation, multi-channel attribution, and custom reports.

However, it lacks search query data, has complex attribution, isn't search engine specific, and has a steeper learning curve. Even with these limitations, GA4 can be a valuable asset when used effectively.

Semrush

Semrush is a powerhouse in the SEO world, offering a wealth of benefits that make it a go-to tool for many professionals. It provides a deep dive into SEO analytics, robust keyword research, and competitor analysis that helps you stay ahead of the game.

The platform also includes customizable reports, local SEO tools, and insights into PPC and social media, all presented in a user-friendly way that makes navigating complex data a breeze.

However, Semrush isn't without its challenges. The pricing can be steep, especially for smaller businesses or individuals, and lower-tier plans come with data limitations. Additionally, Semrush focuses more on global data, which might not be ideal depending on your situation. Despite these drawbacks, Semrush is still a capable platform. Its comprehensive insights and tools make it a worthwhile investment for those serious about optimizing their online presence.

Ahrefs

Pronounced “A-Refs”, or “H-Refs” (queue the GIF vs JIF debate), Ahrefs is a top-tier SEO tool, offering comprehensive analytics, robust keyword research, and strong competitor analysis. Users appreciate its user-friendly interface and granular rank tracking, which helps monitor keyword performance closely. The "traffic potential" metric is particularly valuable, providing insights into the potential impact of targeting specific keywords.

However, Ahrefs comes with some drawbacks. It's on the pricier side, with limited reporting on lower plans and no free trial. Daily rank tracking requires an extra fee, and some users report occasional data inaccuracies and interface issues. With that in mind, Ahrefs is still an amazing tool for professionals looking to optimize their online presence.