How to Measure Content Marketing?

When your car isn't working, you know it right away. The smarter ones will even alert you in advance, helping you avoid the whole mess.

‍

Content, however, is trickier. It can fail and never tell you about it. It won't call you, report a bug, or send a notification.

‍

Worst of all, even superbly written content might not be doing its job, and you'd never know unless you start diving into the data.

‍

This article will cover those very numbers and methods for measuring content effectiveness.

‍

What does it mean for content to "work"?

‍
Before discussing whether content is effective, let's pause for a second and consider what we aim for.

‍

Simply put, content works when it nails the job it was meant to do.

‍

‍

This might sound like one of those elusive answers our parents gave us when we were kids, but honestly, it's that simple: content succeeds when it meets its goals.

‍

Now, these goals can vary widely depending on what you're trying to achieve.

‍
Brand Awareness

If you aim to get your name out there, you’ll likely lean on storytelling through blogs, videos, and social media posts that resonate with your audience’s values and interests. Social engagement metrics like shares, comments, or increased followers could measure success here.

‍

FYI: likes or shares from your colleagues or family don’t count.

‍
Lead Generation

Here, content is crafted to nudge readers toward becoming leads. Think downloadable guides, whitepapers, and webinars that require sign-up. You'd track the number of sign-ups, conversion rates, or qualified leads.

‍
Customer Education

Instructional content, like how-to guides or explainer videos, informs customers about your products or services. Its effectiveness might be measured by reduced support calls or feedback from customer surveys (like NPS).

‍
Conversion

The goal of content at this stage is to seal the deal. Product comparisons, detailed case studies, and user testimonials can help persuade readers to purchase, measured by direct sales or conversion rates linked to specific articles or videos.

‍
Customer Retention and Loyalty

This could involve newsletters that keep customers informed and engaged or exclusive content for members that reinforces their decision to stay with your brand.

‍

What are the most commonly used content B2B KPIs?

‍
Now, let's examine the most popular metrics that, in numerical or percentage terms, show the effectiveness of content marketing.

‍
Traffic

In B2B content, the focus is not merely on drawing crowds but attracting the right kind of crowd—quality over quantity. You aim for high-quality traffic, targeting those who influence purchasing decisions or hold significant positions within their organizations.

‍

You want to know what content pieces and traffic sources work best for you.

‍

Traffic KPIs

‍

Unique Visitors: The number of distinct individuals visiting your site over a certain period.

‍

Page Views: The total number of times your pages have been visited.

‍

Traffic Sources: Where your visitors are coming from—direct searches, referral links, social media, or search engines.

‍

New vs. Returning Visitors: Comparison of the number of first-time visitors to repeat visitors.

‍

Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of viewers who click through to your website from ads or search results.

‍
Conversion

Conversion in the B2B sphere varies greatly in its nature and impact.

‍

Small conversions—signing up for a newsletter, downloading an e-book, or visiting a specific page—are crucial indicators that potential clients engage with your content and move through the sales funnel.

‍

Meanwhile, significant conversions like filling out contact forms, scheduling meetings, making purchases, or registering for events represent substantial commitments from the user, signaling a solid interest or intent to do business together.

‍

Conversion KPIs

‍

Conversion Rate: The percentage of visitors who take a specific action, such as filling out a form or making a purchase, relative to your total visitor count.

‍

Lead Generation: The number of new leads or contacts collected through your content.

‍

Event Conversions: The number of actions like registrations for webinars, e-book downloads, or newsletter sign-ups.

‍

E-commerce Conversions: Metrics like cart addition rates and successful checkouts.

‍

Cost per Conversion: How much you're spending to get each conversion.

‍

Engagement

‍

Engagement metrics reveal how deeply users interact with your content and its value to those who matter most. You want to create content that captures and maintains attention from start to finish.

‍

Engagement KPIs

‍

Time on Page: How long visitors stay on a specific page.

‍

Pages per Session: The number of pages a visitor checks out during a single session.

‍

Bounce Rate: The percentage of visitors who bounce off the site after viewing just one page.

‍

Social Shares: How often is your content shared across social media platforms.

