Hey! Matthew here, co-founder of SEO Gets.
Today I want to dive into something that’s been a game-changer for my SEO strategy: conducting tests on my website changes. If you’ve ever felt uncertain about whether a change to your website will positively or negatively affect your search rankings, this guide is for you.
What Are SEO Tests?
SEO tests are the process of making changes to your website and measuring the impact on organic search traffic or rankings. They’re how smart SEOs move beyond guesswork and actually prove what works for their specific websites.
Want to learn how to set them up inside SEO Gets?
Why Should You Run SEO Tests?
There are four major benefits to running SEO tests:
- See what works for YOUR website - Just because something worked for another site doesn’t mean it’ll work for you. Every website is different, and what works in one niche might flop in another. Testing tells you what actually works for your specific situation.
- Justify resource allocation - Making SEO changes can absorb a lot of time and resources. Testing with a small sample first means you won’t waste energy on changes that don’t produce results.
- Be data-driven, not opinion-driven - Everyone has an opinion on what works in SEO. Running tests settles disputes with hard data rather than letting the loudest voice in the room dictate your strategy.
- Avoid costly mistakes - Maybe the worst outcome is spending time implementing changes that actually hurt your SEO. Testing limits any negative impact to just a small subset of pages.
How We Approach SEO Testing
At SEO Gets, we use Google Search Console data as our source for conducting and measuring SEO tests. This approach gives us accurate insights directly from Google about how our changes affect real search performance.
Time-based testing using Search Console data allows us to:
- Compare performance before and after implementing changes
- Identify clear patterns in rankings, clicks, impressions, and CTR
- Make data-driven decisions based on actual search performance
- See exactly how Google is interpreting and responding to our changes
This approach works best for sites that already have pages ranking well and receiving a decent amount of organic traffic. Without this baseline of data, it’s difficult to measure meaningful changes.
Is SEO Testing Right For You?
Let’s be honest - conducting SEO tests probably isn’t right for you unless your website gets substantial organic traffic. We’re talking tens or thousands of organic visits per month to the pages you want to test.
Why? Two reasons:
- There are better ways to spend your time if your traffic is low. Focus on creating more search-focused content and building backlinks instead.
- Results will be statistically insignificant without enough traffic. Just like you wouldn’t draw conclusions from a 3-person survey, you can’t make reliable decisions from tests with minimal traffic data.
If your site does get plenty of traffic, even small percentage improvements can significantly impact your business—and this is where SEO testing makes the most sense.
How to Run an SEO Test
Follow these seven steps to run an effective SEO test:
1. Form a Hypothesis
Start with a clear prediction about what you’re changing and how it will affect your website. Use this formula:
[Change] will lead to [effect] on [types of pages]
For example: “[Adding short descriptions] will lead to [a 10% improvement in organic traffic] on [patio furniture ecommerce category pages]”
Choose pages with similarities (like blog posts or product pages) to minimize variables that could skew your results.
2. Choose Your Pages
Select pages with decent organic traffic. Pages with little or no traffic won’t provide useful data and will just skew your results.
You can find high-traffic pages using Google Analytics or Google Search Console directly.
3. Determine Test Duration
The test should run long enough to:
- Allow Google to re-crawl the pages you’ve changed
- Gather enough traffic for statistical significance
Generally, I recommend:
- Title tag and meta description changes: 2 weeks
- Content improvements: 4 weeks
- New links: 6 weeks
4. Make the Changes
Now it’s time to implement your test. Some key points:
- Change just one variable at a time
- Record the changes and when you made them
- Request Google re-index your page after making changes
- Ensure you can revert the changes if needed
- Don’t test obvious SEO best practices - just implement those
5. Track Test Results Using Search Console
Google Search Console is our preferred method for tracking test results. It provides direct data from Google on:
- Impressions (how often your page appears in search)
- Clicks (how often users click through to your page)
- Average position (where your page ranks)
- CTR (percentage of impressions that result in clicks)
How to set up SEO Tests on SEO Gets
6. Collect Pre-Change & Post-Change Data
SEO Gets does this for you automatically.
7. Analyze the Results
Look for clear patterns in your Google Search Console data. Has there been a significant change in impressions, clicks, CTR, or average position? Determine whether your hypothesis was correct and decide whether to implement the change more broadly.
15 SEO Test Ideas You Can Try Today
Here are 15 specific SEO tests you might consider running:
1. Title Tag Variations
Test different title tag formulas to see which drives more clicks. For instance, test putting your brand name at the beginning versus the end of your title tags.
2. Adding Dynamic Pricing to Titles
For ecommerce or travel sites, test adding dynamic pricing information to title tags to see if it increases CTR.
3. Content Length and Depth
Test expanding thin content with more comprehensive information to see if it improves rankings for competitive terms.
4. Freshness Signals
Add “Updated [Current Month, Year]” or “Updated Daily” to title tags to signal content freshness and potentially improve CTR.
5. Shortening Title Tags
Test shorter, more concise title tags against longer ones to see which performs better in search results.
6. Content Structure
Test bringing important content out of tabs or accordions and placing it directly on the page for Google to more easily access.
7. Product Carousels
Test removing JavaScript-based product carousels in favor of static product displays to see if it impacts rankings and organic traffic.
8. H2 Formatting
Test changing your H2 headings from statements to questions, such as changing “Product Features” to “What Features Does [Product] Have?“
9. Adding “Best” to Titles
Test adding superlatives like “Best” or “Top” to title tags to see if it increases click-through rates.
10. AI-Generated Content
Test enhancing existing content with AI-generated sections that address additional user questions or search intents.
11. Adding Pros and Cons Tables
Test adding structured pros and cons tables to review or comparison pages to see if it improves rankings and CTR.
12. FAQ Sections
Test adding an FAQ section to existing content to capture more featured snippets and answer user questions directly.
13. Expert Commentary
Test adding quotes or insights from industry experts to increase content authority and potentially improve rankings.
14. Internal Linking
Test adding more contextual internal links from high-authority pages to important target pages.
15. Table of Contents
Test adding a navigable table of contents to long-form content to improve user experience and potentially boost engagement signals.
Final Thoughts
The beauty of conducting SEO tests using Google Search Console data is that you’re working with real performance metrics directly from Google. This transforms SEO from guesswork into a methodical, data-driven approach.
With proper testing, you’ll know what works, what doesn’t, and exactly where to invest your time and resources. The key is patience and consistency—not all tests will yield dramatic results, but the insights you gain will compound over time.
Have you run any successful SEO tests on your site? I’d love to hear about them. Drop me a line and let me know!
Until next time!
Matt
P.S. If you’re tired of manually pulling Search Console data and tracking your SEO tests in spreadsheets, give SEO Gets a try. We’ve made this whole process super straightforward with automated tracking and reporting. Just saying. 😉
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