Spend a bit of time getting friendly with Google Analytics, and you’ll see how easy it is to lose yourself in content marketing metrics. From Analytics to Twitter reports, measuring content marketing performance can be accomplished many ways. Ironically, this means many companies don’t truly measure much at all. Even if you collect all the information, you can’t make data-backed decisions to improve campaigns unless you monitor the numbers that matter consistently.
If you’re strapped for analytic time and resources or you just want to keep things simple, the only content marketing metrics you should measure are those that tell you about exposure, engagement, entrances and exits.
Exposure Metrics
What is it? The numbers that tell you how many people actually see your content. They include exposure numbers on social media, views on YouTube, and page views and unique visitor stats for websites. Concentrate on tracking engagement metrics on pages that really matter: yes, it’s important to get views on social media, but if your Facebook fans never make it to your sales page, your content isn’t working.
Where do you get it? Google Analytics, Facebook and Twitter reports or custom tracking solutions you might use.
What does it tell you? Whether or not your content is actually reaching an audience. If exposure metrics are low, there might be a problem with your SEO, Google might not be archiving your pages or the times you post on social media might be at odds with active times for your target audience.
Related: Why Readability Scores Could Make Your Content Better
Engagement Metrics
What is it? Content marketing metrics that tell you whether the audience is responding to or reacting to your content — both signs of a healthy content campaign. Engagement metrics include number of blog or social comments, shares, likes, follows and even reviews.
Where do you get it? Reporting from WordPress or other blog platforms, Google Analytics, social platform reports, Hootsuite or other social-tracking solutions.
What does it tell you? Whether your content is interesting or appropriate for your target audience. When content is relevant and interesting enough to draw your audience in, engagement numbers go up. Higher engagement numbers can be linked with better conversion rates, and they’re also one of the best performance indicators for social marketing.
[ctt template=”4″ link=”3aCry” via=”yes” ]You can’t make data-backed decisions to improve campaigns unless you monitor the numbers that matter consistently. #DigitalMarketing[/ctt]
Entrance or Exit Metrics
What is it? Entrance metrics tell you whether a visitor to your site converted, either by signing up, clicking on a link or making a purchase. Exit metrics tell you when a visitor did not convert, but instead bounced or left your site for another option on the web.
Where do you get it? Google Analytics or other proprietary web analytic software.
What does it tell you? Whether your SEO, social and other off-page marketing efforts align appropriately with your on-page content and product or service offers. You could be driving thousands of visitors a week to your page, but if very few of them convert, then you’re engaging the wrong audience or have a problem with content on your landing pages.
