30 Apr
When it comes to digital marketing, staying on top of trends and having a solid content strategy isn’t enough. Besides these efforts, it’s also crucial to take note of essential content marketing metrics. By looking at the right metrics, you can gauge if your tactics are working well and pin down the aspects you need to improve.
If you don’t know the first thing about how to measure content marketing performance, don’t fret! This article will guide you through the basic metrics you need to look out for. We’ll also throw in a few pro tips marketers do to amp up their marketing analyses.
What is Content Metrics?
But before we dive into the metrics you should be looking at, first things first. Also called content marketing KPIs or key performance indicators, these are quantifiable measures that help marketers evaluate the success or failure of the marketing strategies.
According to stats published by Semrush, over 8 out of ten businesses have a content marketing strategy. However, only one out of ten thinks they have an excellent one.
KPIs allow businesses to know for sure what is being done well and what areas need more work. By looking at metrics, you’re helping your venture waste less time, effort, and money in tactics that don’t work for your brand or audience segment.
Content Marketing Metrics that Matter
Here are the basic metrics that you should be looking at to determine the success of your campaigns.
1. Page Views
First on the list of our content marketing metrics is page views. At its most basic, it tells you the content performance of a particular piece as compared to other pieces of content in your website within the same period.
How to measure: You can see this data on Google Analytics.
PRO TIP: Take the time to analyze your page views report before preparing your content calendar. What types of content get the most views? What topics are your audiences most interested in? Then, create more of what your market wants to increase your website traffic.
2. Traffic Sources
If you use multiple social media channels, this is one of the content marketing metrics you shouldn’t skip. Traffic sources give you a bird’s eye view of where your visitors are coming from. Are they clicking a link from your Facebook post or perhaps from your tweets? Similarly, are you getting traffic from search engine results?
By looking at this metric, you can better gauge if there’s anything you need to pay special attention to, such as your social media or SEO strategy.
How to measure: You can also see this metric under Google Analytics.
3. Likes, Shares, and Mentions
These metrics measure how well your audiences are engaging with your content. Simply said, the more engagement, the better. Facebook likes indicate that your audiences appreciate your content. However, shares can be more valuable because it helps expand your content’s reach.
Mentions also give a good picture of how your audience engages with your brand. It is important to note, however, that mentions need a more keen eye for analysis. For instance, you need to know the context and the sentiments of those mentions. After all, not all social media and website mentions may be positive.
How to measure: Various social media channels offer analytics that helps users measure these metrics.
4. Backlinks
If you’ve been focused on gaining backlinks to your website, looking at the metrics will help you see if your efforts are paying off. Needless to say, backlinks are vital because it tells Google how trustworthy your website is, thereby affecting your SEO ranking.
How to measure: Check out some of the best backlink tools that you can use to check this metric. If you choose to hire a link building agency, on the other hand, your service provider will be able to provide you with a monthly report regarding this aspect.
PRO TIP: Did you know that you can get authentic backlinks without spending a dime? Check out this article on how to get free backlinks.
5. Conversion Rate
This metric refers to the number of visitors who took the desired action after interacting with your content. The action could be in the form of registering for your email newsletter, downloading a piece of content, or any other action.
How to measure: Take the number of conversions (e.g., sign-ups or downloads) and divide it by the total number of people who interacted with your content. For example, if your web page had 200 web page visitors and 100 of those took the desired action, your conversion rate is 50 percent.
PRO TIP: According to HubSpot, the average landing page conversion rate across all industries is 9.7 percent. If your conversion rate falls under this standard, you’ll need to go back to the drawing board.
6. Costs Per Acquisition
Last but not least is costs per acquisition, also known as customer acquisition cost (CAC). This metric sheds light on the connection between your content marketing and ROI or return on investment. In a nutshell, this measures how much it costs to acquire a customer.
How to measure: Sum up all the content marketing costs and divide that by the number of acquired customers during the time that money was spent. For instance, you spent $200 on content marketing last month, and you acquired 200 customers. Your customer acquisition cost is $1.
The Bottomline
If you want to grow your community through digital marketing, it’s imperative to look at key metrics. Content marketing, after all, shouldn’t be a formulaic effort.
Looking at content marketing metrics allows you to adjust your tactics to make your campaigns sharper and more purpose-driven. It also allows you to spot weaknesses or areas you need to focus on in order to grow your brand.
Need help with your content marketing efforts? We, at Content Fuel, are ready to help! We offer unlimited content at a flat monthly rate. So, you can have everything you need – from SEO marketing to website copywriting – right in one place. Try any of our packages and see for yourself how we can help you grow your brand.
