When we speak of quality content in marketing, we usually refer to content that is useful to the readers, but also optimized and easy to comprehend. Pageviews have long been the key metric for measuring content performance. However, as the digital landscape changes, so do our KPIs. Advanced methods of measuring our content’s impact and reach provide valuable insights we can use to improve content creation and distribute successful content online. Read on to find out which advanced methods you can use to measure and improve your content performance.
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Engagement Metrics
We can agree that page clicks and views don’t tell us enough about how engaging our content is. One way to track what readers think of the content value is through engagement metrics.
When we say engagement metrics, here is what we have in mind:
- Time users spent on the page
- Bounce rate
- Scroll depth
- Social shares
- Comments and likes
- Internal link clicks
- External link clicks
- Time users spent on the site after reading the piece.
By viewing and understanding analytics within these metrics, you can get a competitive edge by learning what your target audience needs and wants to read from you. Based upon that feedback, you can improve your content value and increase readers’ engagement.
Quality and engaging content is the core of on-page SEO tactics. When you aspire to achieve organic traffic that generates leads, search engines will measure the value you provide to the audience. Optimizing blog posts with the right keywords and alt tags is only the first step. If your readers decide your content doesn’t bring any added value to them, so will Google.
Conversion Rate
Conversion on your site is the next step after user engagement — it is the moment the user decides to make a purchase or sign up to your newsletter. Tracking the conversion rate is a metric that tells you how effective the content is for bringing the audience down the sales funnel.
In addition to improving the sales side of your content, when your goal is to increase conversion, you should also work on increasing reach simultaneously. Luckily, while content creators focus on improving the substance of the site, you can use AI to help you with search engine optimization.
Tracking Pixels
Tracking pixels is a useful technique that allows you to understand the user experience on the site and identify specific parts of the content that are most effective. This method can be useful not only for content improvement but for improving UI and UX as well.
Sentiment Analysis
With new technology and the improvement of machine learning, we are able to gain an even deeper insight into customer behavior online. Sentiment analysis involves natural language processing and machine learning algorithms that analyse the emotional tone of user feedback.
In short, this method helps us understand how we make our readers feel. As well as how they are responding to our content. This method might be the most advanced one yet; however, we have to stress that it is being further developed and might not be 100% reliable on its own.
Continue Reading: How to Measure Your Content Performance Accurately Over Time
Which Method Should I Use?
As aforementioned, these methods and metrics analyse only a specific type of behavior. To truly improve your content value and conversion rate, you need to combine the results you get from different methods.
It is also important to stress that you must conduct your analysis in alignment with your goals and objectives. For example, if you are looking to drive brand awareness, metrics like social media reach could be more important to you than the conversion rate. In that case, it makes more sense to invest in influencer marketing efforts, rather than improving the sales content.
Ultimately, if you consider a holistic approach to tracking and measuring content performance, you can make data-driven decisions to improve the effectiveness and impact of the content strategy. There are available tools to help you collect and present this data. This can save a lot of time and resources for your business.
To wrap up, measuring content performance has moved past the simple pageview metric system. Advanced methods of tracking the success of your content are continuously being developed. Enabling you a more comprehensive understanding of your user behavior online. It is essential for businesses to stay up-to-date with new technology to maintain relevance and stay ahead of their competitors.
