Benchmarking Content Marketing Success: Metrics That Matter

Content marketing has become a key component of modern digital strategy. In fact, 62% of marketers plan to increase their content marketing budgets because it delivers tangible results. However, as you allocate more resources to your strategy, it’s essential to know how to track its effectiveness through benchmarking.

Benchmarking helps you assess how well your strategies are performing, enabling you to make informed decisions to enhance results. Knowing which metrics to monitor is crucial for determining your success.

Keep reading to discover the essential metrics for benchmarking your content marketing success.

Why Benchmarking Content Marketing Success is Important

Understanding the impact of your content marketing is critical to continual improvement and growth. Benchmarking provides a systematic approach to evaluating your performance and making informed decisions. Benchmarking your content marketing performance is essential for the following main reasons:

• Assess Effectiveness. It measures the effectiveness of your content marketing tactics, helping you make informed decisions on what works and what is not working.

• Resource Optimization. Benchmarking ensures that your resources and budget are channeled towards the most productive strategies, maximizing ROI.

• Identify Opportunities. When you consistently use metrics, you might discover new ways to improve your strategy.

• Maintain Competitiveness. Knowing where you are in comparison to others in your niche allows you to not only stay up with but also outpace the competition.

• Establish Realistic Goals. It provides a clear picture of your performance levels so you can set practical and measurable goals for the future.

How to Benchmark Your Content Marketing Performance: Metrics That Matter

Now that you know the importance of benchmarking content marketing success, here are some essential metrics to track broken down into seven categories:

Traffic Metrics

• Website Traffic. This metric measures the total number of visits to your site. High traffic usually means your content marketing is working well, drawing more visitors. How crucial is this metric? Very—71% of marketers rely on it to gauge content effectiveness.

• Unique Visitors. Unlike website traffic, this metric count individuals who visit your site. This metric helps gauge your content's reach and distinguish between new and returning visitors. A healthy unique visitor rate should be at least 70% of your total sessions.

• Page Views. This indicates the total number of pages viewed by visitors. More page views mean your content is engaging and visitors are exploring further. On average, visitors view five pages per session across industries.

• Traffic Sources. Understanding where your traffic is coming from (organic search, direct, social media, referrals) helps identify which channels are most effective. For instance, if a large portion of traffic is from organic search, your SEO strategies are working well.

Engagement Metrics

• Bounce Rate. The percentage of visitors who leave after viewing only one page can indicate how engaging your content is. A high bounce rate (55%+) might suggest that visitors are not finding what they are looking for, necessitating content adjustments.

• Average Session Duration. This metric reflects the average amount of time visitors spend on your site. Session durations of 2 - 3 minutes and above often mean that visitors are engaged and finding value in your content.

• Pages Per Session. This measures the average number of pages viewed during a session. Higher values suggest that visitors are exploring more content, indicating effective internal linking and engaging content.

• Time on Page. How long visitors spend on a specific page is a direct measure of content engagement. Pages with longer average times, between 50-60 seconds, are likely providing valuable information to visitors.

Conversion Metrics

• Conversion Rate. This critical metric shows the percentage of visitors who complete a desired action, such as signing up for a newsletter or making a purchase. A high conversion rate, typically between 2% and 5%, indicates that your content effectively drives desired actions.

• Leads Generated. This is the number of prospective customers who have expressed interest in your offerings, as measured by form submissions or contact queries. It assesses the efficacy of lead-generating tactics.

• Sales. Tracking the number of transactions resulting from content marketing efforts is essential for understanding the direct impact on revenue. It ties content marketing efforts directly to business outcomes.

SEO Metrics

• Organic Traffic. Visitors coming from search engines are a testament to the effectiveness of your SEO strategies. A steady increase in organic traffic suggests that your content is well-optimized and ranks well on search engines.

• Keyword Rankings. Monitoring the positions of your targeted keywords in search engine results helps assess the effectiveness of your SEO efforts. Higher rankings for relevant keywords lead to increased visibility and traffic. You can use Semrush’s Position Tracking to stay on top of your website rankings.

• Backlinks. The number and quality of external sites linking to your content are crucial for SEO. High-quality backlinks enhance your site's authority and improve search engine rankings.

Content Performance Metrics

• Top Performing Content. The pages or articles that receive the most interaction and traffic might reveal interesting information about what appeals to your audience. This data can inform future content creation strategies.

• Exit Rate. This is the percentage of visitors leaving your site from a specific page. A high exit rate may signal poor user experience or content. Exit rates vary by industry: blogs and articles can reach up to 80%, while eCommerce sites should aim for at least 40%.

• Social Shares. The number of times your content is shared on social media sites is a good indication of its popularity and reach. Social sharing can substantially increase your content's visibility and generate visitors.

Email Marketing Metrics

• Open Rate. This measures the percentage of recipients who open your emails. A good open rate, of at least 17%, often indicate that your subject lines are compelling and your audience is interested in your content.

• Click-Through Rate (CTR). The CTR is the percentage of recipients who click on the link in your email message, helping you understand how effective your email content is at driving traffic and conversions. A good CTR is typically between 2 and 5%.

• Unsubscribe Rate. This metric shows the percentage of recipients who unsubscribe from your email list. A high unsubscribe rate of 0.5% and above might indicate that your email content is not meeting subscriber expectations.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Finally, calculating the revenue generated compared to the cost of content marketing efforts is essential for understanding the financial effectiveness of your strategies. For example, If you spend $4,500 a month on content marketing and earn $6,000 from it, your ROI is calculated as follows: ($6,000 - $4,500) / $4,500) * 100 = 33%. Your content marketing ROI is 33%. High ROI signifies that your content marketing is yielding profitable results.

Conclusion

Tracking these metrics gives you a clear picture of your content marketing's efficacy. The goal is to use the insights from this data to make educated decisions that can improve your strategy and help you accomplish your content marketing goals.