To help SEOs achieve the best results, Google recently introduced a new navigation bar that walks marketers through content analytics.

Marketers need content analytics to measure the ROI of their SEO and social media marketing strategies. Google wants to help webmasters and marketers get their hands on the information they need to improve site performance and provide users with better online experiences. So, the No. 1 search engine has introduced a new navigation bar that makes analytics friendlier for novice webmasters and even experienced SEOs, according to a recent post in the Webmaster Central Blog.

By learning which sites have the highest bounce and exit rates, or most impressive time-on-site data, marketers can determine which tactics should be replicated and enhanced for further success. However, website metrics aren’t always intuitive and marketers who have little experience using Google Analytics might only be scratching the surface of measuring their content’s engagement metrics.

The new navigation bar aims to remove some stumbling blocks by walking SEOs through Webmaster Tools in the same stages it uses to deliver search results: crawl, index and serve.

Crawl

In the first group, users will see crawl stats, crawl errors and any URLs that have been blocked. Google also shows Sitemaps, URL parameters and the Fetch as Google Webmaster Tool here. The Crawl Tools aim to provide webmasters with a clear picture of how Google views their web content during discovery and crawling.

Index

The Google Index group reveals how the search engine understands sites’ digital content. At this point, SEOs will see how many pages Google has indexed and the keywords used to find existing pages.

Search

In the search stage, Google shows users how their sites perform in terms of appearance and search traffic. This group highlights search query data and backlink information. Webmasters are also given access to tools like the Structured Data dashboard, Data Highlighter, Sitelinks and HTML improvements, which allow them to see how their pages appear to internet users.

Google's new search pop-up shows marketers how their domains look in SERPs.

While revamping Webmaster Tools for easier navigation, Google also introduced two new features that make it easy for SEOs to access their favorite programs. Webmasters can now perform account-level administrative tasks directly from the Settings menu, and they will also be able to see an image showing how their domains appear in SERPs using the new Search Appearance pop-up.

This visual displays all of the components webmasters need to rank well in search results, including titles, snippets, URLs, breadcrumbs, sitelinks, product and authorship-rich snippets.

With the addition of these new functions, marketers might find content analytics are easier to approach and understand. Brafton recently reported that measuring web content performance in real time will only become more important as brands deploy integrated marketing campaigns that demand responsiveness.

Lauren Kaye is a Marketing Editor at Brafton Inc. She studied creative and technical writing at Virginia Tech before pursuing the digital frontier and finding content marketing was the best place to put her passions to work. Lauren also writes creative short fiction, hikes in New England and appreciates a good book recommendation.