While content marketing is very much the topic in vogue, there doesn’t seem to be any agreement by publishers on content marketing metrics to measure the success of their content strategies. The differing content marketing metrics are due to the varying types of business and the aims of any content strategy. However that said some content marketing metrics are useful no matter what the purpose.
Econsultancy conducted a study surveying the content marketing metrics publishers use to measure the success of their content. According to the survey –
The most common metrics are unique visitors (88%), page views per visitor (76%) and page views (71%). Only a third (33%) stated that ad clicks were used as a metric.
The study also indicated some interesting perspectives on engagement –
76% stated that generating a second click for each visit was “very important”, indicating that publishers see keeping traffic on site as a high priority.
To achieve the objective of keeping people on the website longer, provisions were made to provide recommendations for other content based on the content on the page that was being visited initially. In fact 69% of people surveyed said they used internal recommendations for related content, 50% used thrid party technologies, 35% used in house solutions and 15% provided manual recommendations.
So how are they keeping people on their websites/blogs?
One way to do this is to provide recommendations for other content, based on the page or article they visited initially. 69% said they use internal recommendations to provide inspiration for where to go next. 50% are using third party technology for this, 35% in-house solutions, and 15% provide manual recommendations.
What is also worthy of noting is that there are differences in the viewpoint of the objectives of content marketing as viewed by publishers and marketers. Publishers are concerned with generating income, with a focus on increased sales and incremental revenue. For marketers, increased engagement and brand awareness are key metrics.
According to David Sasson, COO, Outbrain
In many ways we would expect publishers to view content marketing through the lens of revenue and business opportunity because content is the product they’re selling and the service they’re providing to their consumers.
In an age when more and more information is freely accessible, and consumers expect to access it for free, publishers face a tough climate in aligning their business goals with the demand for their product, so it makes perfect sense that these financially-oriented outcomes are top-of-mind for them when it comes to how they use content.
Pardot has taken the details of the study and produced an infographic that summarises the survey results. Take a look below.
So what content marketing metrics are you using? Are you using industry standard content marketing metrics? Let us know in the comments below.