What is content performance?
Content performance is a measure of how to blog posts, videos, and other content revenue and engage a target audience. Marketers Track Specific Metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIS), Such as Page Views, Engagement Rates, and Conversions, to Assess Effectiveness.
By Analyzing these metrics, they can evaluate beether the content meets business goals like brand awareness, driving website traffic, or generating leads.
Why is Tracking Content Performance Important?
Tracking Content Performance is important because it shows marketers which strategies are working and which need need improvement. This Insight Helps Marketing Teams Optimize Tactics, Justify Resource Allocation, and Gain Support for Future Ideas.
For example, say you find that lead magnets like eBooks attract many high-quality email subscribers. You can share that data with relevant stakeholders within your company. This evidence can secure more budget for similar content in the future.
Key Content Marketing Performance Metrics to Track
The content marketing performance metrics you track depend on your business Goals and Can Include Page Views, Organic Traffic, and ROI.
Here are 14 key performance metrics you might want to track.
Engagement metrics
Engagement metrics, like page views and bounce rate, measure how users interact with your content and provide insights into your content’s appeal.
Page views
Page views represent the total number of times users view a page on your site. Tracking Page Views in Google Analytics (GA4) Can Help You Identify Popular Topics that May Interest Your Audience.
Find page views in ga4 by clicking ”Reports,Life Cycle,Engagement,Pages and screens,
Look for the “views” column.
New users
New users are first-time visitors to your site. This metric helps you understand if your content efforts brings in new audiences.
Find new users in ga4 by going to “Reports,Life Cycle,Acquisition,Overview,
Click “New users,
Likes, comments, and shares
Likes, comments, and shares track social media engagement. These metrics show how well your content resons with your audience.
Monitor these metrics directly on social media platforms or through a tool like Social Analytics (Included in Semrush Social). Where you can view high-level analytics or drill down by platform and post.
Average engagement time
Average engagement time measures how long users engage with content on your site. Higher values usually indicate compeling, relevant content.
Find Average Engagement Time in Ga4 by clicking “Reports,Life Cycle,Engagement,Pages and screensLook for the “Average Engagement Time Per Active User” column.
Bounce rate
Bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who leave your site with taking further action (Like visiting another page) or staying for a specified amount of time. A high bounce rate may indicate that your content does not meet user expectations or search interaction (the reason behind a searcher’s Query).
Ga4 counts a bounced session by any of the following:
- Last Fewer Than 10 Seconds
- Doesn’t Contain Any Key Events (EG, A Form Submission)
- Includes only one page view
Identifying Pages with High Bounce Rates Can Guide Improvements to Better satisfy users.
Review the bounce rate for your site by going to “Reports,Engagement,Pages and screensClick the pencil icon to customize the report.
Click “Metrics“And add bounce rate as a metric.
SEO and Visibility Metrics
SEO metrics, like Organic (Unpaid) Traffic and Keyword Rankings, Measure Your Content’s Visibility and Performance in the Search Engine Results Pages (Serps).
Organic traffic
Organic traffic measures the number of visitors who find your site through unpaid search results. This metric can indicate how well your content ranks and attractions users.
Find your site’s organic traffic in ga4 by going to “Reports,Acquisition,Traffic AcquisitionLook for the row labeled “Organic search.”
Growing your organic traffic can lead to more conversions and revenue. Identifying pages that draw the most organic traffic can help you focus on the content and keywords that receonate with your audience.
To break down organic traffic by page in ga4, scroll down to the table, click the “+,” and Choose “Page / screen“And”Landing Page + Query String,
Keyword Rankings
Keyword rankings measure your content’s position in search engine results for specific keywords. This metric reveals how effectively your seo strategy targets desired terms.
Use the semrush position tracking tool to monitor keyword positions and track changes over time. So you can gauge optimization program. And compare your efforts against competitions.
Backlinks
Backlinks are links from external sites that point to your site. They signal credibility and can improve your search rankings. Tracking them can help you spot link-building Oportunities.
