Regular content audits can promote audience engagement, content visibility, and better lead generation for your business.
Did you know that the Microsoft website has around 10 million pages of content, with nearly 30 percent of those pages receiving zero hits? Research by Sirius Decisions paints an even bleaker picture: 60 to 70 percent of B2B content will typically go unused.
Why does so much content gather dust in unvisited corners of the web? The possible answers are numerous, but often relate to a singular (and actionable) issue: your content is outdated, ineffective, or created without purpose.
Luckily, this can be improved by auditing the performance of each piece of material you’ve created. Content analysis metrics can broadly be grouped into three categories, segmented by the type of data they measure. These groups include consumption, visibility, and lead generation.
1. Consumption Metrics
This type of metric relates to how many people viewed your content, the reach of your material, and other quantifiable data points such as downloads or subscriptions. These are the most basic type of metrics, and are a useful starting point for judging the scope of your material. Several of the most important consumption metrics include:
Unique visitors: How many visitors are new vs. how many are returning?
- Measuring new users vs. returning users tells you how effective your content is at drawing in new eyes over time. This can be a critical metric for businesses who set goals focused on acquiring new customers—tracking recurring users separately from new visitors tells you whether your material is growing your audience or simply building a loyal following.
Referrals: Where are your users are coming from?
- Knowing the sources that drive your viewership helps assess the health of your referral sources, i.e. social media, email campaigns, etc.
Bounce Rate: How many users visit your site and then immediately leave?
- High bounce rates can be attributed to poor web design, but are often a warning sign that your content could be performing better—making its measurement an essential part of a content quality audit.
2. Visibility Metrics
Visibility metrics measure the ease of your content’s accessibility and how easy it is to locate, promote, and share. These may include:
Social Metrics: Who’s publicly promoting your material?
- This category includes linking, SEO initiatives, and the majority of metrics typically gathered on social media, including likes, +1s, retweets, etc. Social media can be a powerful driving force for audience engagement and search visibility.
Keywords and Ranking: How well does your page rank in organic search?
- Measuring the impact your content has on search algorithms and its overall SEO value is an important part of making your posts visible and easy to find by new viewers.
Links: How many links direct to/from your content?
- Backlinks provide great SEO value and can indicate how authoritative others find your material—gaining you big points in both organic search and the overall value you can provide your readers.
24% of marketers don’t know the percentage of leads that close, as found by the B2B Lead Generation Trends Report.
3. Lead Generation Metrics
Data by eMarketer found that one-third of marketers don’t bother to track where their leads come from.
Metrics for generating leads are critical, as they define the transition between measuring outreach to measuring actual financial value. Pages with online lead forms can easily measure this by tracking how many users proceed to your lead form after viewing your material. Other metrics related to your sales funnel include:
Conversions: How many readers take a desired action on your page?
- Conversions are integral to marketing campaigns focused on sales. These can be tricky to measure, as consumers won’t always follow your pre-established content funnel. Nevertheless, Google Analytics can monitor how many conversions are acquired through organic search, and you can cross-reference your content views to gain insight into which pieces of content deliver the highest conversion potential.
CTA Click-Through Rates: How many users click-through your call-to-action to reach your landing pages?
- Your call-to-action is a driving force behind your sales funnel—keep track of how many users travel to your landing pages by clicking your CTA. This can tell you how valuable your landing page content is, and how motivated your readers are to continue along your marketing funnel.
Start Auditing Today
Metrics drive the marketing world—and are an essential part of your content analysis strategy. Take a holistic view of the success of your marketing efforts instead of focusing on single metrics. Use the analytics provided by search engines like Google and social media sites to view the metrics that matter most to your brand. A content analysis will tell you what needs improvement, and equally importantly, what doesn’t—as the old saying goes: if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.
What other metrics have you used to find success when auditing your content? Tell us about it in the comments below!
