Google sheet formulas are versatile and powerful SEO tools owing to their handy functions. Many SEO applications rely on Google sheets to create solutions for data extraction and manipulations.
Google sheets are user-friendly, intuitive and flexible software that enhance data manipulation using the add-ons, templates and built-in functions. They are not designed for SEO optimization but they offer solutions to SEO tasks and activities.
Google Sheets Formulas for SEO Experts
Here are seven Google sheets formulas for SEO with which you can speed up your work.
1. REGEXTRACT to extract data
REGEXTRACT uses expressions to extract data from a cell or a string. The summary of this formula is “Syntax:=REGEXTRACT(text, regular expression). REGECTRACT extracts domain names from URLs and checks whether URL uses HTTPS or HTTP. It also differentiates the URLs with certain words from those without from a list of URLs. REGEXTRACT extracts email addresses from a chunk of text.
You can use the REGEXTRACT function to gig out specific string from a longer one. From a list of URLs, you can extract certain words and simplify the functionality of your site for SEO rankings.
If you are seeking SEO for higher ranks, use REGEXTRACT to extract metadata from your website. By viewing source on a webpage, you can locate the analytics-related metadata, similar to what is found on major websites.
According to a dissertation writing help, identifying the likely data pattern supports the construction of the regex to extract the data. An effective way of keyword research categorization is by going through a competitor’s website and extracting categorization data to influence your search. The formula lets you match the characters between points.
2. IFERROR to set default for errors
An error message on one of your cells may appear as # VALUE” #ERROR” , #REF# or #NULL#, when trying to rum a formula. Error prompts could happen if you use an unknown range or divide by zero. It may happen when making calculations involving these cells making your spreadsheet confusing and messy.
As per a leading essay writing service, responding to errors after excel fails to perform a calculation requires you to resolve the underlying problem. However, if you don’t intend to resolve such errors directly, you could use IFERROR function to replace the error with a specific value or a custom message.
The IFERROR function simplifies things because you only need to specify where the error can occur and what you want to happen if an error occurs. The keywords can increase the site visitors by multiplying search volume via the click-through rate (CTR).
3. SPLIT strings into data points
SPLIT can string into many data points using a delimiter. This formula takes the following form.
Syntax:= SPLIT-text, delimiter)
The use cases for this formula include:
- Split URLS into columns for root domain, HTTP protocol and URL slugs.
- Split various comma-related values into columns.
- Split a full name of a prospect into two columns, the first column showing “first name” and the second column showing the “second name”.
- Split a domain into domain mane and domain extension columns.
SEO split testing is important for any data-driven SEO. You should leave split tests running for a long time because it takes some weeks for rankings to show. The longer you leave the test, the more significant the results are likely to be.
Test pages with enough traffic to be able to measure the uplift from the slit test. Having less traffic to the pages means that any the test results may be overtaken by uncertainty.
4. VLOOKUP to merge multiple data sets
VLOOKUP lets you use a search key to search a given range. The formula is:
Syntax: VLOOKUP= (search key, range, index key).
VlOOKUP is a powerful tool for merging data from different sources such as merging domains with Ahrefs DR ratings. It can also confirm the existence of a value in a data set, like checking for data duplication across a list of prospects. It is also suitable for putting together email addresses from a database alongside prospects lists.
If you have a list of prospects of people linked to a competitor’s website and a database with email addresses, you can easily search a range. As such, you will not have to waste time looking for already available information.
VLOOKUP can query the master database to find if contact information is already available for a prospect. The formula to use will be:
=VLOOKUP (D2:D,’Master contact database ‘!A:C,C)
5. IMPORTXML to scrape data from a website
IMPORTXML allow you to import data from various structured types of data using HTML, XML,RSS and more. Thus, you can easily scrape the web while still on the Google Sheets.
Syntax: = IMPORTXML (url, xpath query).
IMPORTXML can be used to scrap metadata from a set or URLs such as h-tags, title and description. It can scrap social profiles and email addresses from web pages. From the RSS feeds, IMPORTXML can also scrap lastBuildDate to find if the site was updates recently without necessarily loading it.
If you want to capture the metadata title using the IMPORTXML, the formula will be:
IMPORTXML (https://ahrefs.com/blog/keyword-research”/,”//title”) It is possible to incorporate cell referencing in the formula to simplify the process of scrapping data for a list of URLs. It is not limited to basic meta tags, but it can scrape anything as long as you know the XPath.
6. IMPORTRANGE for importing data from other spreadsheets
IMPORTRANGE facilitates data importationfrom other Google Sheets even if it is not on the Google drive or it belongs to someone else. However, you need permission to open the sheet.
Syntax: = IMPORTRANGE (spreadsheet, ID, range to import)
IMPORTRANGE can be used to capture data from other sheets for purposes of validation and extract data from the main spreadsheet using VLOOKUPS. It can also search and give reference to data across many Google Sheets. In other words, VLOOKPUS can be combined with IMPORTRANGE.
You can use a list of SEO clients and their respective budgets to extract data from Google Sheets using the formula:
= IMPORTRANGE (“SPREADSHEET_ KEY”, “ ‘SheetName’ !A2: A”)
Recording links built on the clients in the main spreadsheets requires you to have the URL to the link and a record intended for the client. It is possible to use IMPORTRANGE to create clients’ dropdowns through data validation.
7. SQL queries to query data sets
QUERY is almost similar to VLOOKUPS and it allows you to use SQL to query data.
Syntax= QUERY (range, sql query)
Through QUERY, it is possible to create powerful client-facing documents that can pull in data from the main spreadsheet. You can query a prospect database for prospects, including identifying tagged prospects. Additionally, you Can query an on-site audit to pull out pages that need attention.
Pulling all the URLs tagged with blog posts into a new spreadsheet requires the application of the following QUERY function:
= QUERY (DATA!A:B,”select A where B=’Blog Post’”)
With a bigger data set, you can pull out data with attributes such as external links, Dofollow links and backlink status. It is possible to combine IMPORTRANGE with the query function to query data from different sheets.
Conclusion
Google sheets formulas for SEO are very powerful because they allow users to edit and analyze data and information. Google sheets can be connected with other services and tools for optimal functionalities and usage. By incorporating the above formulas, you can simplify your regular work and speed up the workflow in your organization.
