May 12th, 2022 | Updated on May 13th, 2022
In today’s digital world, quality website content is critically important for your business. People have access to thousands of brands at their fingertips. To differentiate your company from the rest, you need to provide prospects with the information they’re looking for.
On the flip side, content creation uses a ton of company resources. How do you know your investment isn’t in vain? While you may have a hunch about what content is working, you want to be sure before adjusting your strategy. To determine whether your content is helping your brand, take a look at the following metrics.
1. You’re Getting Quality Backlinks
The ultimate goal of content is to provide readers value. But how do you know which pieces of content prospects find most helpful? This may be challenging to track upfront, but quality pages on your site will begin generating backlinks over time. Backlinks are links from one site to another, and they can indicate that your content answers user questions.
There are a variety of online tools to help you track your backlink profile. By doing so, you’ll know how your content is resonating with readers. If your site isn’t getting many backlinks, consider conducting a content audit. This will help you identify areas where your content can be improved.
2. Your Sales Team Is Closing Deals
Often, prospects have many questions they want answered before agreeing to a call with your sales team. Spending time to craft emails answering these questions can take a sales rep hours, bogging down the sales process.
Sharing an educational blog post or info graphic is more time-efficient and engaging than a long email. When your sales team has quality content to share, they can quickly answer prospects’ questions and close more deals.
To ensure your sales team is armed with the right content, ask your reps what questions they hear the most. Your onsite content strategy should include blog posts that answer these questions.
As new queries arise, have your sales team share them with your marketing team. This way, you can constantly create content that helps your company sell better and gain more customers.
3. You’re Ranking For Target Keywords
Keywords are words or phrases your prospects are using when searching for information about a problem or product.
Content that provides details about these keywords will help you rank in Google search, increasing your organic traffic. Ranking for target keywords is a strong indicator that you’re creating content that answers prospects’ inquiries.
However, ranking for keywords takes time, especially in a competitive industry like fashion or wellness. Most experts agree it takes an average of two to six months of focused content creation to rank on page one of Google search.
So be patient when you first start developing content optimised for specific keywords. SEO is a marathon, not a sprint.
4. You’ve Got A High Conversion Rate
While generating organic traffic likely means you’re creating compelling content, it doesn’t paint the entire picture. You don’t want prospects coming to your site only to leave a few moments later.
Great content encourages prospects to take action after they’re finished reading. Depending on your business, this could be signing up for a newsletter, making a purchase, or booking a consultation meeting.
By measuring your content’s conversion rate, you can track the percentage of users who take an action on your page. If you discover that your conversion rate is low, your content may not be aligned with their search intent. If the search intent is aligned but prospects still aren’t converting, take another swing at your call to action.
5. You’re Generating Brand Awareness
Brand awareness represents how much your prospects know about your company. The more familiar they are with your brand, the more likely they are to make a purchase. In fact, 71% of consumers say they’re more inclined to buy a product or service from a company they recognise. Strong content should showcase who you are as a company and build brand awareness within your target audience.
One way to measure your brand awareness is to check out search volume data. If the number of searches for your company name is increasing, it’s safe to say your content is generating brand awareness. However, if you’re not seeing an increase in search volume for branded keywords, you may need to create more compelling onsite content.
Creating brand awareness can be tough to do on your own. So if you’re struggling to generate the awareness you’d like, consider investing in digital PR.
6. Your Content Is Being Shared On Social Media
When people enjoy a piece of content or find it particularly educational, they tend to share it with their network. When you notice specific blog posts gaining traction on social media, you’ll know that you’re writing content that resonates with your customers.
Companies can easily track social shares through their social media accounts. By keeping tabs on social shares, you’ll be able to identify high-performing content quickly. This gives you a better idea of the content your target audience wants to see, informing your future content strategy.
Brands are constantly fighting for the attention of your customers. If you want to stand out from the rest, you need to create quality content. Use the metrics above to help identify which content is successfully drawing in your target audience.
Lisa Frank is a Professional Blogger and SEO Expert. She writes extensively on marketing, digital marketing, lifestyle, and technology.
