Content marketing metrics: an overview of popular metrics
In most cases, it is difficult to measure the ROI of content marketing because of the long customer journey. For example, a user may read a publication, but it will have little impact on conversions. The marketer needs to understand if the strategy is right, which is almost impossible without performance analysis. In such cases, specialists track content marketing metrics that help to see the accurate picture.
One of the most important metrics for this type of promotion is conversions and subscriptions. The primary tool is Google Analytics, but there are other programmes available. Analytics allows the marketer to see which posts have led to conversions and which have not. The service allows you to evaluate blogs and website pages separately and compare subscriptions and bounce rates. The most informative for the specialist will be tracking the outcome of the user’s first interaction. In this case, you can see how the consumer found the site and went through the funnel to become a customer. Auxiliary conversions also play an essential role. They allow you to assess which publications the user viewed before purchasing.
Methods for evaluating the effectiveness of content
Another indicator of the strategy’s effectiveness is email newsletter subscriptions and lead magnet downloads. This approach lets you see if the content is moving the user along the path to purchase. For example, consumers may read a post but not download or subscribe to the lead magnet. There could be two reasons for this:
- the content is not driving relevant traffic and needs to be changed;
- the lead magnet is not relevant for this category of the target audience.
With these results, the specialist needs to change a specific funnel stage. This could be through creating new content or strengthening the call to action, for example.
Content marketers should pay particular attention to keyword evaluation. These influence user behaviour in different ways. This means they must be used in the right order and sequence. For example:
- keywords with high purchase intent are at the bottom of the funnel. In this case, they attract the most significant number of consumers;
- it is better if the site is a few positions higher in the search results for such keywords.
A popular KPI is organic traffic. However, this metric may not give the complete picture of the effectiveness of the content strategy. It is important to understand who drives the traffic – consumers interested in purchasing or just casual visitors. The optimal solution here is to analyse only relevant keywords.
The value of content creation efforts can also be measured through backlinks. These increase the authority of the site to search engine robots, which helps to improve its position in the rankings. When evaluating backlinks, experts look at volume, quality and relevance. The ideal option is to mention the site on various resources.
