Measuring SEO Success: Free Tools Nonprofits Love

You put time into SEO. You want to know if it works. You do not need expensive tools. Free options give you what you need. Here is how to measure SEO success without spending a dollar. And which numbers actually matter for cause-driven orgs.

Why Measure at All

Without data, you are guessing. Is our new blog helping? Are we showing up for the right searches? Are people leaving because the site is slow? You need answers. Not opinions. Measurement gives you that.

It also keeps you honest. Sometimes traffic goes up. Sometimes it does not. When you track over time, you see what really moves the needle. So you can do more of what works and less of what does not.

Google Search Console

Search Console is free from Google. You add your site. You verify you own it. Then you see how Google sees you. What searches show your pages. How many clicks you get. How you rank. It is the best place to start.

Look at the Performance report. It shows your top queries. Your top pages. Your average position. You do not need to understand every column. Focus on which keywords bring clicks. And which pages get the most impressions. That tells you what is working.

Google Analytics

Analytics shows what happens after someone lands on your site. Where they come from. How long they stay. What they click. You can see how much traffic comes from organic search. That is your SEO traffic.

Set up GA4 if you have not already. It is free. Link it to Search Console so you can see which search terms lead to real visits. Then look at behavior. Do people from search donate or sign up? Or do they leave right away? That tells you if your SEO is bringing the right people.

PageSpeed Insights

Speed affects SEO. Google says so. PageSpeed Insights is free. You enter your URL. You get a score and a list of issues. Fix the big ones first. Large images. Too many scripts. Slow server.

You do not need a perfect score. Aim for green on mobile. That is the bar. If you are in the red, you are losing visitors and rankings. Small fixes often get you there. Compress images. Use a simple theme. Cut what you do not need.

What to Track

Do not track everything. You will get lost. Pick a few metrics. Organic traffic from Analytics. Clicks and impressions from Search Console. Maybe your average position for your top five keywords. Page speed score once a month.

Write them down. Or put them in a simple spreadsheet. Same day each month. After three months you will see a trend. That trend is what matters. Not the single number from one week.

How Often to Check

Search results change every day. But you do not need to check every day. Once a week is enough for most nonprofits. Or once every two weeks. The goal is to spot big moves. Up or down. Not to react to tiny bumps.

Set a reminder. First Monday of the month. Log in. Note your numbers. Compare to last month. That habit takes 15 minutes. It keeps you informed without eating your time.

Use the Data

Data is useless if you do nothing with it. If a page gets lots of impressions but few clicks, your title or description may be weak. Change it. If a page gets traffic but people leave fast, the content may not match what they wanted. Improve it.

If speed is bad, fix the worst issue. Then test again. Small steps add up. You are not trying to be perfect. You are trying to get better. The tools show you where to focus. You do the rest.

Want help setting up or reading your SEO data? AYNI offers free support to nonprofits. Nominate your org or book a chat at ayni.io. We will help you measure what matters and use it well.