How can you measure and prove the effectiveness and yield of content marketing and seo work? Nothing is simpler than that, we show you three metrics you can use!
SEO is a long-term investment ( I wrote about it in detail HERE ) and that’s why many people fear it. There are no big, spectacular jumps, convincing numbers and lucrative results overnight. If all that weren’t enough, it’s hard to actually prove that a conversion came from SEO .
In contrast, the benefits of paid channels are easy to demonstrate, as it is easy to attribute a click on an ad directly to a subsequent conversion. It’s just as easy to prove the benefits of email marketing, social media marketing, and other channels because they offer easy-to-follow metrics for doing so.
HOWEVER, SEO POSES A SERIOUS CHALLENGE TO MARKETERS.
Troubleshooting technical issues and merging marketing channels can be quite a tough nut to crack, and proving the return on investment (ROI) of SEO-related content marketing makes things even harder. The return on content marketing can be tracked through conversions generated by content, taking into account the time, money and other effort spent.
So what metrics can you use to prove to management or a client that content marketing is worth it? These will be discussed below.
WHAT METRICS CAN I USE TO TRACK CONTENT MARKETING ROI?
The most important metrics for SEO- related content marketing are actually the metrics used to measure content performance in general:
- Changes in organic conversions
- Change in ranking (first page impressions)
- The change in organic traffic and clicks
However, it’s important to keep in mind that key performance indicators (KPIs) and goals can vary from content type to content, and can be influenced by audiences and intent.
However, if you want to find out (and prove) how important it is to use SEO and content marketing together, and how much your return on investment will be, you will need this information.
PREPARATIONS
Many companies involve many people or entire departments in creating content, and the process can grind a lot of money. So it’s important to prove to your superiors that it’s worth spending that much money on these efforts.
To be able to compare the ROI of SEO and content marketing, you will first need an initial understanding of the performance of your content.
If the content is already present on your site, make a note of how you are currently performing before optimizing for anything. If, on the other hand, the content is completely new, keep an eye on your performance from the very first minute, as this is the only way to see if you’re moving in the right direction.
Management will not necessarily be excited about the details, but what is sure to interest them is how many users will find the content and how many of them will convert.
USE KEY SEO METRICS
CHANGES IN ORGANIC CONVERSIONS
This is one of the simplest yet most important performance metrics for content. We put this at the center of every customer, which is why we work. However, it’s important to note that different steps for different types of content count as conversions.
In a hotel, a conversion can be a room reservation or an event venue request, but if you have a restaurant, you can also book a table. You may be interested in the number of email subscriptions, how many people download a PDF file, or how many ask you for a quote through an online form. These figures show how users use your content and what drives them to the desired step (conversion).
It is very important to emphasize conversions when trying to brush the benefits of content marketing to management, as this will help explain how many new leads or customers the content has gained for the company.
RANKING CHANGE
SEO is a long-term process, so it’s important for one to set reasonable goals for each newly created page. Sure, everyone wants to be in the top positions with all their content, but it’s not always a dream come true because of the unpredictability of Google and search trends.
For these purposes, however, it’s clear that clients are really interested in how a piece of content performs on search results pages, so it’s a good idea to keep track of changes in rankings among key performance metrics.
If you can prove that thanks to SEO tactics, you got a phrase up a few positions (on the first page of results), then it can be a really convincing, spectacular result in the eyes of the management or the client.
Search engine rank (i.e. search volume) for a keyword can also be a useful indicator of why you should pay more or less attention to certain terms in your SEO.
THE CHANGE IN ORGANIC TRAFFIC AND CLICKS
Also a key indicator in any content marketing SEO report is how many clicks on a piece of content, i.e., how much traffic you have attracted to your site.
Of course, before optimizing, it’s a good idea to note how much organic traffic a page has received so far, and how much traffic your site has received through that page.
It’s important to keep in mind that even if a site has high traffic, it’s not at all sure to convert well. Depending on the nature of the content, a user may just come to your site, read what’s written on that page, and may not decide to convert until weeks or months later. Of course, it’s very difficult to add a conversion to this first visit.
However, if the main purpose of the content is to get as many brand names as possible (which is enough for a user to visit your site), clicks or traffic can be a very important metric.
