10 Key Content Performance Metrics to Track

By Teresa Basich
Monday, March 22, 2010 | 346617 Commentshttp://www.radian6.com/blog/2010/03/10-key-content-performance-metrics-to-track/10+Key+Content+Performance+Metrics+to+Track2010-03-22+17%3A22%3A26Teresa+Basich
Tags: content marketing, content performance metrics
Posted in: Measurement and Metrics, content marketing

Next up in our metrics series: content performance metrics. As with putting into practice any sort of measurement, you need to know what your purpose is before diving in. What are your goals for your content? For your Website? For your blog? For your Web events? You must establish what you’re trying to achieve for each content avenue before selecting metrics for measurement, and you must be able to glean insights from the data you gather to make it valuable.

With all that being said, here are some metrics to consider for tracking the performance of your Website, blog, and educational content.

1. Views

One of the most fundamental starting points for measuring the performance of your content is looking at how many views or hits it receives. The pages that are viewed or landed on most often on your Website can give you clues into what people are searching for and what information they find valuable. On the other hand, tracking views can also tell you what pages are under-performing. For example, if your Product Details page is receiving few hits, you can infer that the content on that page needs tweaking or that people are having a hard time finding it. There’s a good chance you’ll also see a theme in what people want to read on your blog (if you have one) based on which posts get the most hits. Views are simple things, but they’re a foundational starting point for measurement.

2. Comments/Feedback

Comments are a great way to track response to your content, and they offer you insight into what your community is interested in learning more about, what questions they have, and where they believe you, as an organization, can and do fill in the knowledge gaps. If you find that a specific topic you’ve blogged about gets a significant number of questions in the comments, those questions can directly impact future content you produce surrounding that topic, and tell you what’s missing in the greater industry picture. Search for the title of your blog posts, brand name, or blog post topics to see if the conversation has traveled away from your homebase. And, of course, pay attention to and even ask for direct contact and feedback — that’s the most telling sign of whether your content is hitting home or missing the mark.

3.Clicks/Downloads

If you’re producing downloadable content, you need to be tracking clicks and downloads, it’s that simple. On-click event coding is easy to insert in the links to those ebooks and whitepapers you’re offering your community, and should be done for every piece of downloadable content you publish. While this metric doesn’t stand solidly on its own, it’s a great supplemental piece to help you hone in on trends in your community’s informational needs and participation with you, and will also tell you if people find the resources you’re providing valuable enough to download.

4. Length of Visits

The length of time someone spends (or doesn’t spend) with your content can be a strong indicator of your content’s success or shortcomings. Is your content answering as many questions as possible for visitors about your products, services, or industry? Are visitors clicking through to other pages around your site, or are they stopping by and then leaving quickly? The more information your content provides clearly and concisely, the more people will understand what your company is about and be able relate it to their needs. That understanding can be identified as an actual visit, instead of a bounce; clicks through to other pieces of your Website can also add to the time someone spends on it and identify their interest in your service or product.

5. Registrations/Subscriptions

As mentioned in our post giving you 10 key awareness metrics to track, subscriptions are a sign people are interested in what your organization has to say, and they’re paying attention to it. Subscriptions are also a sign that people find value in the content you’re producing to a degree that they want to receive it regularly. Subscriptions, as well as repeat event registrations and sign-ups, are a sign that people not only value your company but they also find value in your content.

6. Shares

If your content is hitting home with your community, there’s a good chance individuals are sharing it with their colleagues, teams, and networks. For instance, say you received a great email newsletter today from a vendor that you know a decent portion of your Twitter network would benefit from seeing. When you share that newsletter –via the “Share This on Twitter” button at the bottom of it — that share is logged, and it tells the vendor they’ve said something you find valuable to share with others. By watching that newsletter get passed around, the vendor can identify the types of people who see value in its content and tie those insights back to goals and objectives for future content initiatives.

7. Inbound Links

Inbound links are a direct indicator that people are reading and thinking about your content and either find value in it or find something contentious about it that makes them want to fight back. Not only do inbound links keep you consistently aware of who is talking about you, but they also give you additional context to round out future content and provide you with clearly defined profiles of the people and organizations that are paying attention to you.

8. Unique and Repeat Visits

Tracking unique and repeat visits can tell you: a) whether the efforts you’ve put forth in your various marketing initiatives are having a positive impact (i.e., driving traffic to your Website), and b) whether your content is valuable enough to bring people back for more. The value piece of this puzzle is relative to what you’re trying to achieve. Do you want to establish your organization and the people within it as thought leaders by providing useful educational resources? Then watch to see if you receive repeat visits from people on your blog and resource pages, and if the number of repeat visitors is increasing over time.

9. Clarity of Your Message

This one might seem a little far out, but bear with me. If your content is truly effective, people will be able to talk about your brand message, identity, and unique values with clarity and consistency, without your needing to speak up. How do you track that? By listening to what people are saying about your brand name. Yes, this is more of a qualitative metric, but it’s an important one to keep your eye on. Place the conversations others are having about you up against your own brand messaging and goals to see just how clear your message is when it’s being stewarded by others. If you’ve hit the nail on the head, your community is delivering your message as clearly as you are.

10. Conversions

While conversions are definitely a strong sales metric, they can also tell you how well or poorly your content channels are performing. If you’re Website is conveying clear messaging and is well constructed, visitors will be able to march right through your sitemap to get all the information they need and head straight to the purchasing or the contact section of your site to begin the sales process. Along with your Website, the additional content you create — email newsletter, Web events, instructional videos, etc. — should account for a chunk of your sales conversions.

You might think that these content metrics look mighty similar to engagement metrics, and you’d be right in thinking that. The truth is that engagement is strongly tied to content; the more people find value in what you’re saying — on your Website, in your resource content, during your Web events — the more they will choose to interact with you.

One of the most important things to remember is that the more your community talks with you, the more insight you can glean from them to directly impact your future content initiatives. Paying attention to how they interact with you now and how their interactive behavior changes over time will help you adjust smoothly to continually provide information and content they’re looking for and remain on their radar.

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Update to the Brian Solis Webinar: The date for this Webinar has been changed to Friday, April 2nd, at 10am PST/1pm EST. If you’ve already registered for this event, please change the date in your calendar. If not, you can register right here.