For example, comparing your backlink profile to a competitor’s might reveal a reputable site that links to the competition but not to you. You could then create a link building campaign to earn a similar backlink strengthening your site’s authority.
Track Backlinks (Yours and Your Rivals’) With Semrush’s Backlink Analytics. Look for Potential Issues Like Lost Links, which you can try to reclaim.
Authority Score
Authority Score Reflects a Site’s Overall SEO Performance and Trustworthness. Tracking it shows how your site compares to your competition, and signals with search engines view your site as a reputable source – WHICH Can Improve Rankings.
Use Backlink Analytics to View Authority Score Details and Trends over time. Compare your site’s score with others to see where you stand.
Further reading: How to Increase Website Authority
Impressions
Impressions This Metric Reveals Your Content’s Visibility and Reach.
Find your google search impressions in Google Search Console (GSC) by clicking “Search Results“And scrolling down to the report. View impressions by Queries (Keyword), Pages, Countries, Devices, Search Appearance, and Dates.
Brand mentions
Brand mentions are references to your brand or published content on external sites. From a content marketing personal, monitoring these men men mentions reveals how widely your blog posts, articles, or other longform pieces are shared and discusated.
This data can show you which topics resonate with your audience, helping you fin-tune future content creation.
Semrush’s brand monitoring app makes this easy. With the tool, you can filter mentions by Platform (EG, LinkedIn) or Content Type (EG, Blog References) to see where your articles get shared or cited. Frequent mentions of a Specific Blog Post Signal Audience Interest.
Conversion and Revenue Metrics
Conversion metrics measure the actions users take on your site, such as newsletter signups or purchases. Tracking these metrics shows your content’s impact on revenue.
Leads
Leads are contacts with the potential to become customers. Monitoring Lead Generation Reveals How Well Your Content Attracts Prospective Buyers and Supports Business Growth.
For example, software company contentsquare uses a “demo request” button on blog posts to gather leads. Like this:
Use a professional tool like hubspot to track and monitor leads from your content.
Conversion Rate
Conversion rate is the percentage of users who complete a desired action, like signing up for your email list or making a purchase. Tracking conversion rate shows how effectively your content drives user action.
Track conversion rates (also know as key events) Using Google Analytics 4 (GA4). First, set up conversion tracking in GA4. Then, View Your Conversion Reports by clicking “Reports,Engagement“> And”Conversions,
Return on Investment (ROI)
Return on Investment (Roi) Measures the Profitability of Your Content Efforts and Helps you determine how to effectively use use resources.
Reviewing the Roi of different types of content can help with budget allocation, allowing you to invest more in content that Drives Revenue.
Calculate roi using the formula: ROI = (Net Profit / Cost of Investment) x 100.
For example, let’s say you spend $ 500 on Content Creation and Earn $ 2,000 in Revenue from that that efforts. Your Net Profit is $ 1,500 ($ 2,000 – $ 500). And your roi is 300%.
A 300% Roi indicates that your content investment is paying off. Regularly review the Roi of different content types to determine which strategies deserve more budget.
How to Measure Content Performance via a Dashboard
You can track content metrics using individual tools like Google Analytics 4 (GA4) or Google search console (GSC)Each of which provides valuable insights.
Or you can streamline your efforts by using an All-in-One Dashboard– For example, Semrush’s Organic traffic insightsWhich integrates data from GA4 and GSC. By Consolidating Your Metrics Into One Place, You Can Spot Trends Faster, Track Performance More Efficiently, And Refine Your Content Strategy With Few Manual Steps.
Here’s how:
- Define your goalsClarify what you want to achieve with your content.
- Choose metrics to trackSelect kpis that align with your goals (EG, Page Views, Bounce Rate, and Conversions).
- Set up your semrush dashboardCheck out our guide to setting up your first project.
- Analyze the resultsReview your metrics regularly to identify trends and areas for improvement.