1. Combine Multiple Data Sources<\/h3>\n
You will often find yourself having to merge data from multiple sources.<\/p>\n
This is intuitive and quick in Tableau, Python, or R, but you can do the same in Excel using Power Query<\/a>.<\/p>\n There are a few steps to this process, but it\u2019s not as complicated as you might think \u2013 even if you are new to working with data or Excel.<\/p>\n [embedded content]<\/p>\n Power Query has automated and simplified tasks that required a lot of time and skill.<\/p>\n And it is probably THE best Excel feature for business and SEO professionals.<\/p>\n Seem a bit daunting? Don\u2019t worry. There are several courses and tutorials on YouTube to get you started.<\/p>\n [embedded content]<\/p>\n What It\u2019s Good For:<\/strong><\/p>\n Much of your time is lost simply preparing data for analysis. It doesn\u2019t have to be that way.<\/p>\n Large lists are often larger than they need to be. Finding and manually removing all the duplicates, however, can be a serious pain.<\/p>\n Excel can do this instantly for you. Simply go to the \u201cData\u201d tab and click \u201cRemove Duplicates.\u201d<\/p>\n Unwanted spaces and blank lines tend to cause havoc with many tasks, formulas, and statistics.<\/p>\n Excel will remove them for you simply by going to Edit > Find > Go To.<\/em> Select \u201cSpecial,\u201d \u201cBlanks,\u201d and tell Excel how it should handle them.<\/p>\n \u201cConvert text to columns\u201d can be a lifesaver, especially if you\u2019ve received data where the addresses or names are all in the same cell or you need to extract domains from email addresses.<\/p>\n Go to Data > Text to Columns.<\/em> Then, indicate what to use for Delimiters (comma or space) and preview the results. When you\u2019re ready, click \u201cNext,\u201d choose a destination, and click \u201cFinish.\u201d<\/p>\n When To Use It:<\/strong><\/p>\n Some of the more complex tasks, such as crawling, require a bit of coding knowledge.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t have that in your skillset, however, there are tools you can download, integrate with other tools, and add on.<\/p>\n SEOTools<\/a> offers off and on-page SEO tools, integrations, connectors, spiders, and several other tools that make it easy to customize your Excel and create custom projects.<\/p>\n SEOGadget<\/a> brings the power of Moz, Grepwords, and Majestic to Excel.<\/p>\n Analysis ToolPak<\/a> is for serious data analysis. This add-on improves and automates in-depth statistics, perfect for forecasting, trending, regression analysis, and more complex data analysis tasks you might otherwise perform in R or Python.<\/p>\n When To Use It:<\/strong><\/p>\n Data is useless if you can\u2019t understand it.<\/p>\n In fact, data visualization<\/a> and storytelling are likely some of the most important skills you can have. This is where tools like Power Query and PivotTables come in.<\/p>\n Built right into Excel, pivot tables are the other valuable tools you have for this purpose.<\/p>\n However, instead of just creating a straight pivot table and a related chart, save yourself some steps by creating a master \u201ctemplate\u201d first that you can then replicate as needed and adjust to suit your needs.<\/p>\n In many instances, however, you will need to work with dates or segments of the data. For that, you\u2019ll want to enter splicers and timelines.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve never used Excel\u2019s PivotTables before, a short tutorial<\/a> will have you on your way to analyzing data in no time.<\/p>\n Still want a little more? Make your reports, social media, and updates even better by upping your data visualization game with add-ons like People Graph<\/a>.<\/p>\n When To Use It:<\/strong><\/p>\n SEO, particularly agency SEO, is full of repetitive tasks like weekly reporting that consume much of your time. Excel\u2019s macros are the answer. And they\u2019re really easy to use.<\/p>\n Under the \u201cView\u201d tab, click \u201cMacros\u201d and \u201cRecord Macro.\u201d<\/p>\n Fill out the details.<\/p>\n The macro is now recording. So, simply walk through the steps that you\u2019d like to automate. And when you\u2019re done, go back to the ribbon and stop the recording.<\/p>\n When you\u2019re ready to run the automation, go to the macro button in the ribbon, click \u201cView Macros,\u201d and select the desired macro from the list.<\/p>\n If you have some macros that you use more often than others, you can add them to the Quick Access Toolbar.<\/p>\n When To Use It:<\/strong><\/p>\n If you use Google Alerts or publish frequently, automatically importing feeds into Excel can be a huge time saver.<\/p>\n To start, simply grab the RSS feed address. (Or, create an alert for Google Alerts and have them delivered as an RSS feed.)<\/p>\n Then, go to Google Sheets and use the IMPORTFEED function to bring the updates straight into a spreadsheet.<\/p>\n Alternatively, you can add the information to separate columns.<\/p>\n From here, you can regularly download and import the data into Excel, combine it with other related data, or integrate it into your custom dashboards.<\/p>\n If you need something a little more automatic, use Google Apps Script<\/a> or one of the add-ons available to automate the process.<\/p>\n\n
2. Data Cleaning<\/h3>\n
![\"Remove](\"https:\/\/marketingnewsbox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/using-excel-for-seo-7-essential-tips-tricks-you-might-not-know-via-sejournal-juxtacognition.png\")
Screenshot from Excel, January 2023.<\/span><\/div>\n\n
3. Power Excel With Add-On Tools<\/h3>\n
![\"Power](\"https:\/\/marketingnewsbox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/using-excel-for-seo-7-essential-tips-tricks-you-might-not-know-via-sejournal-juxtacognition-1.png\")
Screenshot from SEOTools, January 2023.<\/span><\/div>\n\n
4. Infographics And Charts<\/h3>\n
![\"Excel](\"https:\/\/marketingnewsbox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/using-excel-for-seo-7-essential-tips-tricks-you-might-not-know-via-sejournal-juxtacognition-2.png\")
Screenshot from Excel, January 2023.<\/span><\/div>\n\n
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5. Automate Common Tasks With Macros<\/h3>\n
![\"Automate](\"https:\/\/marketingnewsbox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/using-excel-for-seo-7-essential-tips-tricks-you-might-not-know-via-sejournal-juxtacognition-3.png\")
Screenshot from Excel, January 2023.<\/span><\/div>\n\n
6. Easily Import Feeds And Data Into Excel<\/h3>\n
![\"Importing](\"https:\/\/marketingnewsbox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/using-excel-for-seo-7-essential-tips-tricks-you-might-not-know-via-sejournal-juxtacognition-4.png\")
Screenshot from Google Sheets, January 2023.<\/span><\/div>\n![\"Importing](\"https:\/\/marketingnewsbox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/using-excel-for-seo-7-essential-tips-tricks-you-might-not-know-via-sejournal-juxtacognition-5.png\")
Screenshot from Google Sheets, January 2023.<\/span><\/div>\n