Tom Critchlow, EVP of Audience Growth at Raptive, joins Ross for a deep dive into how input metrics can transform SEO strategy—especially in an era of declining visibility and messy attribution from AI search engines.

They explore how input metrics improve executive reporting, unlock budget, and build cross-functional alignment by shifting focus from vanity outcomes to controllable, operational activities. Tom shares insights from his time at Raptive, lessons from Amazon’s internal frameworks, and practical tips for teams to track quality, not just quantity. If you're navigating SEO in 2025, this episode is your playbook.

Plus: scorecards, dashboards, quality benchmarks, and how input metrics can shape strategic storytelling at every level of an org.

Show Notes

0:08 – Why “getting SEO done” starts with business communication

1:14 – Executive buy-in and the underrated power of input metrics

2:06 – What are controllable input metrics? Lessons from Amazon

3:24 – Why output-only reporting drives blind decision-making

5:06 – Building reports that pair input + output for alignment

7:01 – Input metrics: weekly/monthly rhythm vs quarterly output

9:15 – Goal-setting tension: input vs output metrics for teams

11:24 – Why SEOs need to “make their work legible” to leadership

12:30 – Input metrics as a path to getting more SEO budget

14:20 – The missing business case for many SEO initiatives

15:33 – Raptive case study: measuring behavior change over clicks

18:02 – Building input metrics from scratch: the 9-month reality

19:51 – Amazon’s evolving metrics: controllability over time

21:26 – Mapping input metrics to what actually drives success

22:33 – The danger of metric sprawl—and how to refocus

23:59 – Why some SEO work becomes “invisible” without input metrics

25:13 – Three metrics per person: a practical ceiling

26:51 – How input metrics support pipeline generation in B2B

28:35 – Communicating SEO value to non-executives via unit economics

30:06 – Stop yelling “fix it”—report what’s not getting done

31:22 – Translating editorial quality into spreadsheet metrics

33:06 – Red, yellow, green ≠ strategic clarity—track actual numbers

34:08 – Attribution is broken: input metrics matter more than ever

36:43 – Benchmarking input metrics against competitors

38:03 – Don’t just track AI visibility—track the work you can control

39:02 – Why input metrics aren’t neutral—and why that’s OK

41:01 – Planning cycles: why it takes 6 months to see input adoption

42:15 – Measuring “quality”: content scores, CSATs, and rubrics

44:25 – Why you must operationalize “quality” to get promoted

46:08 – Manual scoring systems and quality baselines

47:13 – Where to find Tom and what he’s working on next

Show Links

Tom Critchlow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomcritchlow

Tom’s blog: http://tomcritchlow.com

Input Metrics for SEO article: https://newsletter.seomba.com/p/input-metrics-for-seo

Raptive: https://raptive.com Subscribe today for weekly tips: https://bit.ly/3dBM61f Listen on

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https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9jT3NjUkdLeA

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