Four Most Essential Content Marketing Metrics

If you want to gauge how successful your content marketing campaign is, tracking relevant KPI’s is essential. These metrics will allow you to evaluate its success and adjust accordingly if needed.6

Many are familiar with the standard content marketing metrics (traffic, leads), but there are a few additional ones that every content marketer should be mindful of. These include:

Average Session Duration

Average session duration is an important metric in content marketing, as it indicates how long users stay on your website. This data can help you decide what types of content your audience prefers and which pieces you should prioritize creating going forward.

This metric is calculated by dividing the total duration of all sessions (in seconds) by the number of sessions. For instance, if a website receives 10,000 visits in one month, its average session duration will be 2.4 minutes.

When calculating average session duration, be mindful of outliers and 0-length sessions. These occur when a user does not initiate an interaction event like clicking a link or playing video content.

Another important factor to consider is how your average session duration compares to other brands in your industry. If it’s low, it could indicate that you aren’t providing readers with the quality content they expect.

With that in mind, there are several ways to extend your average session duration. One option is using image links that redirect users to another page; doing so can significantly reduce bounce rate and boost average session length.

Referral Traffic

When one website sends traffic to another, tracking software like Google Analytics will count it as referral traffic. This type of new visitors is considered valuable since they usually come from a reliable website and are more likely to convert into leads and customers.

As you create your content marketing strategy, consider acquiring links that will drive referral traffic. These could include links from other websites or social media posts, as well as references and endorsements from other businesses or individuals.

These links can improve your overall SEO and boost your rankings on search engine result pages. They also make your site stand out from competing sites by offering an invaluable resource to your desired audience.

Generating referral traffic requires the skill to craft links that engage readers and motivate them to click. Your links must be pertinent to your content, have urgency and a compelling anchor text, as well as be situated in an easily navigable place for readers to follow them.

One of the best ways to generate referral traffic is by collaborating with other blogs or review websites related to your niche. These sites typically conduct research and purchase products or services, giving you a unique chance to showcase your product or service and brand to these potential buyers.

Social Media Likes

Social media likes generated by a content marketing campaign are an invaluable indicator of its success. They demonstrate whether your posts are engaging with your target audience on an intimate level.

They can also help you assess the quality of your content. For instance, if followers aren’t engaging with what you post, it could be time to reevaluate your strategy.

It’s also wise to check your content for any bots attempting to boost likes or followers. Unfortunately, these bots tend to be unreliable and can have a negative impact on both engagement rate and social media presence.

Furthermore, if the people who like your posts aren’t your intended audience, then your efforts are for naught. That is why it’s beneficial to do some research and identify who your ideal customers are and how best to reach them with content.

Sometimes it can be beneficial to take a break from social media in order to focus on the real world. It can be an excellent way to reset and get back on track with your life.

Comments

User generated content is an effective way to reach potential customers and build trust with them. Unlike traditional advertising, user generated content gives you the freedom to get creative with your approach and engage users in unique ways.

One of the most vital metrics in content marketing is comments, which measure user interaction with your material. You can use this data to identify posts that generate the most engagement and which types of material may generate more traffic in the future.

Another crucial metric to consider is social media likes and shares, which provide insight into how people perceive your content. This data can help you decide what kind of material to create next and how often to post it.

Finally, comments on your blog posts provide a useful indication of how useful your content is to users. This can give you an indication of how engaged your audience is and which topics they are most eager to read about.

These four essential content marketing metrics can help you optimize your strategy and achieve the outcomes desired. They also give insight into how well-resonated your content is with viewers, helping generate leads for you.

Shares

Content marketing is one of the most effective channels for increasing brand awareness and cultivating an audience. Additionally, it can be an excellent source for generating new leads.

But to truly measure success, a content marketing program must track several key metrics. Selecting the appropriate metrics can show that your content is driving real ROI.

For instance, a high share of conversation indicates your content is helping to strengthen your brand’s online presence. This metric can be an invaluable measure for tracking brand growth, and getting started is simple with BuzzSumo – an easy-to-use platform.

Content marketers should pay special attention to CTR (click-through rate), which measures the percentage of people who click on a link leading to your website. This metric is especially valuable for organic traffic as it indicates how well-crafted your content is at attracting search engine users.

Content marketing metrics can be used to gauge your campaign’s effectiveness, but these four are the most essential for a successful content strategy. They’ll give you the insights that make content work harder for your business and give you insight into whether investing in another campaign is worthwhile.

Follower Growth on Social Media Over Time

Social media has made it increasingly evident that growing a follower count is an effective marketing tactic. Businesses and influencers alike recognize the significance of having a large following when it comes to gaining attention and maximizing sales opportunities.

Tracking your social media follower growth over time is essential to gauge how successful your strategies are. A high growth rate suggests you’re on track and launching insightful campaigns, while a low one suggests adjustments need to be made.

You can find this metric in most social media analytics tools and you may even manually track your account’s follower growth in an excel table. It serves as a great benchmark to compare progress against and help assess how well you are doing compared to competitors.

Many brands rely on this metric to assess the success of their campaigns. It provides a snapshot into how your followers are responding to posts and allows you to optimize them for maximum impact.

A follower growth rate can also be used to gauge which posts are engaging your followers. For instance, if the rate of growth in followers exceeds that of posts, it could suggest that your content doesn’t resonate with those who follow you; otherwise, they may feel it’s not as interesting or pertinent to them as it should be.

Content Click-Through Rates

Content click-through rates generated by a content marketing campaign can provide valuable insight into the success of an effort. However, this metric should not be the only indicator for campaign performance.

The click-through rate (CTR) is an online marketing metric that measures the ratio of total impressions to total clicks. It’s used in search and display advertising, email marketing, and other digital mediums.

CTR (click-through rate) is an important digital marketing metric that marketers use to assess the success of their ad copy, meta data and email subject lines. A high CTR indicates potential customers are likely to click through and learn more about a brand’s products or services.

Additionally, how well a brand’s marketing message aligns with the customer’s stage in the journey should be taken into consideration. Optimizing ads and sales offers for each customer segment and making sure your website is optimized for different stages of the buyer’s journey are essential components to ensure successful conversion.

It can be easy to get overwhelmed with all the data available in Google Analytics, SEO platforms and other martech tools. To keep a handle on things and focus on what matters most for content marketing success, keep the numbers in perspective and focus on minimal viable metrics.

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Content makes the digital marketing world go ’round. But, creating and maintaining steady content is hard. If you need a digital marketing partner who can enthusiastically dive in and work with you, contact GB Digital today.