12 Key Metrics to Gauge Your Content Marketing Strategy’s Success & Why They Matter
In the quest to pinpoint the most telling metric for content marketing success, we’ve gathered insights from a variety of experts, including senior content marketers and SEO specialists. From aligning metrics with specific goals to assessing the profitability through ROI, explore the diverse perspectives of twelve professionals on the key indicators of content strategy effectiveness.
Want to get quoted in MarketerInterview.com content just like this? Apply to become a contributor today!
Contents
Goal Alignment
It depends on your goals. If you want to drive revenue, then you should align your content marketing strategy with your demand-generation and growth-marketing strategies and track revenue. If you are using content marketing to raise awareness and establish authority, then looking at impressions, net promoter scores, and social media engagements is a better metric to track.
Melody White, Senior Content Marketer
Conversions
When evaluating the success of a content marketing strategy, I find conversions to be the most indicative metric. Conversions signify the tangible actions taken by the audience as a result of engaging with the content. Whether it’s signing up for a newsletter, scheduling an appointment, making a purchase, or any other desired action, conversions demonstrate the effectiveness of content in driving meaningful engagement and, ultimately, achieving the intended goals of the strategy.
Katlyn Paskorz, SEO Specialist, Katydid PGH
Prospect to Lead
While engagement rates, views, and clicks give us a snapshot of how our content performs, I firmly believe the ultimate testament to a content marketing strategy’s success lies in converting prospects into leads. These initial metrics are vital; they’re like the breadcrumbs leading us through the forest of digital content, showing us where our audience’s interests lie. Yet, the real destination is conversion.
It’s the moment the journey from curiosity to commitment is completed. This conversion metric transcends mere interaction; it reflects a strategic triumph, signaling that our content hasn’t just been seen or liked—it’s inspired action. In the grand scheme, achieving conversions is what elevates a strategy from good to groundbreaking.
Vrinda Vardhan, Content Marketing Manager, Kissflow
Time-on-Page
Time-on-page and actions taken at the bottom of the content tend to indicate quality traffic consumption and the taking of the requested action. This leads to optimizing content not just for clicks, but for consumption and whatever the next step is (such as getting the person to read or consume the next content, opting in, purchasing, etc.).
Casey Slaughter Stanton, Founder, CMOx
Content Quality
Content marketing metrics and measurements are important, and success is mostly attributed to the value content provides. So, the quality of the content and the audience are just as important. In short: brand voice, tone, and good storytelling matter.
Julie Cadieux, Senior Editor, Content Marketing
Bounce Rate
When looking at the metrics and analytics of content (specifically blog articles), we tend to use the time spent on the page or bounce rate to assess the quality of the product. If the audience is clicking off the content quickly or not completing the full article, this can lead to improvements in features such as language use, CTAs, and image choices.
Annie Everill, Digital marketing executive, Imaginaire
I’m not disregarding the importance of metrics like leads and conversion rates, but in today’s day and age, I’d say the number of shares and backlinks your content receives deserves more attention. And that’s because only when your content strikes a chord with your audience do they feel compelled to share it with their networks. Especially with Millennials and Gen Z dominating the online space—these generations are discerning consumers of content and won’t simply advocate something unless they genuinely believe in it.
So, if your content earns shares and backlinks from these demographics, it means your content has resonated deeply enough to inspire action, whether it’s sharing with their peers or linking to it from their own platforms.
These actions go on to become social proof, signaling to people and search engines that your content is worth their time and attention. And if reputable websites link back to your content, it tells search engines like Google that your content is authoritative and trustworthy. As a result, your content is more likely to rank higher in search results, driving even more organic traffic to your site.
Gary Gray, CEO, CouponChief.com
Long-Term Engagement Growth
A feature of content marketing is that it doesn’t yield immediate results. Consistency in publication frequency will lead to outcomes over time.
How long this takes depends on the target audience, market, and channels used. Immediate measurement of results isn’t possible, but the key is dynamic: Does each subsequent post gain more engagement and views than the previous one? When analyzing a content marketing strategy, I assess whether the growth rate is satisfying for my long-term business goals.
Anna Mizina, Head of Product Marketing
Content-Sourced Sales Leads
At Whatfix, our North Star metric is “Content-Sourced Leads.” This metric represents all the leads or prospects in our sales pipeline that had at least one touchpoint with our content during their journey to conversion.
The reason this metric is most indicative of content marketing success is that it tells us if our content is assisting conversions and leading to prospects and, eventually, customers. While educating and informing our audience is a primary goal, we want our content marketing to bring in customers, so we track content-sourced leads closely.
Andrew Dennis, Sr. Content Marketing and SEO Manager, Whatfix
Scroll Depth
Content marketing success hinges on captivating our audience’s attention and guiding them through valuable content experiences. For me, some of the most telling metrics are Time on Page and Scroll Depth.
These metrics gauge not only initial interest but also the depth of engagement. Longer time on page and deeper scroll indicate that our content is holding attention and delivering relevant information throughout. By prioritizing these metrics, we ensure our content strategy resonates deeply, fostering meaningful connections and driving sustained audience engagement.
Alexa Franck, Sr. Content Marketing Manager, GoLinks
Customer Engagement
In my work at Omniconvert, where we focus on using customer data to fuel eCommerce growth, I’ve found that tracking customer engagement is the key to measuring content marketing success. This metric covers interaction indicators like how long people stay on your website, their comments, the sharing of content on social media, and whether they keep coming back.
My reasoning is simple: When your audience is actively engaging with your content, it means they find it relevant and interesting—important signs that you’re building strong connections with them. This not only fosters loyalty but also boosts the overall value they bring to your business over time. Essentially, a thriving engagement metric shines a light on the effectiveness of your content strategy in nurturing lasting growth for your company.
Valentin Radu, CEO & Founder, Blogger, Speaker, Podcaster, Omniconvert
ROI
Determining the success of a content marketing strategy involves considering various metrics, depending on the goals and objectives of the campaign. However, one of the best metrics of success is the return on investment (ROI).
ROI measures the profitability of a content marketing initiative by comparing the gains from the investment (such as increased revenue, cost savings, or customer lifetime value) to the cost of producing and distributing the content. It provides the clearest picture of the effectiveness and efficiency of the strategy in generating tangible business outcomes.
While ROI is a critical metric for assessing content marketing success, it’s essential to consider it in conjunction with other performance indicators, such as engagement metrics, conversion rates, and customer retention.
Jessica Miller-Merrell, Founder and Chief Innovation Officer, Workology
Want to get quoted in MarketerInterview.com content just like this? Apply to become a contributor today!