‍

Comments and Interactions: How much buzz your content generates in terms of comments and other forms of direct audience engagement.

‍
What should you measure content with?

Let's talk about the tools.

Google Analytics

First and foremost, you’ll find a goldmine of insights in Google Analytics. Here’s what you can dig up for free:

‍

Geographics and Traffic Sources: Get to know where your users are coming from—whether they stumbled upon your site through a Google search, clicked a link on social media, or got referred by another site.

‍

Content Engagement: Determine which of your articles are total page-turners and which might be putting your readers to sleep.

‍

Site Navigation: Track how visitors move through your site, including how many pages they check out in one go and what paths they take.

‍

Conversion Tracking: Discover which pieces of content make your visitors click, sign up, purchase, or download something.

‍
Other instances

While Google Analytics gives you a fantastic overview, sometimes you need specialized tools to sharpen your insights.

‍

Brand24: Perfect for keeping tabs on where and how often your content is mentioned across the web.

‍

Ahrefs: This tool is a treasure trove for examining who’s linking to you, what keywords bring people to your site, and how you compare to competitors in the search rankings.

‍

HotJar: Use heatmaps and recordings to visualize how users interact with your site.

‍

SurferSEO: Helps you align your content with what search engines and readers love right now.

‍

SEMrush: Offers a comprehensive analytics suite, from deep dives into keywords to spying on your competitors.

‍

These are just our favorites, but you can use whatever tool works for you.

‍
Who in your company should measure content?

‍

Measuring content isn't something you can just tack onto someone's already full plate—it's a job that demands a specialist's full attention (and knowledge).

‍

This could be someone already on your team; ideally, you're looking at marketing managerial roles like a Content Manager or a Marketing Manager. You might also consider bringing on a marketing agency specializing in this area.

‍

How Often Should You Review Content Results?

‍
You'll want to ensure that your content effectively contributes to your business goals, which means getting a detailed quarterly report from your marketing manager on the progress and outcomes. It's essential to have a clear picture of how things are evolving.

‍

At the same time, it's a good idea to monitor key metrics and trends monthly. This regular check-in helps you stay informed without getting too caught up in the details.

‍

However, it's important not to review too frequently. Content marketing takes time to manifest its effects. Generally, you need about a year to truly assess whether your content strategy is moving in the right direction

‍

So, What's My Next Step?

‍

You might be tempted to jump straight into figuring out which KPIs to track and how to analyze them.

‍

But let's suppose, just for a moment, that you haven't started measuring your content KPIs yet—there's a good chance you might have missed a few steps along the way.

1. Business strategy questions

First, reflect on where you've been and where you want your business to head. Ask yourself some foundational questions:

What are we really aiming to achieve next year as a business?

‍
Who exactly are we trying to help, and what challenges can we solve for them?

‍
What kind of sales figures are we shooting for this year, and what slice of the market do we want to claim?

‍
What are the standout strengths that put us ahead of the competition?

2. Marketing strategy questions

Once you've established that, it’s time to refine your marketing strategy.

‍

Which channels will best connect us to our audience—should we focus more on social media, direct email, or something else?

‍
What kind of messages will hit home with our audience? What do they care about most?

‍
How will we know if our marketing is working? Are there specific signs or numbers we should watch?

‍
How much are we planning to spend on marketing, and how do we split that across our chosen channels to get the best bang for our buck?

3. Content marketing strategy questions

Then, bridge these thoughts with your content strategy. Determine:

‍

What kind of stories or information will really capture our audience's attention?

‍
Where should we share our content to get the most eyes on it? Blogs, Instagram, newsletters?

‍
How often should we post new content to keep people interested but not overwhelmed?

‍
What signs will show us that our content is doing its job in drawing in leads and helping to close sales?

4. KPI questions

After you've laid this groundwork, then—and only then—is it time to circle back to the start:

‍

What metrics will we use to measure the effectiveness of our content in terms of engagement, lead generation, and contribution to revenue goals?

‍

At this point, setting KPIs will be easy, as they will stem naturally from the strategic planning you've already done rather than being an isolated task.

‍

Good luck!